| Team Patrün Faces Ron Capps in First Round of Eliminations Tomorrow |
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| For Immediate Release: Alexis DeJoria Racing Team Patrün Faces Ron Capps in First Round of Eliminations Tomorrow Joliet, IL (June 30, 2012)— Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrün Toyota Camry Funny Car team are sitting right in the middle of the pack in the number eight qualifying spot at the conclusion of qualifying at the 15th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, IL. They face number nine qualifier Ron Capps. DeJoria, a top contender for the prestigious Rookie of the Year award, squared off against Capps in her first visit to the Finals just two weeks prior at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, TN. Although she took the runner-up spot in Bristol, she has a slight advantage going into tomorrow’s first round, as she has lane choice over Capps. When asked about being matched up against the guy that stole the win out from under her at the last race, DeJoria said “I always like racing Ron Capps. He’s a great driver with a very strong car and team. Plus, he’s a fun guy to line up against because he’s one of my buddies. Hopefully we can get him back tomorrow for final round in Bristol!” It was a hot road to the elimination show this weekend. Despite having all four qualifying runs take place in the evening, track temperatures still reached well over 110-degrees at times, and it was no question that conditions were tricky for everybody. In the first round of qualifying on Friday, Team Patrün pulled up to the starting line just after 5PM. After a rain shower earlier that day, the track surface had cooled to around 115-degrees, and Team Patrün was able to pull off a decent 4.200-sec at 292.71-mph run, putting them in the eight spot. By the time the black-and-green team went up for their second run of the day, they had dropped to the number twelve qualifying spot. With an excellent 4.076-sec at 310.63-mph pass, Team Patrün was able to zip back up to the fourth spot at the end of their run, and eventually finished the round sitting very comfortably in sixth. During the third round, DeJoria was paired up next to her Kalitta Motorsports teammate and number five qualifier Jeff Arend. The two Toyota Camrys pulled up to the line and both cars looked to have almost identical runs; unfortunately, both floppers shake and spin before the 660-foot mark. According to Jim Oberhofer, VP of Kalitta Motorsports, “Del [Worsham, the team’s ESPY-nominated crew chief] had put new tires on the Camry. Sometimes new tires don’t grip as good; they went too fast, too early and pulled the tires.” In sticking with the Team Kalitta strategy of having both Funny Cars tuned identically, Arend also had new tires put on his car earlier that day, causing the same troubles. With her 5.371-sec at 137.34-mph run, DeJoria wasn’t able to move up the ladder and remained in sixth. In the fourth and final round, it was DeJoria and Arend side-by-side yet again, and just like the third round, the cars ran down the track and then stumbled at the exact same spot, resulting in a 4.846-sec at 163.45-mph pass. In case there were any doubters, it was clear to anyone watching that these two cars were tuned exactly the same. When asked what happened in this round, Oberhofer said “Based on what we saw last night, we knew it wouldn’t take much for the two Toyota Camrys to break into the second, third, or fourth spots. Unfortunately, we were a little too aggressive and both cars pulled the tires at the same spot.” “At the end of the day, none of this matters going into tomorrow’s eliminations, because the conditions will be so different than what we’ve experienced thus far this weekend. Comparing evening runs to daytime runs is like comparing apples to oranges.” Said DeJoria, “We’re really happy with our 4.07 [sec pass] in the second round of qualifying. It’s been somewhat tricky with the hot conditions, but again, the car is getting down there and I’m learning from every run. Tomorrow’s a brand new day. I know that our team feels really confident and we’re looking to go rounds again tomorrow, and as we know from last race, anything can happen!” Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrün Toyota Camry Funny Car team are currently ranked 13th and are looking to add some more points tomorrow at the 15th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, IL. Eliminations begin at 11AM. TV Schedule Eliminations About Alexis DeJoria Alexis had a successful career in the Top Alcohol Funny Car category where she co-owned and operated her team, and was one of the few females ever to do so. She left the TAFC category holding the title of Top Female Top Alcohol Funny Car Racer and 2011 NHRA Northwest Nationals TAFC event champion. She is the 2nd woman ever to win a TAFC race. She is currently the female world record holder for the fastest and quickest TAFC speeds. Alexis is also well-known for her infamous 2009 Englishtown, NJ crash. Alexis, who had all the opportunity in the world to pursue any type of career, felt strongly about following her passion, and her need for adrenaline drove her to pursue the unlikely profession of auto-racing. The determination to ‘blaze her own trail’ continues to drive her and push her to higher levels in male dominated sport of drag racing. About Kalitta Motorsports |