Maynard Family Racing
Alexis DeJoria Looking Ahead to Pomona After Early Exit at Phoenix
CHANDLER, AZ – Riding the excitement from a promising semifinal finish at the season-opening NHRA Gatornationals, Alexis DeJoria went 
into the NHRA Arizona Nationals chasing another big performance in her Bandero Café Funny Car. DeJoria pushed the tree hard in her opening-round match, but she pushed it a touch too hard, leading to a red-light disqualification. Her Mike ‘Zippy’ Neff and Todd Smith-tuned JCM Racing hot rod continued to run in the 3.90-second range, though, keeping DeJoria’s morale high going into the next race in just a few days.
DeJoria lost traction early in her first qualifying attempt on Friday, but she bounced back with a 3.931-second pass at 324.75 mph to wrap up Friday in sixth. When DeJoria reached the semifinals at the Gatornationals, she qualified for the first Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge of the season in Phoenix. In the first round of the Challenge, which counted as the third qualifying session, DeJoria left first against Ron Capps, but her car went silent around 700 feet and finished with a 4.196 E.T. DeJoria and her team sat out the fourth session to prepare for Sunday eliminations out of the No. 6 position.
On race day, two pairs of Funny Cars ahead of DeJoria, Capps experienced a violent explosion and crash. Fortunately, he walked away from the incident without injuries, but the impact to the retaining wall did require repairs that put the rest of the round on a delay. Though DeJoria and her fellow competitors had the chance to get out of their cars during the delay, she did sit in her car for quite some time after it had been baking under the Arizona sun. When it came time to stage and launch, DeJoria stepped on the throttle .046 seconds too soon, giving the win to Cruz Pedregon. Continue reading
Ida Zetterström Shows Progress at NHRA Arizona Nationals
CHANDLER, AZ – NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel fan favorite Ida Zetterström is leaving Arizona with newfound 
confidence after making positive forward progress behind the wheel of her JCM Racing dragster this weekend at the NHRA Arizona Nationals. The sophomore driver made her Firebird Motorsports Park debut this weekend in front of sold-out crowds.
After a lackluster start to qualifying on Friday afternoon, Zetterström clocked an impressive pass of 3.763 seconds at 327.03 mph in the second round of qualifying. Just moments after crossing the finish line, however, the engine let go and lit up the sky with an explosion.
The JCM Racing team leaped into action and worked to get the car performance-ready before an early qualifying session on Saturday morning. Zetterström had a good-looking pass early on in the third qualifying opportunity of the weekend, but hazed the tires a little after half-track, slowing her down to record a pass of 4.140 at 219.79. On Saturday afternoon, the European world champion showed fans what she’s made of when she sped to a fierce run of 3.897 at 322.65 in the heat of the day. Continue reading
Early Exit for Ida Zetterström During Gatornationals Debut
GAINESVILLE, FL – Multi-time European drag racing champ Ida Zetterström will have to wait until the next event on the NHRA Mission 
Foods Drag Racing Series tour to capture her first win light of the year as the Swedish speedster bowed out in the first round of eliminations at the season-opening NHRA Gatornationals on Sunday morning.
Aboard the JCM Racing Top Fuel dragster and making her Gainesville Raceway debut, Zetterström qualified her machine 13th after an abbreviated qualifying show due to persistent rain showers washing out all on-track activity on Saturday. In the weekend’s opening session, Zetterström’s machine shook early, and she ended the round in the fourteenth spot. In the second session, she took her 11,000-horsepower rail straight down the groove with a clean pass of 3.781 seconds at 316.67 mph to move one position on the ladder up to 13th. With racing canceled on Saturday, Zetterström was locked into the No. 13 position to start race day and faced Doug Kalitta in the opening round, setting up a showdown between Zetterström, the 2023 FIA European Top Fuel champ, and Kalitta, who secured his first NHRA Top Fuel title that same year. Unfortunately for Zetterström, the race would go Kalitta’s way. She stood on the throttle and her machine instantly lost traction while her opponent crossed the finish line in 5.575 seconds to score the ugly round win. Continue reading
Semifinal Finish Sends Alexis DeJoria’s Confidence Soaring at NHRA Gatornationals
GAINESVILLE, FL – Going into a new season with a new car, new crew chiefs, and a new team can come with its fair share of challenges, but 
Alexis DeJoria and her Bandero Café Funny Car team performed like they’ve worked together for years at Sunday’s NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. Led by crew chiefs Mike ‘Zippy’ Neff and Todd Smith under the JCM Racing umbrella, DeJoria charged to a semifinal finish at the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season opener. Now ranked third in the Funny Car points standings, DeJoria leaves Gainesville with her confidence at an all-time high.
