Nothing Funny About Race-Ready Tundra Prerunner Desert Racer
NHRA Nitro Funny Car Driver Alexis DeJoria modifies
the Tundra to compete for the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge title and
$50,000 for her chosen charity.
Fans will determine by online voting which of the four modified Toyota vehicles will win the challenge—along with $50,000 to the winning driver’s charity of choice.
“We’re going to take a stock truck and make it cooler in every way,” said project lead Andy Peterson of Racer Engineering in San Jacinto, Calif., where the Tundra is being transformed under DeJoria’s supervision. “We’re going to make it go faster, bigger, louder.”
NHRA Nitro Funny Car Driver Alexis DeJoria and Racing Engineering technician discuss vehicle modifications to the Tundra for the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge.
Racer
Engineering is fabricating long A-arms, trailing arms and shocks to achieve 20
inches of wheel travel in front and 24 inches in the rear—enough to tackle
virtually any navigable stretch of desert race territory. DeJoria’s Tundra Prerunner will make its public debut—along with its rivals in the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge—on Oct. 30 in the Toyota display at the Special Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas.
“I think this is going to be the baddest vehicle at SEMA,” said DeJoria, who drives the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car for Kalitta Motorsports. Patrón Spirits Company is owned by DeJoria’s father, John Paul DeJoria, who co-founded the John Paul Mitchell Systems line of professional hair-care products.
Despite their bloodlines, neither DeJoria nor her Tundra Prerunner is just another pretty face. DeJoria drag raced successfully in the NHRA Super Gas, Super Comp, and Top Alcohol Funny Car series before joining the Toyota team in late 2011. And her project Tundra “is going to be fully caged front to rear, with big tires and wheels—we’re trying to make a statement,” according to Dale Dondel, owner of Racer Engineering.
NHRA Nitro Funny Car Driver Alexis DeJoria is one of only two women ever to win an NHRA Alcohol Funny Car race. She is one of four drivers aiming to win the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge.
Meanwhile, DeJoria’s competitors are trying to make statements of their own: NASCAR drivers Clint Bowyer and Kyle Busch, with their “Tekked-Out” Prius and “Rowdy” edition Camry, respectively, along with NHRA Top Fuel points leader Antron Brown and his built-for-speed Sequoia.
Each is competing for the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge title and a $50,000 check from Toyota to the driver’s chosen charity. A win by DeJoria will benefit Safety Harbor Kids, whose purpose is to enrich the lives of orphans, foster and homeless children through education.
A 28-episode online reality series has been developed around the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge. Fans can see the progress DeJoria’s team has made in Episode 4 at http://www.youtube.com/v/Dr0r5nrOMlw&feature=relmfu. New episodes are uploaded regularly at www.ToyotaRacingDreamBuild.com.
Voting will open on October 20 and will continue through October 29. Fans will be able to vote once per day on Facebook, where they can also enter to win prizes, including a Toyota Racing “Dream Trip,” which will be given away to one lucky fan.
The final vehicle builds will be unveiled during a press conference at the Toyota display at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas on Oct. 30. Fans will be able to tune in live to watch the entire press conference and see the winner announced in real time.
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