Alexis De Joria and the Patron Tequila sponsored Top Alcohol Funny Car Team collected their first
runner-up finish of the season today at the 24th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Fall Nationals
Presented by Super Start Batteries.
After qualifying in the sixth position with a 5.678 E.T. @ 253.80 mph, De Joria and the Patron team
faced off against # 11 qualifier; Jason McKnight in the first round on Saturday afternoon. De
Joria cruised to victory with a 5.673 E.T. @ 253.52 mph. The second round on Sunday afternoon, De
Joria defeated # 3 qualifier; Lee Callaway with a 5.693 E.T.@ 253.52 to move forward to her third
semi-final appearance of the season. The semi-finals brought # 2 qualifier; Steve Harker and with a
holeshot; De Joria defeated Harker with a 5.663 E.T. at 254.47 to a quicker, but losing 5.636. In
her first final round appearance in Top Alcohol Funny Car, De Joria had secured lane choice over
first time finalist and # 5 qualifier; John Lombardo Jr. De Joria left the starting line with an
amazing .021 reaction time; however the Patron Tequila sponsored Mustang teams performance slowed
with a tire-spinning 5.86 E.T at 242 mph to Lombardo Jr's winning 5.69 E.T.
"Overall it was a great weekend for our Patron Tequila team De Joria said, we wanted to win,
however we made it to our first ever final in top alcohol funny car and ran consistently throughout
the weekend until the final when we spun the tires. Our goals coming into the race were to regain
the performance level we had earlier this season and start moving up in points in an effort to
finish in the top 10. We have a lot of good momentum right now and plan on hitting Las Vegas and
Pomona to finish the season off strong".
National Points Position
Prior to event 20
After event 16
ESPN2 TV Schedule
10/4 - Eliminations: 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. (ET)
