Alexis DeJoria began the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals, the first event of the six-race NHRA Countdown to the Championship, from the No. 6 seed in the Funny Car standings. Making her sixth playoff appearance, DeJoria is on track to finish in the top 10 for the seventh time, including her 2020 campaign.
DeJoria returned to Maple Grove Raceway with three runner-up finishes through the first 15 events of the regular season and was looking to break through for her first event win of the year. Out of four qualifying runs, DeJoria placed her Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota GR Supra eighth on the Funny Car ladder on the strength of her 3.915-second at 331.04 MPH pass, which she clocked during the second session. She drew No. 9 qualifier Blake Alexander as her first-round opponent. DeJoria carried a 6-3 round-win lead over Alexander into the race and used a stout 3.879-second pass to easily defeat her opponent who suffered a loss of traction. Her run held up to be the third-quickest of the round and earned her the advantage of lane choice versus Bob Tasca III in the quarterfinals.
When the DC Motorsports team returned to the starting line for round two, both DeJoria and Tasca did their burnouts before the skies opened and it started to sprinkle. The two teams opted to delay their match and returned to the staging lanes to run at the end of the second Funny Car session. When they rolled back up to the waterbox for a second time, DeJoria staged her machine and clocked another solid pass but her 3.904 E.T. couldn’t keep pace with Tasca’s faster 3.867.
“The first race of the Countdown could have been a lot better for us, but we got past first round and got some good points,” said DeJoria, who maintained her No. 6 ranking leaving Reading, Pa. “We ran really good first round with that 3.87. It’s unfortunate we didn’t go beyond round two today and make some moves in the standings, but, we didn’t drop any positions either. We’ve still got five events to go and we’re looking forward to that next race so we can get back out there and hurt some feelings.”
DeJoria and the Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car team compete next at the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway, Sept. 22-24.
Qualified: No. 8 (3.915 E.T. at 331.04 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.879 E.T. at 334.57 MPH defeated Blake Alexander 4.684 E.T. at 179.23 MPH
E2: 3.904 E.T. at 332.67 MPH defeated by Bob Tasca 3.867 E.T. at 334.40 MPH
Note: On-track activities at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals were suspended after the second round of eliminations due to ongoing rain. Eliminations will resume at 10:00 a.m. ET on Monday, Sept. 18 at Maple Grove Raceway.
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