Fuel Flopper Rookie Battle Begins at NHRA Winternationals
Courtney Force (left) and Alexis DeJoria (Photo courtesy NHRA/National Dragster)
The cockpit of a 7,000-horsepower nitro burning Funny Car isn’t exactly where you’d expect to find a young woman, but that’s exactly where you’ll see rookies Courtney Force and Alexis DeJoria, two of the most intriguing rookie drivers in NHRA history, at the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season-opener, the 52nd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries, Feb. 9-12 at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Morgan Lucas (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Jason Line (Pro Stock) are the defending winners of the first of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series for 2012. The race will be televised by ESPN2 and ESPN2HD.
Force, the youngest daughter of Funny Car legend and 15-time NHRA world champ John Force, will follow in her father’s and sister Ashley Force Hood’s tire tracks when she takes her first laps down the track in NHRA competition in her brand new Traxxas Ford Mustang during the season-opening weekend. The popular young driver, who is already well known by fans and acts like a seasoned veteran with the media, tested her Mustang throughout last season and during the offseason to prepare for her new job.
“I’m much more comfortable with it [Traxxas Ford Mustang] now,” the 23-year-old Force said. “Just having seat time has taught me a lot. We have a new chassis; a new car, a whole new team on board, as well as (crew chiefs) Ron Douglas and Scott Wible tuning my car. It took a couple days but that’s what test and tune is all about. It definitely went well. I think by the end of testing we definitely got our stuff together and I think we got our car figured out and ready for Pomona. I’m very excited.”
DeJoria, who competed in the league minimum four races at the end of last season to maintain her rookie eligibility, will join Force on the track behind the wheel of her Tequila Patron Toyota Camry under the watchful eye of veteran Funny Car pilot and rookie crew chief, Del Worsham.
Like Force, DeJoria, daughter of famed entrepreneur John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of Paul Mitchell Hair Care Systems and Tequila Patron, doesn’t appear to be your typical racecar driver. The 34-year-old single mother and self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie has gained tons of experience during her sportsman days in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, and is well-prepared for her first full-season in the NHRA Full Throttle Series.
“I’m very excited to be racing against these teams and drivers that I’ve been watching on TV for so long,” DeJoria said. “Our class is so competitive and I love that. It’s going to be fun to go up against not only Courtney, but a couple of other Funny Car rookies like Blake Alexander and Todd Lesenko as well. I know everyone’s going to have a field day with the whole ‘me vs. Courtney’ thing, but I welcome it. I’m a competitive person by nature and I’ve been working and preparing for this season for a very long time. I’m definitely ready for it.”
Both DeJoria and Force will enter the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals with the same goal, to qualify for the first race of the season as a first step in a larger goal of trying to earn the coveted Auto Club Road to the Future Award, NHRA’s prize for the season’s top performing rookie driver. The Auto Club Road to the Future Award has been presented to some of the sport’s most popular stars over the years. These two aren’t the only candidates, but they will certainly be two of the most closely watched rookies.
While the rookies look to make an impact in the sport, reigning Funny Car world champ Matt Hagan will try to defend his first series title as he takes the controls of his Aaron’s / Mopar Dodge Charger R/T for the 2012 season. His teammates, Ron Capps and Jack Beckman, will be among many drivers in the division working to earn a first Funny Car world championship. Courtney’s teammates, John Force, Robert Hight and Mike Neff, also will look to make their own impression starting at the season opener as well as Jeff Arend, Cruz Pedregon, Tony Pedregon, Bobe Bode, Tim Wilkerson, and Bob Tasca.
