DE JORIA GAINS VALUABLE EXPERIENCE
Tue, 2007-02-13 10:22
NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car rookie Alexis De Joria gained valuable experience
from this past weekend's CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals at Auto Club
Raceway in Pomona. The rookie missed the cut in her first start behind the
wheel of the Tequila Patrón/Jack
O'Bannon Racing Camaro, but posted career-best numbers along with collecting
valuable seat time.
De
Joria, 29, of Venice, Calif., ran a career best 5.990 second elapsed time at
230.33 mph in her Randy Anderson tuned machine. Despite missing the 5.788 bump
to make the quick 16, De Joria feels the weekend was a big step in her
development.
"It
was a fun weekend and I learned a lot," said De Joria. "I finally got to stage
next to someone, so now I have that behind me. It really wasn't that big a
deal, I just made it into a bigger deal than it was. I was pretty excited going
into that first run, but I settled down from there. The first run wasn't the
best in the world, but it put us in the show at the time."
"Friday
was a good day," De Joria continued. "My dad [John Paul De Joria, founder of
Tequila Patrón
and Paul Mitchell Hair Care Products] was there for the first time. He got to
see me make my first run and get my first five-second pass, so I was thrilled
about that. It shook real hard the next run and I had to shut it off. We
didn't get to make the field, but I learned a lot as a driver, and I can't wait
to get back behind the wheel."
The
next outing for the Tequila Patrón/Jack
O'Bannon Racing team will be the NHRA Division 7 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series
opener at Firebird Raceway, just outside of Phoenix, Mar. 2-4.
"The
biggest disappointment about not qualifying is that I have to wait until Phoenix
to drive the car again," commented De Joria. "Right now I just want to make as
many runs as I can and learn. I have an excellent team and sponsors supporting
me as I learn the ropes of this class. With their support, I know it's only a
matter of time before we turn the corner."
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