DeJoria Locks-In Seventh Seed to Start NHRA Countdown

INDIANAPOLIS – When the 2022 NHRA Camping World Series Countdown to the Championship kicks off in Reading, Penn. in less than two weeks, Alexis DeJoria and the DC Motorsports team will begin their playoff campaign as the No. 7 seed.

DeJoria secured the seventh-place ranking during the NHRA U.S. Nationals, an event which she won in 2014. The six-time winner qualified the Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car tenth to begin race day at Indianapolis Raceway Park. On Monday morning, DeJoria lined up opposite Matt Hagan, who had selected DeJoria to be his round-one competitor during Sunday’s Pep Boys All-Star Call Out event earlier in the weekend. Hagan defeated DeJoria in the first round of the All-Star event the day before, and she was looking to even the score during Monday’s final elimination rounds, but a red light start cost DeJoria her chances at a second U.S. Nationals Wally trophy.

“Well, I never lost twice in the same race weekend,” said DeJoria, a six-time Funny Car event champ. “First-round loss in the Pep Boys Call Out yesterday, and then a first-round loss to Matt Hagan again today on race day. It’s disappointing, obviously. We have a really good car, and I’ve just gotten out of sync. Red lights have plagued me this year, so I’m going to start working with Frank Hawley, who is going to help me get back on track.

“We’re seventh in the standings leaving here, and I’m really looking forward to using the start of the Countdown as a hard reset for myself. Points are reset, and from now on, this is the point of the season that really counts, so I’m looking forward to starting the playoffs with a clean slate.”

The Countdown to the Championship begins with the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, Sept. 16 – 18.

Qualified: No. 10 (3.907 E.T. at 329.02 MPH)

Elimination Round Results:
E1: Foul (red light) defeated by Matt Hagan 3.881 E.T. at 334.07 MPH