ALEXIS DeJORIA – MOTORSPORT AMERICA PHOTO
Eliminations Recap from the NHRA Gatornationals
AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
Event 1 of 20
Gainesville Raceway
Gainesville, Fla.
March 6-8, 2026
Alexis DeJoria Opens JFR Era with NHRA Gatornationals Final-Round
Appearance
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 8, 2026) – Alexis DeJoria kicked off a new
chapter with John Force Racing in impressive fashion, racing to the
final round at the 57th annual NHRA Gatornationals Sunday afternoon to
open the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season at
Gainesville Raceway. Driving the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car in
her first race with the legendary team, DeJoria charged through
eliminations to reach her 17th career final round, ultimately leaving
Florida ranked No. 2 in the Funny Car points standings and firmly
establishing herself as an early-season contender.
DeJoria went into the Gatornationals with serious momentum following a
promising test session at Gainesville that saw her record an unofficial
career-best speed of 337.24 mph. She faced traction issues in Friday’s
two qualifying sessions, but she bounced back on Saturday with a 4.060
E.T. at 324.83 mph, the third-quickest pass of the third qualifying
session, to move up to the No. 10 spot and earn one bonus point. Tuned
by former Funny Car drivers Mike Neff and Jonnie Lindberg, DeJoria
followed that up with a 4.093 E.T. at 312.64 mph in the final qualifying
session, ultimately locking in the No. 11 spot on the Sunday
eliminations ladder.
Racing on International Women’s Day, the first round of eliminations
was a wild one for DeJoria and opponent Cruz Pedregon, who got out of
the groove and struck one of the timing blocks, disqualifying his run.
DeJoria pedaled her way to a 4.545 E.T. at just under 300 mph. She then
lined up against 2025 NHRA Rookie of the Year Spencer Hyde in the
quarterfinals, where DeJoria left the starting line a tick ahead of Hyde
and charged to a 4.040-second pass at 324.59 mph to win a side-by-side
race over Hyde and his 4.066 E.T. With that round win, DeJoria locked in
a spot in the first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge of the season at the
upcoming NHRA Arizona Nationals.
The unpredictability of Funny Car continued in the semifinals with past
world champion J.R. Todd going red against DeJoria, handing her the win
light. DeJoria was ready for a race, though, as she matched her pass
from the last round with a 4.040 E.T. at 325.45 mph to advance. In the
final, DeJoria and Chad Green charged off the starting line together
before DeJoria lost traction and her opponent was able to drive away
with the win.
“I’m so proud of this team. I’m so proud of myself,” DeJoria said.
“It’s been almost two years since I’ve been to a final. I’m locked and
loaded right now. I have the confidence back. Everything has come
together full circle. I’m so proud to be racing under the John Force
Racing banner. Everybody works together really well. It’s like a big
family. Everyone is a big team here and the camaraderie is unmatched. I
absolutely adore John Force. He came up to me just ahead of the finals
and he said ‘this one’s from the heart,’ and he put his fist to
his chest, and it took everything in me to keep it together. I’ve won
races before, I’ve been to finals before, but it’s been a really
long time so this was a big one. I had my dad out here today and that
was really special. I’m beyond excited. Even though we didn’t get the
hardware, it’s OK because this is the first of many, and we are far from
over.”
DeJoria and her John Force Racing Bandero Café Funny Car team will next
head to the NHRA Arizona Nationals, March 20–22, at Firebird
Motorsports Park in Chandler, Ariz. The Phoenix-area facility holds
special significance for DeJoria, as it was the site of her first career
NHRA victory in 2014 and where she captured the inaugural Mission
#2Fast2Tasty Challenge in 2023.
Qualified: No. 11 (4.060 E.T. at 324.83 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 4.545 E.T. at 298.40 MPH defeated Cruz Pedregon (No Time, hit a
timing block)
E2: 4.040 E.T. at 324.59 MPH defeated Spencer Hyde 4.066 E.T. at 314.39
MPH
E3: 4.040 E.T. at 325.45 MPH defeated J.R. Todd (Foul, red light)
E4: 5.003 E.T. at 167.59 MPH defeated by Chad Green 3.959 E.T. at 329.91
MPH
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car Point Standings
(Unofficial):
1
Chad Green
115
2
Alexis DeJoria
93
3
J.R. Todd
82
4
Jordan Vandergriff
71
5
Matt Hagan
59
6
Dan Wilkerson
56
7
Spencer Hyde
51
7
John Smith
51
9
Ron Capps
41
10
Paul Lee
37