Heroes in Business - Alexis DeJoria NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Funny Car Race Car Driver

Episode Date: November 1, 2024

Alexis DeJoria NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Funny Car Race Car Driver is interviewed by David Cogan of Eliances Heroes radio show. The discuss the incredible support she receives from family despite the dangerous nature of her career. Breaking down barriers in a male dominated sport Dejoria brings passion and a fighter's attitude to the track. She also shares lessons learned from her famous father, the co-founder of Paul Mitchell Systems and Patron Spirits. 

Up in the sky, look, it's captivating, it's energizing, it's Alliances Heroes. Alliances is the destination for entrepreneurs, investors, CEOs, inventors, leaders, celebrities, and startups. Where our heroes in business align. startups where our heroes in business align. Now, here's your host flying in, David Kogan, founder of Eliance's. That's right. Good morning and incredible. I know I say it every week, but it just keeps getting better and better with a lineup of heroes. We've got the founder of free conference call in the studio we're going to be talking to. He only has 30 million users. We're going to have the youngest of the Osman Brothers. That's right, Jimmy Osman.

We'll be ending the show with one of the co-founders, the number one ranked franchise in this category. I'm going to hold out to tell you until you got it. Just make sure you listen to this whole show. But we're going to start off with somebody real special. All right, we've had many incredible heroes on our show, but our next hero has the dream job. I mean, don't get me wrong, this is extremely difficult for what our hero does. But talk about the ultimate adrenaline rush. Today's interview is with Alexis DeGioia, who can be reached at AlexisDeGioia.com. She is the National Hot Rod Association Funny Car Race Car Driver.

Alexis, I want to live vicariously through you, at least for a day, so tell me what it feels like to you when you're at the starting line and the light turns green. Well, actually, we go on yellow. That's our motto with the Mellow Yellow Drag Racing Series. So we wait for the three ambers to flash, and we hit that gap. So we go from a dead idle to full throttle down the racetrack, and it's very intense. It's the most intense thing I've ever done in my life. I mean, and you've probably done other things.

Is there really anything that's greater of an adrenaline rush? Yeah, flying an S-15 Strike Eagle fighter jet. That's pretty amazing. Oh, incredible, incredible. Now, you're the only driver to claim wins in each of the Super Comp, Top Alcohol Funny Car, and Funny Car classes. You made a commitment to really make the NHRA drag racing your career. I mean, truth be told, I can only imagine the amount of work that goes into it. Plus, it's a dangerous sport. I mean, how do you prepare for your races, both mentally and physically?

It's a full-time job, you know, away from the track as well as at the track, mentally, physically, you know, it's the whole package. It's my life. And even beyond that, drag racing isn't just work and it's not just my life, it's a lifestyle. And you have to be 110% in, you know, or you're going to get yourself in trouble. You're going to get hurt. And sometimes you still get hurt, unfortunately. But, you know, that's just the name of the game. And we're going at speeds that are just mind-blowing.

We're getting faster and faster every year. It's just incredible. But I do a lot of exercise at home. I eat right. I practice my reaction times and my simulator here at the house. I have one fully built. It's a full chassis and, you know, a tree, a light tree and all that good stuff. And when I'm at the track, I'm 100% at that track. I mean, tell me about a typical day of a race car driver. up that track so i mean tell me about a typical day of a race car driver well uh as soon as i wake up in the morning it'll you know i'll come in the night before unless i have uh you know some appearances to do uh friday morning i wake up uh you know have a good solid breakfast something

that's gonna you know last me for a while and uh nothing too heavy usually is like oatmeal or or some some eggs you know very very good balance um and uh get up get out there and uh you know meet people and we're going to you know toyota pit pass and over to the merchandise trailer and doing autograph sessions and meeting people meeting the fans talking to sponsors uh then we uh start the car up warm it up get it ready for the round i pack my parachutes fill my fresh air bottle get my clothes on get all my stuff you know in the uh excuse me let me let me verify that get my racing clothes on and then uh put all my gear in the in the van and get ready for them to to call us up to the line now and then uh that you know that it goes

