{"id":1956,"date":"2016-04-04T15:17:09","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/?p=1956"},"modified":"2016-04-04T15:37:50","modified_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:37:50","slug":"lady-luck-for-alexis-dejoria-in-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/?p=1956","title":{"rendered":"Lady Luck for Alexis DeJoria in Vegas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cLady Luck\u201d was on Alexis DeJoria\u2019s side once again at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as she picked up her career fourth Funny Car win and her first of the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.<\/p>\n

Along the way to the Winner\u2019s Circle, DeJoria, behind the wheel of her Tequila Patr\u00f3n Toyota Camry Funny Car, defeated three World Champions. Today marked DeJoria\u2019s seventh Funny Car final round appearance, one of which included her win at the 2014 SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, the Spring Vegas event. In fact, DeJoria has made it to the semi-finals or better at this event since 2013.
\n\"LV-Alexis\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"(Alexis<\/a>

(Alexis DeJoria scored victory for the 4th time in her aspiring fuel FC racing career)<\/p><\/div>\n

With three runner-up finishes, and now four Wallys under her belt, DeJoria became the third woman in a row to pick up a win in the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello series.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be a part of that, it\u2019s incredible. Three women in the last three races including myself have won. It\u2019s an amazing time in NHRA Drag Racing. We\u2019ve come so far,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The win comes after a rough start to the 2016 NHRA season and a 2015 season that included more \u2018downs\u2019 than \u2018ups.\u2019 DeJoria suffered two first round losses and bottom-half qualifying efforts at the past two events.<\/p>\n

As history would have it, Team Patr\u00f3n would find success once they returned to the Vegas drag strip.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, we just needed to catch one break. Lately, we couldn\u2019t get down the track much in qualifying and then the first round, we would turn it around and do so well, but the other person would just do a little bit better so it was a lot of tough breaks,\u201d said DeJoria, whose last win came at the 2014 U.S. Nationals.<\/p>\n

Out of the gate, the black and green Patr\u00f3n team laid down quick and consistent qualifying efforts, turning in four solid qualifying runs, giving them the advantage of a top-half start on race day.<\/p>\n

DeJoria started her Sunday in the sixth position with lane choice over Tommy Johnson Jr. in round one. Her 4.006-second run easily defeated Johnson Jr.\u2019s 4.073-second pass, advancing her to round two versus Robert Hight. In round two, DeJoria left the starting line first and her quick reaction time earned her a holeshot round win as she powered her Patr\u00f3n Toyota Camry across the stripe in 4.005-seconds against Hight\u2019s 4.004. In the semifinals, DeJoria faced 16-time World Champion John Force.\u00a0 DeJoria\u2019s day would continue as her 4.012 bested Force\u2019s 4.053.<\/p>\n

\"(Alexis<\/a>

(Alexis defeated John Force in this semi-final round match)<\/p><\/div>\n

The semifinal round win meant DeJoria would face her Kalitta Motorsports teammate and longtime mentor, Del Worsham, in the first ever all-Kalitta Funny Car final.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a dream of mine to race Del in the finals, and going up against him, it\u2019s no easy feat. I was pretty excited to race him in the final but man, I wanted to win so bad,\u201d said DeJoria.<\/p>\n

Consistent with her day\u2019s performances, DeJoria was quick off the line, edging the reigning World Champ on her way to a 3.968-second run, setting off the final round win light.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis fourth trophy was definitely a difficult one to come by. It took a lot of races to get here but we\u2019ve been consistent all weekend. We made four good runs in qualifying and on race day as well. I don\u2019t know the last time we\u2019ve done that. We definitely didn\u2019t do it at the last race, that\u2019s for sure. It\u2019s just been such a turnaround. The last race was heartbreaking because I knew we could do better and we definitely accomplished that this weekend,\u201d said DeJoria.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just so proud of my team. My guys have worked so incredibly hard and really turned everything around. They\u2019ve done such a good job and it\u2019s just been an awesome weekend. To top it all off, the Patr\u00f3n Spirits Company\u2019s corporate office is here, and to be able to put our Tequila Patr\u00f3n Toyota Camry in the Winners Circle once again in their backyard is just incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeJoria\u2019s win advanced her from ninth in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship points standings up to eighth with 233 points. The win also earned her a spot in the prestigious Traxxas Nitro Shootout. For more information, please visit www.alexisdejoria.com, Follow Us on Twitter, Instagram and Periscope @ADRnhra, or Like Us on Facebook Alexis DeJoria<\/p>\n

About Alexis DeJoria:<\/p>\n

Alexis DeJoria, daughter of John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems and proud owner of Tequila Patr\u03ccn, is a professional NHRA racecar driver, competing in the nitro Funny Car class on the Kalitta Motorsports team. Alexis drives the Tequila Patr\u00f3n-sponsored 2016 Toyota Camry. Alexis, who had all the opportunity in the world to pursue any type of career, felt strongly about following her passion, and her need for adrenaline drove her to pursue the unlikely profession of auto-racing. The determination to \u2018blaze her own trail\u2019 continues to drive her and push her to higher levels in the sport of NHRA drag racing.<\/p>\n

About Tequila Patr\u00f3n:
\nFrom hand-harvesting the highest-quality 100 percent Weber Blue Agave, to the traditional, time-honored distillation process and individual labeling, numbering, and inspection of each bottle, Patr\u00f3n tequila is crafted with meticulous precision and care. Though Patr\u00f3n has grown to become one of the most-recognized and respected luxury spirits brands in the world, it is still exclusively produced in the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, in the same small batches and with the same commitment to quality and craftsmanship. For more information about Patr\u00f3n tequilas and liqueurs, please visit www.patrontequila.com.<\/p>\n

Photos by Gary Nastase & Ron Lewis <\/em>
\nPosted by: Allison McCormick<\/em><\/p>\n

\"(Jack<\/a>

(Jack Beckman set low ET of the race at 3.916 secs while qualifying #1)<\/p><\/div>\n

Event Essentials: \u00a0 Denso NHRA Nationals \u00a0 (April 1-3rd, 2016)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nNAME<\/strong><\/td>\nET<\/strong><\/td>\nMPH<\/strong><\/td>\nCAREER WIN<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Winner:<\/strong><\/td>\nAlexis Dejoria<\/td>\n3.968<\/td>\n315.49<\/td>\n4th<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
R\/UP:<\/strong><\/td>\nDel Worsham<\/td>\n3.988<\/td>\n323.58<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Low ET:<\/strong><\/td>\nJack Beckman<\/td>\n\u00a03.916<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Top Speed:<\/strong><\/td>\nDel Worsham<\/td>\n<\/td>\n326.71<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bump Spot:<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n4.690<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Event Entries:<\/strong><\/td>\n\u00a019 Cars<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cLady Luck\u201d was on Alexis DeJoria\u2019s side once again at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as she picked up her career fourth Funny Car win and her first of the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. Along the way to the Winner\u2019s Circle, DeJoria, behind the wheel of her Tequila Patr\u00f3n […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1956"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1956"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1961,"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1956\/revisions\/1961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}