For Immediate Release
DEJORIA DROPS NARROW DECISION TO CAPPS
ROKiT/ABK Toyota Driver Out in Quarterfinals at 51st NHRA Gatornationals
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Capitalizing on her best qualifying performance in seven starts at Gainesville Raceway, Alexis DeJoria drove the ROKiT Phones/ABK Beer/Lucas Oil Toyota Camry into the quarterfinals at the 51st annual Amalie Gatornationals Sunday before running afoul of former world champion and eventual race winner Ron Capps.
Driving for a new team she owns along with co-crew chief and former Top Fuel and Funny Car World Champion Del Worsham, DeJoria qualified fifth, equaling her best effort of the season, and easily raced past Jim Campbell in round one with a time quicker than her qualifying effort by .037 of a second.
Against Capps, she was even quicker but not quick enough to overcome the Dodge driver’s 3.968 at more than 325 miles per hour.
A five-time pro tour winner, DeJoria is back in competition this year after a two-year absence. She is seeking her first tour victory since winning the Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn., on Aug. 20, 2017 and is laying the groundwork for a 2021 championship run.
An NHRA national event winner at every level at which she has raced, her ultimate goal is to become the first woman to win a Mello Yello Funny Car Championship. Nitro Funny Car is the only professional drag racing category in which a woman has not yet celebrated a series championship.
Next up for DeJoria, Worsham and co-crew chief Nicky Boninfante is this week’s 23rd AAA Insurance Midwest NHRA Nationals at Word Wide Technology Raceway, just across the river from St. Louis, Mo. It is the track on which DeJoria posted the best numbers of her career when she covered the 1,000-foot course in 3.863 seconds at a finish line speed of 333.16 mph in 2017.
* * * *
NEXT RACE
23rd AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals
Oct. 3-4, 2020
World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway
Madison, Illinois (St. Louis)
Event: 51st annual Amalie NHRA Gatornationals
Site: Gainesville Raceway, Gainesville, Fla.
Qualifying position: 5th at 4.088, 269.67 miles per hour.
Qualifying bonus points: 1 for third quick time in Q2.
Race day results: Round 1, Alexis DeJoria, 4.051 seconds, 312.28 mph, def. Jim Campbell, 7.184 seconds, 84.45 mph;
Quarterfinals, Alexis DeJoria, 4.014 seconds, 319.98 mph, lost to Ron Capps, 3.968 seconds, 325.22 mph. Perspective: Alexis equaled her best qualifying performance of the season and strengthened her points position with only four races remaining in an abbreviated in a season shortened to 11 races by the COVID-19 pandemic.
* * * *
Current Funny Car Driver Standings
(After seven of 11 events)
1. Jack Beckman, Norco, Calif., Infinite Hero Dodge 569
2. Matt Hagan, Christiansburg, Va., Mopar/Pennzoil Dodge 565
3.Tommy Johnson Jr., Avon, Ind., M.D. Anderson Hospital Dodge 512
4. Ron Capps, Carlsbad, Calif., NAPA Dodge 491
5. Tim Wilkerson, Springfield, Ill., Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford 448
6. J.R. Todd, Indianapolis, Ind., DHL Toyota 420
7. Bob Tasca III, Cranston, R.I., Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 434
8. Alexis DeJoria, Austin, Texas, ROKiT/ABK Beer Toyota Camry 296
9. Cruz Pedregon, Brownsburg, Ind., Snap-on Tools Dodge 266
10. Paul Lee, Orange, Calif., Global Electronic Technology Dodge 258
* * * *
2020 Gatornationals Final Rounds:
FUNNY CAR – Ron Capps, 3.937 seconds, 323.12 mph, def. Tim Wilkerson, 3.945, 325.92 mph.
TOP FUEL – Steve Torrence, 3.809 seconds, 322.11 mph, def. Billy Torrence, 3.810, 320.74 mph.
PRO STOCK – Alex Laughlin. 7.068 seconds, 204.72 mph, def. Aaron Stanfield, 14.002, 60.60 mph.
