Alexis DeJoria has been waiting for a chance to prove she’s still a threat in the Funny Car class and on Sunday at the NHRA Arizona Nationals, she finally got her moment.
After starting her weekend at Arizona’s Firebird Motorsports Park by qualifying 15th on Saturday, DeJoria made a complete 180 the next day and raced her Toyota GR Supra into the finals.
Though she was defeated by Austin Prock, the final-round appearance was more than heartening after DeJoria failed to qualify for the Winternationals two weeks earlier.
“This is a complete ‘rags to riches’ event for us. We had a hard time qualifying, had a hard time getting it down the race track. To tell you that I thought we were going to make it to the finals today, was not very likely,” DeJoria said.
It was also her first final in 13 races.
The DC Motorsports driver entered the season with a fury, citing “unfinished business” on the drag strip as a key motivator for her 13th year as a professional Funny Car driver. To take it down to the wire at the Arizona Nationals and battle against Prock for the Wally was precisely the dose of hope DeJoria needed to fuel her efforts.
“It’s been really frustrating for all of us. We’re better than what we’ve shown the last few races and this is a testament to how good we really are. We’ve got our car back,” DeJoria said.
She ranks eighth in points heading to the Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip At Las Vegas Motor Speedway on April 12-14.
Prock Joins Exclusive Top Fuel/Funny Car Winner’s Circle
It was a special weekend for John Force Racing, with 16-time Funny Car champion John Force earning his 156th career win on Saturday and class rookie Austin Prock collecting his first NHRA Funny Car victory on Sunday.
For the first time in nearly two years, Force returned to his former glory during the rain-postponed eliminations for the Winternationals, defeating defending champion Matt Hagan for the Wally.
“I told myself, ‘How bad do you want to win?’ I was mad, mad at myself. I started saying, “You just need to get out of the seat, you’re just too old for this stuff. Or you get out there and fight the fight. And I did, things went right and I got the win,” Force said.
Meanwhile, in only his fourth Funny Car start, Prock became the 19th driver in NHRA history to win national events in both Top Fuel and Funny Car.
“To get my first Funny Car win and enter a league of its own with the Don Prudhommes, the Shawn Langdons, the J.R. Todds, the Kenny Bernsteins, all these people that are legends and future Hall of Famers, it’s pretty cool to be a part of that small group,” Prock said.
Anderson Adds To Hendrick’s Special Weekend
Over in the NASCAR world, Sunday was a very special day for Hendrick Motorsports as team drivers William Byron, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott finished 1-2-3 during the Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
Why is that important?
The race marked the 40th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports’ first win in the Cup Series, which was earned by Geoff Bodine in 1984.
How does that relate to drag racing?
Well, five-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson had one eye locked on Martinsville while fighting his own battle behind the wheel of his HendrickCars.com entry.
“Before we came up here for the semifinals, we watched the end of that (Cup Series) race,” Anderson said. “It was a great motivator. I just told myself, ‘I cannot let this slip out of my hands today. I have got to find a way to dig down, get the job done or I’m gonna be the weak link in the chain.’”
With the good energy floating his way from Virginia, Anderson captured his 104th national event win over Dallas Glenn on Sunday evening.
Caruso Out For ‘Minimum Six Weeks’
Heading into the Arizona Nationals, it seemed as if it was Camrie Caruso’s time to rise. After all, she was the defending winner of the Pro Stock portion of the event, so why not believe she could do it again?
In a wild turn of events, Caruso’s hopes were dashed during the third qualifying session on Saturday, when her AquaProp-sponsored car hit both guard walls after the finish line. The first impact made was clocked at more than 140 mph.
Caruso sustained a broken fibula in her left leg and potential sprained ankle in the crash.
Recovery is expected to take a minimum of six weeks.