This weekend’s 70th edition of the U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park couldn’t have come at a better time for Alexis DeJoria and DC Motorsports.
It’s admittedly been a struggle for the team this year, as DeJoria is 11th in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car standings, 16 points out of the Countdown to the Championship with one regular season race remaining.
The team’s lone final round appearance far came at the Arizona Nationals in April. Since then, “$2 gremlins” have plagued the team’s race car week after week.
“You get one chance at this every time you go up there, you got to be perfect,” DeJoria told SPEED SPORT. “If something’s going on in the car, like, we have these stupid little gremlin things that happen… we always call it like a $2 part can ruin your day, and it sure can and it’s frustrating.
“It’s not Del’s (Worsham, crew chief) fault and it’s not my fault and it’s not these guys’ fault. It’s just what’s been happening. So we’re going through everything. We’re testing, we’re making sure that our car is at its best.”
Without much going right for the team due to faulty clutch discs they received in the latter part of last season, team morale has been down at times.
That’s when DeJoria’s leadership steps in.
“I kind of get in this Mom mode, I check in,” DeJoria began. “I’m very observant and I can see the shift in my guys’ faces. I can see when they’re having little extra stress on their face. I can see it. I mean, this is a family. We are a family away from home.
“This is our race family. So I’m checking in with everybody as it comes and like, ‘Hey, man, you alright?’ ‘Yeah, you know, it’s just frustrating.’ And he’s like, ‘It’s so hard right now,’ he goes, ‘I don’t understand.’
“We all want it so bad for all of us. I don’t point fingers at anybody,” DeJoria continued. “If there’s any finger being pointed, I’m gonna point it at myself when I make a mistake, because I’ll take that and I take it to heart, because it hurts.”
What may be the cure to a frustrating season is a trip back to glory in the biggest drag race in the world — the U.S. Nationals.
Ten years prior, during the event’s 60th running, DeJoria stunned her childhood hero and NHRA’s winningest driver, 16-time Funny Car champion John Force, in the finals to secure a win at the Big Go.
For DeJoria, it’s a moment she looks back on to help power through the storm of a difficult season.
“That is the race that I personally will sometimes pull up on my screen just to remind myself, ‘Hey, we’re badass. We could do this. We’ve done it. Don’t forget that. Don’t forget that person right there that just did that,’” DeJoria said.
“On the biggest stage against the biggest and baddest Funny Car driver in the history of the sport at the U.S. Nationals. That was a huge day. When you’re in the zone, you’re in the zone.
“That feeling is pretty special.”
While she’s won races since the U.S. Nationals, DeJoria was adamant that her victory at Indy was her “favorite day.”
“The 70th anniversary of the U.S. Nationals, I can’t believe it’s been 10 years already since we won,” DeJoria beamed. “Wow, that was incredible. What a day. Racing for Kalitta Motorsports, having all the teams up there doing the Kalitta mosh pit like they do.
“That will be a race for the ages, that’s my favorite day in my career so far. That is my favorite day.”
DeJoria looks to conclude NHRA’s regular season on a high note with a win and securing a spot in the 10-driver postseason.