JCM Racing Pre-Race Report: Brainerd

Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals

Event 13 of 20

Brainerd International Raceway

Brainerd, Minn.

Aug. 15 – 17, 2025

Noteworthy:

Team owner Joe Maynard celebrates a birthday on Friday, Aug. 15

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IDA ZETTERSTRÖM

Driver of the JCM Racing Top Fuel Dragster

2024 NHRA Brainerd Nationals Event Recap:

Qualified 14th; Semifinal finish (defeated Steve Torrence in E1, Bye in E2; defeated by Shawn Langdon in E3)

Last Event (Sonoma):

Qualified seventh; First round exit (defeated by Antron Brown in E1)

Noteworthy:

• Made her American Top Fuel debut with JCM Racing at the 2024 Brainerd event where she powered to a semifinal finish

• In honor of her one-year NHRA anniversary, Zetterström will run a special throwback livery at BIR with her dragster decked out to look similar to her ’24 red, white, and blue scheme

• The Brainerd race was recently added to Zetterström’s limited schedule, and marks the third of four consecutive events for the JCM Racing Top Fuel team

Quotable:

“I’m very excited to get back to Brainerd, which marks one year since my NHRA debut. The fans last year gave us an incredible welcome and I can't wait to see them all. For this race only, we’re going to run the livery we debuted with. We got so much love for that scheme; it was part of our Rookie of the Year campaign, and I think the fans really enjoyed the red, white, and blue. So, it’ll be nice to have a little memory from last season on board.

“Brainerd was a great opening weekend for us, and we are excited to get back to a track where we’ve had success. To this day, that was still our strongest showing and we look forward to capitalizing on the momentum of knowing it's a great track for us and knowing that we have the fans in our corner and that we can perform there. Initially, Brainerd wasn’t on our schedule but I’m so glad we were able to add it and have the opportunity to be back and running where it all started for me here in the U.S. Like many of the teams, we’re going to stay behind on Monday and test to make sure we’re dialed in and ready for the U.S. Nationals in Indy.”

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ALEXIS DEJORIA

Driver of the Bandero Café Funny Car

NHRA Brainerd Nationals Event Highlights:

2017 event champion

2024 NHRA Brainerd Nationals Event Recap:

Qualified fifth; First round exit (defeated by Daniel Wilkerson in E1)

Last Event (Sonoma):

Qualified 15th; First round exit (defeated by Spencer Hyde)

2025 Statistics:

12 races; four semifinal finishes

Career Statistics:

247 races; six wins, six No. 1 qualifiers

Noteworthy:

• Has advanced to four semifinal finishes so far in 2025, but is still seeking her first final round appearance with the first-year JCM Racing Bandero Café Funny Car team

• Currently occupies the No. 10 spot in the Funny Car point standings with two races remaining before playoff positions for the ’25 Countdown to the Championship are set

• During the 2014 event, DeJoria became the first Funny Car pilot to clock a sub-four-second run on the BIR track (3.998 E.T. during round two of eliminations)

Quotable:

“Brainerd is an important race for our team right now. The points are tight but really, that’s not our main focus. For us, we want to prioritize going rounds and getting more runs under our belt to continue to add data and build for the future. Getting some more round wins and potentially winning our first race would be epic, no doubt. Especially at Brainerd, a track where I’ve had success in the past.”