As the most recent winner on the NHRA tour Alexis DeJoria was returning to one of her favorite tracks on the tour, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and she was looking for a second consecutive Funny Car win. Two weeks ago, DeJoria raced to her sixth career Funny Car win from the No. 1 spot. This weekend at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals DeJoria once again ran to the top of the Funny Car field securing her second No. 1 qualifier of 2021 and giving the Bandero Premium Tequila ROKiT Toyota Camry Funny Car a leg up going into race day.
Through two days of qualifying DeJoria posted solid runs starting with a 3.896 second run on Friday night and following it up with runs at 3.965 and 3.912 seconds, respectively. She earned three qualifying bonus points and was slated for a first round match-up with Jeff Diehl.
DeJoria was looking for her first win at the fall NHRA event in Las Vegas to add to her two victories from the spring national event. Racing Diehl DeJoria was able to advance to the quarterfinals on the strength of her Bandero Tequila Toyota Camry Funny Car’s 3.925 second run.
Heading into the second round against fellow Countdown competitor Ron Capps, DeJoria was looking to advance to her eighth semifinal round of the season. It took the quickest and fastest Funny Car run of the entire event to defeat DeJoria. In the heat of the day, on a track well over one hundred degrees, DeJoria made a strong 3.998 second run but it wasn’t enough for Capps’ 3.884 second pass.
“Another number one qualifier for DC Motorsports,” said DeJoria. “I’m so proud of this team and everything we’ve been doing these last two years has been preparing for glory. It’s all coming together at the end of the year. Our Bandero Tequila Toyota has been very consistent. Ron ran low E.T. of the meet. It just wasn’t our weekend this time. We’ve got one more race left in Pomona. I just want to thank all the fans for coming out this weekend and everyone who supports us. We’ll just get ready for the next race.”
Qualifying Results
Q1: 3.896 sec, 327.03 mph; Qual. 1
Q2: 3.965 sec, 323.12 mph; Qual. 1
Q3: 3.912 sec, 327.98 mph; Qual. 1
Bonus Points: +3 (Quickest of Q1)
Race Results
First Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
Alexis DeJoria 1 .167 3.925 324.51 (W)
Jeff Diehl 16 .127 4.278 220.80
Second Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
Alexis DeJoria 1 .122 3.998 315.05
Ron Capps 8 .078 3.884 332.10 (W)
Camping World Funny Car Countdown Top Ten
1. Ron Capps, 2585
2. Matt Hagan, 2527
3. Cruz Pedregon, 2502
4. J.R. Todd, 2447
5. John Force, 2430
6. Bob Tasca III, 2417
7. Robert Hight, 2412
8. Alexis DeJoria, 2380
9. Tim Wilkerson, 2282
10. Blake Alexander, 2184
Tony Fay PR
