Alexis De Joria Houston preview

De Joria looking to continue steady progress in Houston

BAYTOWN, Texas - When Alexis De Joria, daughter of Paul Mitchell Hair Care Products and Patrón Spirits Company founder John Paul De Joria, started her journey to pursue her dream of becoming a Nitro Funny Car driver, people told her it wasn't going to be easy, and there was a lot to learn. After collecting a national event win in her first year of competition behind a 'relatively' mild mannered Super Comp Dragster (8.90 second elapsed times), De Joria felt she was ready for the next step in her dream, Top Alcohol Funny Car, just one class below Nitro Funny Car. De Joria will continue to learn the ropes behind the wheel of the Tequila Patrón/Jack O'Bannon Racing Dodge Charger at this weekend's O'Reilly Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park.

De Joria, 30, of Venice, Calif., was hooked on Funny Car racing the first time she saw a pair of Nitro Funny Cars rocket down Pomona Raceway. The loud, fire-breathing attitude of the Funny Cars, akin to a Heavy Metal rocker, set the wheels in motion to pursuing her dream. Now, driving 3000+ horsepower, 10,000+ rpm Top Alcohol Funny Cars, she's finding out first hand why most Funny Car highlight reels bring hard rock to mind rather than light jazz.

"It's definitely been a learning experience," said De Joria. "These cars are pretty intense. We came a long way last year. Learning how to drive one of these cars has been a struggle at times. Jack O'Bannon has given me a great car to drive and a great team to learn from. When I make a mistake, I can't wait to get back in the car and get another chance to get it right."

"That's what last year was all about," De Joria continued. "I still have a ton to learn. I don't think you can ever stop learning in racing and life in general."

Veteran Crew Chief Bob DeVour has the task of teaching De Joria the ropes of driving a Top Alcohol Funny Car, regarded by many as one of the toughest cars to drive in all of drag racing. Since taking over in the offseason, DeVour has reconfigured the cockpit to better suit De Joria, and has improved her vision in the car by minimizing obstructions to her view. He has also simplified some of the tasks she's required to do. Rather than conquering the world right away, DeVour has adopted more of a crawl-walk-run mentality. Judging from her progress in pre-season testing and the recent Tucson, Ariz., Division 7 event, she's a lot closer to running than crawling.

"The changes Bob has made have had a huge effect on my driving," stated De Joria. "He's changed the seat, the clutch pedal, the doghouse around the injector, all to make my job easier and more comfortable. He's also simplified my routine. All of this has helped me focus on improving the fine points of my driving. Except for Pomona, most of our runs this year have been to the finish line, which really helps me to learn each pass. Now that I'm able to focus on things like my shift points and cutting a light, hopefully we're closer to making that next step of making good runs down the track every time."

The fact that Houston Raceway Park has a history of producing record-breaking performances has De Joria excited about the possibilities of reaching new milestones.

"I've never raced at Houston," cited De Joria. "I've heard it's a pretty good track. I know Bob and the guys will give me a good, fast car. We just have to put it all together. I'm really hoping to get back into the 5.70's. Bob says the car is set up to go fast and we should have some good weather to do that in Houston. I'm really pumped."

Qualifying begins on Friday for the alcohol cars with two sessions, followed by one final session on Saturday. Eliminations begin with first round Saturday afternoon and final eliminations will conclude the event on Sunday.

About The Patrón Spirits Company:
Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, the company's eight distinctive products now share the Patrón label; Gran Patrón Platinum, Patrón Añejo, Patrón Reposado, Patrón Silver, Patrón XO Café, Patrón Citrónge, Pyrat Cask 23, Pyrat XO Reserve. Each brand is the finest in their category. The newest, Gran Patrón Platinum, is an extraordinary triple distilled pure tequila. sPatrón Tequila is today, the world’s number one ultra premium tequila. In 2004 & 2005, Patrón Tequila was recognized with the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences Five Star Diamond Award. Patrón is the first spirits brand ever to receive this prestigious honor. Patrón Tequila continues to set new sales records every year.

To find out more about the Jack O'Bannon Racing Team, visit their website at www.JackOBannonRacing.com

To find out more about Jack O'Bannon Racing's quality partners, visit these websites:

www.PatronSpirits.com - Find out more about the world's number one tequila - Tequila Patrón.

www.HoosierRacingTire.com - "Tires Designed for Champions"

www.LE-Inc.com - Lubrication Engineers - "Leaders in Lubrication"

Contact: Will Hanna/ Pro Race Communications
Email: Will.Hanna@InsideTopAlcohol.com