Team Patron makes Semi-Finals in E-Town

Team Patron makes Semi-Finals in E-Town

Englishtown, NJ (June 13, 2010) – Alexis De Joria and the Patron Top Alcohol Funny Car Team came into this weekend’s NHRA SuperNationals on a mission to put last year’s car destroying trip into the sand trap behind them and overcome their Englishtown jinx.

The weekend began with a tragic accident when follow alcohol funny car driver Neal Parker went into the sand trap, through the safety catch nets and coming to rest on top of the water containment barrels. Racing can really make you question why and after doing the same thing last year, driver Alexis De Joria was at odds with herself on how to remove the mental challenges and face the infamous Englishtown track. “We came to Englishtown this year to overcome what happened last year” De Joria said. “I was strapped in and two pair of cars behind Neal and didn’t know the outcome, but it brought on more soul-searching”. “I didn’t know Neal Parker, but we are a close-knit family out here and to lose a fellow competitor is extremely disheartening. Our thoughts and prayers immediately turned to his family and all those that helped him achieve his dreams of racing at this level”.

Once the opportunity to run again came, Alexis and the Patron team spared no time in putting their concerns behind them and running a 5.62 to put them in the # 2 qualifying position. After one additional qualifying attempt, Alexis completed qualifying # 3 and beginning to believe all of their bad luck was behind them. During the first round of eliminations, Alexis defeated Melinda Green-King with a 5.61 to a 5.88 in a history making all female first round. Alexis then faced Eric Lourie in round two with a 5.64 to a 5.83 putting her into the semi-final round against Mickey Ferro. The Patron team was determined to make the final round, however a malfunctioning electronic control box preventing them from starting the car and ended their weekend in disappointment. “We were rushed between rounds due to a weather threat and didn’t have time to start the car prior to going up for our run said De Joria, we believe we could have defeated Mickey and moved into the finals, but it wasn’t our day”. “Overall our weekend was a roller-coaster, but we will put our Englishtown jinx behind us and move forward to our next event in Norwalk, OH knowing we can compete for a win”.

ESPN2 TV Schedule

6/19 – Eliminations: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (ET)