from there i mean and i mentioned dangerous dangerous earlier you know, then it goes from there. I mean, and I mentioned dangerous, dangerous earlier, you know, when we were talking, I mean, what happened at the race in Sonoma recently? I mean, explain to our listeners. I mean, it looked incredible. Well, it was one of those freak accidents where, you know, the few cars in front of us had smoked the tires one by one, which we thought was kind of odd. So we thought, okay, maybe it's just a little bit hotter out today. Maybe, you know, that side of the track just needs a little bit more grip or something's going on. And so apparently there was oil in the water box. So when we did our burnout, you know, we kind of spread it out there and I did my, made my run, made a weird move to the right.

I corrected it quickly. And then, you know, all of a sudden all the tires broke loose and I was headed, you know, laterally into the wall. And I had that wheel cranked, man. And I was, like, doing everything I could to not let it go in that direction. But obviously I had no choice. There was, you know obviously I had no choice I there was you know I had no grip so it was just in a free swinging slide basically and slamming into the wall so I knew right away as soon as I made contact with that retaining wall that I had hurt my back it went straight

into my back like a ice pick it felt like so it was very very painful yeah you broke your pelvis right yes i have a fractured or had a fractured pelvis i'm pretty much healed now i think one more week and it'll be completely sealed but uh yeah it was a about a month out it kept me away from the track for you know two races so that was that was heartbreaking i mean just scary You're listening to Alliance's Heroes. Be a hero with David Kogan. Go to where entrepreneurs align. Be part of the community. Alliances.com. That's E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com. I mean, this goes on. In Seattle, your car engine exploded while you were driving. I've seen these graphic videos. This is the point that I'll tell you what, if I was your dad who we had on the air, I would be running out there. I'd be like, you're done.

But yet you continue. How do you recoup from it? How do you keep going? I mean, 99% of the people would say, okay, that's enough. I don't want to die or take the chance of dying. Right. I think any parent in any situation is fearful for their kids. You know what I mean? But that's not the way that my dad raised me. And, you know, I'm a I'm an adult and I have child

children of my own. So I understand where he's coming from, you know, but he's never once said, you know, maybe you shouldn't do this. He's got, you know, complete faith in me. And he knows what a good driver I am. And he knows, you know, I'm not going to make any stupid decisions and, you know, and push it, you know, it's a fine line. And, you know, sometimes these cars will turn around and bite you, but, you know, you've got to be ready for it. I have the very best, you know, equipment possible, you know, the safety equipment that we have, and we just keep getting better. And it's sometimes it takes instances like this, you know, we learn from it, okay, so maybe I should have had a little bit more padding on the side of my feet. And that's something that we change.

And, you know, going forward from that race on, you know, that's not going to happen like that again, hopefully. So we learn from our mistakes and from, you know, instances like that. So it's constantly evolving. I mean, and we're speaking with Alexis DeGioia. She is the National Hot Rod Association Funny Car Race Car Driver. You're sponsored by Patron Spirits, which was created by your father, John Paul DeGioia, who, I mean, he's been on our show.

Fascinating man for sure. What life lessons have you learned from him? You mentioned a little bit earlier how he raised you you that's helped you be successful in your career especially in an area that mainly consists of really it's a almost a male dominated industry it really yeah and i mean you know in the year 2016 we we have more females racing in NHRA drag racing than any other form of motorsports out there. But it's still, you know, the ratio is, God, I want to say 80-20 maybe, you know what I mean? But, you know, it's good to be one of those strong female opponents

out there at the track, and, you know, I hope I can, you know, help instill those kind of strong work ethics and young females coming up through the ranks but uh my father you know taught me to be passionate about about life and do something that i'm passionate about you know and i'll be successful at it and i i love what i do i love racing well incredible alexis you can contact her by going to alexisdejoria.com or alliances.com. You're someone who definitely follows their dreams. You've got that passion. You're an inspiration to people. You take risks and work hard to achieving your goals.

That's what a hero does. And when we return, we're going to have the founder of freeconferencecall.com, David Kogan with Eliance's.