After qualifying in the No. 10 spot on the competitive Funny Car ladder, Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrόn Toyota Camry Funny Car team was positioned to square off against Johnny Gray in round one of eliminations today at the 53rd Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries in Pomona, Calif.
Team Patrόn was feeling good going into their first matchup of the season this morning, but unfortunately the black and green machine smoked the tires at half-track, allowing Gray to capture the round win.
“A lot of guys were struggling out there today, but we just didn’t do a good enough job,” said crew chief Tommy DeLago. According to the veteran tuner, “We’re still learning the combination that we have, and making some tweaks here and there, but overall, it was good to get in the show at this first event. It was a tough weekend with one of our crew guys having to go to the hospital for a health scare, but it’s just stuff we have to get through. Now it’s on to the next race, and we have a good plan in place to make sure we don’t repeat today’s mistake.”
Says DeJoria, a Los Angeles native, “That run shook pretty hard- I gave it a good pedal job, but he [Gray] was way ahead, so it was pointless. Going into Phoenix, we have nothing to be ashamed about. We had some issues this weekend, but we figured out what they were and we’re moving forward and progressing as a team.”
Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrόn Toyota Camry Funny Car team compete next at the 29th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals in Phoenix, Arizona. Prior to the weekend, DeJoria will be making an appearance at Loco Patrόn Mexican Grill in Tempe, Arizona on Thursday, February 21st, 5PM-6:30PM. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit www.alexisdejoriaracing.com
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