DeJoria joined JCM Racing over the offseason to form NHRA’s first all-female nitro team with Ida Zetterström as her Top Fuel teammate. The duo made its debut on the perfect weekend, as the team celebrated International Women’s Day on Saturday.
In Friday’s opening qualifying session, DeJoria fired off a 3.932-second pass at 324.75 mph to sit solidly in the field in the No. 5 spot. She launched hard in the second qualifying session, but when she started moving around down track, she wisely lifted off the throttle. After Saturday’s two qualifying sessions were canceled due to inclement weather, DeJoria ended up No. 7 on the final qualifying order. Continue reading
JCM Racing Announces Crew Chief Addition to DeJoria’s Funny Car, Shares Zetterström’s Partial Season Schedule
BROWNSBURG, IN – With the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season kicking off in just over a week, the JCM Racing 
organization is hard at work putting the finishing touches on any remaining pre-season preparations as they get ready to head south to Gainesville, Fla. for the NHRA Gatornationals, March 7 – 9.
Alexis DeJoria will hit the track with her new JCM Racing team for the first time on Tuesday, March 4, where she will participate in the NHRA’s two-day pre-season test session at Gainesville Raceway. Helping to lead the Bandero Café Funny Car team is renowned tuner Todd Smith, who joins Mike ‘Zippy’ Neff in a co-crew chief role. Smith joined JCM Racing in late January after a nine-year tenure with Kalitta Motorsports. Prior to that, Smith held crew chief roles at John Force Racing and Don Schumacher Racing, where he helped guide Jack Beckman to 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.” Continue reading
JCM Racing to Field All-Female Nitro Team in 2025
BROWNSBURG, IN – Women will be leading the charge at JCM Racing as headliners Alexis DeJoria and Ida Zetterström have been 
commissioned to assume the driving responsibilities for Joe and P.J. Maynard’s two-car operation in 2025. Competing as the sport’s first all-female nitro team, DeJoria will pilot the Bandero Premium Tequila Funny Car while Zetterström will be at the controls of the JCM Racing Top Fuel dragster.
DeJoria and Zetterström will make their debut as JCM Racing teammates during National Women’s Month when the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season kicks off with the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., March 7-9. DeJoria, a 12-year Funny Car veteran who previously competed under the DC Motorsports banner, will run the full slate of NHRA Mission Foods Series events. Returning for her sophomore season with JCM, Zetterström is confirmed for a half-season schedule consisting of 10 races with the goal of adding events in hopes of running a full-season campaign.
“This sport has a long history of powerful women who have made their mark not only on NHRA Drag Racing but the motorsports industry as a whole,” said Maynard, JCM Racing team owner. “Women have been at the forefront of the NHRA for many years, and we’re proud to be the first organization to have an all-female roster of nitro-powered drivers. Ida and Alexis are the full package and will represent us well both on and off the track. Continue reading
Ida Zetterström Named Best New Talent by National Dragster, NHRA Fans
INDIANAPOLIS – NHRA newbie Ida Zetterström was named ‘Best New Talent’ by NHRA’s National Dragster publication at the Performance 
Racing Industry (PRI) show in Indianapolis, it was announced on Thursday, December 12.
The 2023 FIA European Top Fuel champion hailing from Sweden launched her NHRA career at the 2024 Brainerd Nationals in Brainerd, Minn. where she captured her first round-win at her debut event on U.S. soil by defeating a multi-time world champion on a holeshot to advance to the semifinals. Zetterström then went on to qualify for each of the remaining seven events on the NHRA Mission Foods Series schedule as she pursued NHRA’s Rookie of the Year award. Despite only running a campaign of eight races out of the 20-event season, Zetterström’s dedication, steadfast work ethic, and passion for the sport were evident and earned the attention of NHRA’s fanbase who selected Zetterström for the Best New Talent award.
“We were really gunning hard for NHRA’s Rookie of the Year honors, and although we were disappointed not to have won that award, it wasn’t quite a huge shock to us as we only competed in eight races while the majority of the contenders raced a full season, so we started with the deck stacked against us,” explained Zetterström, driver of the JCM Racing VP Racing Fuels/Edelbrock/COMP Cams/Dodge Top Fuel dragster. “So, to win this title, Best New Talent, it is especially gratifying because this one was strictly voted on by the fans, and at the end of the day, the fans are what drives this sport. They’re the reason we’re all out here, racing for trophies and doing what we love.”
