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NHRA Gatornationals
Event 1 of 20
Gainesville Raceway
Gainesville, Fla.
March 7 – 9, 2025
Noteworthy:
Alexis DeJoria and Ida Zetterström, who make up NHRA’s first all-female nitro team, will debut as JCM Racing teammates when qualifying kicks off on Friday, March 7th. Adding to the weekend excitement, the organization will celebrate International Women's Day, which falls on Saturday, March 8th.
IDA ZETTERSTRÖM
Driver of the JCM Racing Top Fuel Dragster
2024 NHRA Gatornationals Recap:
N/A
Noteworthy:
Making her Gainesville Raceway debut during the 2025 NHRA season-opener
The multi-time European drag racing champion relocated to the U.S. in early 2024 to compete on the NHRA Mission Foods Series circuit where she made her American Top Fuel debut with JCM Racing at the 2024 Brainerd event and competed in the final eight races of the season
Named ‘Best New Talent’ over the 2024/2025 off-season in the National Dragster All-Star Team fan vote
Fan Events:
Wednesday, 7 – 8:30 p.m., NHRA Fanfest at Burnyzz Speed Shop (1 Aspen Rd., Ocala)
Friday, 11:30 a.m. – noon, Mission Chips & Chat with Alexis DeJoria, Nitro Alley stage
Friday, 1:45 – 2:15 p.m., Dodge driver autograph session at the Dodge midway display
Saturday, 11 – 11:30 a.m., Dodge driver autograph session at the Dodge midway display
Quotable:
“I'm very excited to get our season started. We are still working hard to make it so that we’re able to run a full schedule, or as close to a full schedule as possible. We had a pre-season test session last week and we feel like we got a lot of valuable data out of that. We saw some good improvement on the new things we were trying, which feels very hopeful to the start the year. I've been working really hard this off-season at being the best version of a driver that I can be. We’ve got such a strong team, and we are eager to get out here and fight for round wins, quicker times, and Wally trophies when we’re on the track, and then we're obviously fighting for more funding off the track to make the championship hunt.
“It's very cool for me to get to race this weekend at the Gatornationals because Gainesville was actually the first NHRA race I ever attended, so it holds a special place in my heart. I've been to Gainesville several times but never as a competitor. Last year I was on the sidelines watching my teammate race, but this will be the first time I will ever race in Gainesville myself so, I’m really looking forward to that. I've seen records broken here. I've seen a lot of history being made, and I can't wait to be a part of the race this weekend. The first time I was in Gainesville, we were watching one of our dear friends, Markus, race over here in Stock and Super Stock and he picked up a Wally that weekend. His trophy was actually the first Wally I ever held. Sadly, he passed away a couple of weeks ago, so it will be really special to be able to be out here racing this weekend. I wish he was here with us. Definitely a lot of emotions going into this weekend with all that in mind, but I'm super excited and I want to kick this year off on a strong note. I’m also looking forward to racing with Alexis as my teammate for the first time. I think having the first ever all-female nitro team it's going to be very cool to hit the track together, especially with it being International Women’s Day this Saturday. I feel like we both have very high energy going into the season and I can't wait to build on that.”
ALEXIS DEJORIA
Driver of the Bandero Café Funny Car
2024 NHRA Gatornationals Recap:
Qualified seventh; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Paul Lee in E1; defeated by Bob Tasca in E2)
Career Statistics:
235 races; six wins, six No. 1 qualifiers
Noteworthy:
2025 marks DeJoria’s 12th full season competing in the Funny Car category. She made her professional debut at the 2011 Dallas race and competed in four Funny Car events that year. She raced full-time from 2012 through the end of the 2017 season before rejoining the tour at the start of 2020
The Gainesville race will be DeJoria’s first competing with the JCM Racing team and crew chiefs Mike ‘Zippy’ Neff and Todd Smith
Fan Events:
Friday, 11:30 a.m. – noon, Mission Chips & Chat with Ida Zetterström, Nitro Alley stage
Quotable:
“This season marks a new beginning for me. Completely different team, different crew chiefs that I hadn’t worked with previously, and I will be in a different style of body. Up until this point, I’ve only ever driven Toyota bodies since I started in this class in 2011 so that will be a change.
“I’m really excited about what this new season holds for our team and my career. It’s been great getting to know everyone at JCM and let’s be honest, it was pretty impressive that we were able to get everything together and ready to race in time for Gainesville in a matter of two months. I’m really proud of our team. The season hasn’t even started yet and we’ve already succeeded in the face of adversity so we’re already headed in the right direction. We’re here in Gainesville now making a few test runs before Friday. I’ve got my whole family coming out this weekend so I’m really excited and just looking forward to getting everything under way.”
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