Alexis De Joria on threshold of joining elite NHRA company at Winternationals

In a sport dominated by numbers, here’s a unique question that speaks of the diversity of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series:

How many females have competed in 100 national events?

The answer is three: Shirley Muldowney, Angelle Sampey and Erica Enders. Even more impressive is that all three have won championships: Muldowney in Top Fuel dragster, Sampey in Pro Stock Motorcycle and Enders in Pro Stock.

Sunday at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona’s Fairplex, Alexis De Joria will join the exclusive club. De Joria, who finished eighth in the 2015 Fuy Car points race behind Del Worsham, will make her 100th start in the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Fuy Car, which runs under the Kalitta Motorsports baer. This will mark her fifth year in the Fuy Car ranks, and she has three national event victories to her credit.

“When I found out that Pomona would be my 100th race, it kind of took me back. I just can’t believe I’ve already competed 99 times in a Fuy Car,” she said during testing last week at Phoenix. “It went by pretty fast.

“I’ve leaed so much over these first 99 races and I think it really does take about 100 races before you feel settled in that race car. When there are things that come up — and there always will be — I feel much more acclimated to my race car, to my team and to my series.

“It’s been a short but long jouey, and I’m really proud to be in this position and say that after this weekend, I’ve been able to compete in 100 NHRA Fuy Car events.”

De Joria’s NHRA career started in 2005, when she competed in Super Gas, quickly moving up to a Super Comp dragster. Eight months after her start, she scored her first major victory at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana before making the jump to Alcohol Fuy Car.

She competed in that class for six years, at one point owning her own team. De Joria won the 2011 Northwest Nationals and joined Kalitta Motorsports shortly thereafter. She made her pro debut at the 2011 Fall Nationals in Eis, Texas, the first of three events that season before her rookie Mello Yello season.

Snake box

A limited number of tickets are available for a once-in-a-lifetime experience: enjoying the season-opening Winteationals with NHRA legend Don “The Snake” Prudhomme in a skybox suite at Auto Club Dragway.

With the purchase of a Snake Skybox pass — which range from $280 to a three-day pass of $840 — fans will get access to an air-conditioned suite that includes a catered meal each day, free non-alcoholic beverages, a closed-circuit television and an exclusive Don Prudhomme goodie bag. Fans who purchase two Snake Skybox passes will receive a VIP parking pass for the weekend.

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Prudhomme will be in the skybox Saturday and Sunday, available for questions and photos. He won 49 national events and four Fuy Car titles, and a Top Fuel championship with Larry Dixon as the driver.

Pit notes

The April 1-3 stop at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has a new sponsor, Denso Products and Services Americas, Inc. The 17th aual Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals will be the first of two NHRA national events at the track.

An agreement has been reached that will allow the Mello Yello Series to retu to Heartland Park Topeka. The track’s new ownership group, Heartland Park Topeka, LLC, led by Chris Payne and Todd Crossley, and NHRA will conduct the 28th NHRA Kansas Nationals May 20-22. The event, which features one of the quickest and fastest drag strips in the world, will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1.

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