Zetterström out-earned fellow NHRA Rookie of the Year contenders Richard Gadson, Jasmine Salinas, 2024 Road to the Future award winner Tony Stewart, and Daniel Wilkerson in the voting process. Continue reading
Career-Best Numbers Highlight Ida Zetterström’s Rookie Season Finale at NHRA Finals
POMONA, CA – Racing in the eighth and final event of her rookie season, 2023 FIA European Top Fuel champion Ida Zetterström notched 
two new career highlights at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals. Before falling in the first round of eliminations on Sunday, Zetterström recorded a career-best E.T. and speed to qualify in the ultra-competitive Top Fuel field at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
Zetterström’s personal-best E.T. came in the first qualifying session on Friday as she recorded a 3.738-second pass at 323.89 mph. That run put the JCM/VP Racing Fuels/Edelbrock/COMP Cams/Dodge dragster third out of the nine cars that made an attempt before rain put an end to Friday qualifying. She then broke into the 330-mph range with a solid 3.756 E.T. at 334.32 mph in the second session, marking her career-best speed. Zetterström stayed consistent in the final session, laying down a 3.755 at 325.37 mph to end up No. 14 on the final qualifying sheet.
For the second consecutive event, Zetterström lined up against 2023 world champion Doug Kalitta in the first round of eliminations, marking the ninth time in 11 rounds of competition that Zetterström faced a world champion. Zetterström and Kalitta were the second pair of drivers set to run before a small plane crashed in the pit area, leading NHRA officials to pause racing activity for almost two hours. Once racing resumed, Zetterström left just a tick behind Kalitta and went into tire smoke early in the run, coasting across the finish line. Continue reading
Tony Schumacher Finishes in Top 10 for 23rd Season
POMONA, CA – An abbreviated qualifying outing at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals left Tony Schumacher, along with most of the Top 
Fuel field, with only two opportunities to score a bid into the final elimination day of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. On Saturday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, Schumacher and his Leatherwood Distillery Top Fuel team secured the No. 8 starting position. They were ready to make a run for their third win of the year on Sunday but were eliminated early when Clay Millican clocked the quickest pass of round one in the opposite lane to advance.
Schumacher’s qualifying outing at the season closer began when he rolled into the waterbox on Friday afternoon, ready to fire for the first qualifying session, and the skies opened up and started pouring rain. After on-and-off rain showers throughout the afternoon, the remainder of racing was canceled for the day. With only two shots to make it into the 16-car field, crew chief Mike ‘Zippy’ Neff tuned the Leatherwood machine to a stout 3.694 E.T. at 331.77-second pass during Saturday’s first session, placing the eight-time Top Fuel world champ in the provisional No. 4 position. They delivered another solid run of 3.725 seconds for the second and final session, with Schumacher settling into the No. 8 spot on the ladder to start race day. Continue reading
Zetterström Eager for Strong Finish in Pomona Following Early Exit in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS – Rookie of the Year contender Ida Zetterström battled through a loaded 19-car field at the Nevada Nationals to secure a spot on 
the Top Fuel eliminations ladder at the second-to-last race of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. She was ready to add more win lights to her NHRA tally but a first-round loss to the reigning category champ ended her chance at making a run for the Las Vegas hardware.
Zetterström opened the weekend with two tire-smoking attempts on Friday, placing her on the outside looking in of the 16-car field. When the 2023 FIA European Top Fuel champion returned to the starting line for the third qualifying session on Saturday, she took her JCM/VP Racing Fuels/Edelbrock/COMP Cams/Dodge Top Fuel dragster straight down the groove in 3.786 seconds at 324.12 mph to place her in the provisional No. 13 position. She recorded another good pass in the fourth and final qualifying round, settling into 14th to start race day.
Against Kalitta, Zetterström moved first but was up in smoke shortly after leaving the starting line. She pedaled but her machine lost traction once again while Kalitta recorded a 3.861 E.T. in the opposite lane to advance. It was the first time the two drag racing champions had faced each other in competition and continued the trend of Zetterström squaring off against current or former Top Fuel world champions on race day. Since making her NHRA debut at the Brainerd, Minnesota event in August, all but one of Zetterström’s race day match-ups have been against a series champion. Continue reading
