| A day after winning the inaugural Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge, Alexis DeJoria raced to a semifinal finish at the sold-out NHRA Arizona Nationals Sunday afternoon at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park near Phoenix. The semifinal appearance also gave DeJoria and her Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota GR Supra one of four spots in the next #2Fast2Tasty Challenge next week at the NHRA Winternationals. DeJoria’s strong weekend in the desert really kicked off on Saturday as she started the first-ever #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge with a rematch against Matt Hagan, who beat DeJoria in the semifinals at Gainesville. DeJoria got the win this time with a 3.980-second pass at 308.92 MPH which also put her in the No. 3 qualifying position. DeJoria and her Del Worsham-tuned GR Supra improved to a 3.914-second effort in the final session to qualify No. 2 and beat Toyota Racing teammate J.R. Todd, picking up the $10,000 check from Mission Foods. The win also came with three championship bonus points that will be added to DeJoria’s tally when the Countdown to the Championship begins. She also earned five bonus points in qualifying. DeJoria was one of just a few drivers to make two clean runs on Saturday, and she was looking to carry that momentum into Sunday eliminations. She did just that, starting with a 3.906-second blast to defeat Todd again in the first round. A 3.949-second victory over Tim Wilkerson followed in the second round, giving DeJoria lane choice over defending world champion Ron Capps in the semifinals. There, the Bandero Premium Tequila entry laid down another low 3.9-second pass against Capps, a 3.935 at 323.35 MPH, but Capps was a tick quicker with his 3.930-second run. “Del, Nicky (Boninfante), and Matt (Bynum) have given us such a great car this weekend,” DeJoria said. “We were one of the only cars to make it down every run so that being said, we’re back. The car is responsive, it’s doing what we want it to do, it’s going straight. The top end of the track was not very forgiving on some runs but today, we went straight down it, so I feel really good and really charged for next weekend.” DeJoria was one of numerous drivers who reminisced about the historic Arizona facility, which is slated to close later this year. “We obviously wanted to win what may very likely be the last race at Wild Horse Pass – where I got my very first nitro win – but we made really good runs this weekend, gained some good points, and we won the very first Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge,” said DeJoria, the 2014 Arizona Nationals winner. “We just got outrun in the semifinals today, but nothing to hang our heads about. That’s now two semifinals back-to-back and it feels really good to start the year out like that. We’re feeling strong going into Pomona, but we’re sad to see this place go. I hope they change their minds and we get to come back next year, but if not, it’s been great.” DeJoria will pair up with Capps again next week in the first round of the second Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge during Saturday qualifying at the NHRA Winternationals, March 30-April 2 at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Pomona, Calif. |
| Qualified: No. 2 (3.914 E.T. at 324.51 MPH) Elimination Round Results: E1: 3.906 E.T. at 327.66 MPH defeated J.R. Todd 3.923 E.T. at 328.38 MPH E2: 3.949 E.T. at 323.35 MPH defeated Tim Wilkerson 4.678 E.T. at 175.96 MPH E3: 3.935 E.T. at 323.35 MPH defeated by Ron Capps 3.930 E.T. at 322.73 MPH NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Funny Car Point Standings (Unofficial):1Robert Hight 1692Matt Hagan 1653Ron Capps 1574Alexis DeJoria 1545Chad Green 1496Bob Tasca III 1237J.R. Todd 1218John Force 979Blake Alexander 9110Tim Wilkerson 84 |
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