With the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season starting in just over a week, JCM Racing is finalizing preparations to head to Gainesville, Florida, for the NHRA Gatornationals, scheduled for March 7-9.
Alexis DeJoria will debut her new JCM Racing team during a two-day pre-season test session at Gainesville Raceway on March 4. Leading the Bandero Café Funny Car team is tuner Todd Smith, who joins Mike “Zippy” Neff in a co-crew chief role.
Smith, who joined JCM Racing in late January, spent nine years with Kalitta Motorsports and previously held crew chief positions at John Force Racing and Don Schumacher Racing, where he helped Jack Beckman secure the 2012 Funny Car championship.
“This is pretty much a brand-new operation we’ve been assembling for Alexis at JCM, and it’s been a fun challenge to build this thing from essentially the ground up with Zippy and get everything ready in time for Gainesville,” Smith said. “Both Alexis and I are new to JCM and Zippy is back tuning a Funny Car after a few years on a dragster team, so this kind of feels like a new beginning for all of us. We’re ready to come out of the gate swinging, and plan to utilize every minute of those two testing days making as many runs as possible and getting acclimated as a team.”
Meanwhile, driver Zetterström and her Jon Schaffer-led JCM Racing Top Fuel team recently tested in Gainesville. She will make her competition debut at the Gatornationals, starting a focused 10-race schedule that includes:
- NHRA Gatornationals, Gainesville, Fla.
- NHRA Arizona Nationals, Phoenix
- NHRA Winternationals, Pomona, Calif.
- NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Charlotte, N.C.
- NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol, Tenn.
- NHRA Sonoma Nationals, Sonoma, Calif.
- NHRA U.S. Nationals, Indianapolis
- Reading NHRA Nationals, Reading, Pa.
- Texas NHRA FallNationals, Dallas
- NHRA Finals, Pomona, Calif.
Zetterström is pleased to expand her schedule from last season’s eight races to ten but is also eager to compete for a championship.
“It all comes down to funding,” Zetterström said. “The more funding we have, the more races we can run. We’re working hard to secure the right partners to help us complete the full season and chase championships. Every race counts and we’re ready to make this season one to remember.”