DEJORIA DROPS NARROW DECISION TO CAPPS
ROKiT/ABK Toyota Driver Out in Quarterfinals at 51st NHRA Gatornationals
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Capitalizing on her best qualifying performance in seven starts at Gainesville Raceway, Alexis DeJoria drove the ROKiT Phones/ABK Beer/Lucas Oil Toyota Camry into the quarterfinals at the 51st annual Amalie Gatornationals Sunday before running afoul of former world champion and eventual race winner Ron Capps.
Driving for a new team she owns along with co-crew chief and former Top Fuel and Funny Car World Champion Del Worsham, DeJoria qualified fifth, equaling her best effort of the season, and easily raced past Jim Campbell in round one with a time quicker than her qualifying effort by .037 of a second.
Against Capps, she was even quicker but not quick enough to overcome the Dodge driver’s 3.968 at more than 325 miles per hour.
A five-time pro tour winner, DeJoria is back in competition this year after a two-year absence. She is seeking her first tour victory since winning the Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn., on Aug. 20, 2017 and is laying the groundwork for a 2021 championship run.
An NHRA national event winner at every level at which she has raced, her ultimate goal is to become the first woman to win a Mello Yello Funny Car Championship. Nitro Funny Car is the only professional drag racing category in which a woman has not yet celebrated a series championship.
Next up for DeJoria, Worsham and co-crew chief Nicky Boninfante is this week’s 23rd AAA Insurance Midwest NHRA Nationals at Word Wide Technology Raceway, just across the river from St. Louis, Mo. It is the track on which DeJoria posted the best numbers of her career when she covered the 1,000-foot course in 3.863 seconds at a finish line speed of 333.16 mph in 2017.
* * * *
NEXT RACE
23rd AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals
Oct. 3-4, 2020
World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway
Madison, Illinois (St. Louis)
Event: 51st annual Amalie NHRA Gatornationals
Site: Gainesville Raceway, Gainesville, Fla.
Qualifying position: 5th at 4.088, 269.67 miles per hour.
Qualifying bonus points: 1 for third quick time in Q2.
Race day results: Round 1, Alexis DeJoria, 4.051 seconds, 312.28 mph, def. Jim Campbell, 7.184 seconds, 84.45 mph;
Quarterfinals, Alexis DeJoria, 4.014 seconds, 319.98 mph, lost to Ron Capps, 3.968 seconds, 325.22 mph. Perspective: Alexis equaled her best qualifying performance of the season and strengthened her points position with only four races remaining in an abbreviated in a season shortened to 11 races by the COVID-19 pandemic.
* * * *
Current Funny Car Driver Standings
(After seven of 11 events)
1. Jack Beckman, Norco, Calif., Infinite Hero Dodge 569
2. Matt Hagan, Christiansburg, Va., Mopar/Pennzoil Dodge 565
3.Tommy Johnson Jr., Avon, Ind., M.D. Anderson Hospital Dodge 512
4. Ron Capps, Carlsbad, Calif., NAPA Dodge 491
5. Tim Wilkerson, Springfield, Ill., Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford 448
6. J.R. Todd, Indianapolis, Ind., DHL Toyota 420
7. Bob Tasca III, Cranston, R.I., Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 434
8. Alexis DeJoria, Austin, Texas, ROKiT/ABK Beer Toyota Camry 296
9. Cruz Pedregon, Brownsburg, Ind., Snap-on Tools Dodge 266
10. Paul Lee, Orange, Calif., Global Electronic Technology Dodge 258
* * * *
2020 Gatornationals Final Rounds:
FUNNY CAR – Ron Capps, 3.937 seconds, 323.12 mph, def. Tim Wilkerson, 3.945, 325.92 mph.
TOP FUEL – Steve Torrence, 3.809 seconds, 322.11 mph, def. Billy Torrence, 3.810, 320.74 mph.
PRO STOCK – Alex Laughlin. 7.068 seconds, 204.72 mph, def. Aaron Stanfield, 14.002, 60.60 mph.
