NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Women will be leading the charge at JCM Racing as headliners Alexis DeJoria and Ida Zetterström have been commissioned to assume the driving responsibilities for Joe and P.J. Maynard’s two-car operation in 2025. 

Competing as the sport’s first all-female nitro team, DeJoria will pilot the Bandero Premium Tequila Funny Car, while Zetterström will be at the controls of the JCM Racing Top Fuel dragster. 

DeJoria and Zetterström will make their debut as JCM Racing teammates during National Women’s Month when the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season kicks off with the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, March 7-9. 

DeJoria, a 12-year Funny Car veteran who previously competed under the DC Motorsports banner, will run the full slate of NHRA Mission Foods Series events. Returning for her sophomore season with JCM, Zetterström is confirmed for a half-season schedule consisting of 10 races with the goal of adding events in hopes of running a full-season campaign. 

“This sport has a long history of powerful women who have made their mark not only on NHRA Drag Racing but the motorsports industry as a whole,” said JCM Racing team owner Joe Maynard. “Women have been at the forefront of the NHRA for many years, and we’re proud to be the first organization to have an all-female roster of nitro-powered drivers. Ida and Alexis are the full package and will represent us well both on and off the track.

“Working with Ida last year, and seeing her drive and tenacity, I have no doubt that it’s only a matter of time before she has an NHRA championship to go along with her European championships,” added Maynard. “Her work ethic is incredible, and that translates to success on the track. I’m hopeful we can continue to add more races to her schedule this year and put her in a position to have a shot at the Countdown to the Championship. 

“As for Alexis, it’s clear that she is right there on the cusp, a champion in the making, and our goal for this season is to put her in the best car surrounded by a great team so that she can make a run at becoming the first woman in NHRA history to win a Funny Car title.”

Calling the shots on the Bandero Funny Car will be Mike “Zippy” Neff, who has been instrumental in tuning multiple high-profile drivers to numerous race wins in addition to his two Funny Car championships. The Zetterström/Jon Schaffer driver/crew chief duo remains intact after a late-season 2024 debut. Like Neff, Schaffer’s résumé is also jam-packed with highlights, including double-digit race wins and a series title since assuming the role of NHRA crew chief. At their first race together at the 2024 Brainerd event, Zetterström and Schaffer impressed with a semifinal finish but felt that they didn’t truly hit their stride until several races later when the season was coming to an end. 

“I feel like we left a lot on the table when it comes to showing people what we’re capable of,” explained Zetterström, who recently won the National Dragster All-Star Team fan vote for Best New Talent. “Everyone else had a 12-race head start on us, so by the time we came out in August, the rest of the field had several months of getting the kinks worked out. Not to mention, many of those teams have worked together for years and years, whereas we were a brand-new team that was starting from scratch. Right as it started to feel like we were getting into our groove, the season ended. So, we’re ready to get back out there and prove ourselves. I hope we can put together the proper funding to race a full season, but regardless, I’ll be out at the track every race weekend, either competing for win lights or supporting my new teammate from the starting line. I’m excited for Alexis and me to be teammates this year.” 

Beyond the marketability factor, DeJoria and Zetterström boast an impressive list of credentials. Both women spent years climbing the ranks in the high-speed sport of straight-line racing, learning the ropes before advancing. Zetterström is a European drag racing champ on both two wheels and four, having become the first woman to win an FIM Super Street Bike title in 2019 and again in 2020. Before relocating from Sweden to the Indianapolis area last winter, Zetterström clinched the 2023 FIA European Top Fuel crown. DeJoria is a former NHRA U.S. Nationals champion and the first woman to clock a three-second Funny Car pass. In addition to her six Funny Car triumphs, DeJoria found success in the Sportsman ranks before transitioning over to a nitro-fueled machine in 2011 and is the only driver to own the trifecta of Super Comp, Top Alcohol Funny Car, and Funny Car victories.

“Ida was a great addition to the tour last year, and I’m looking forward to having her as a teammate,” DeJoria said. “We’re both fierce competitors, and I feel like we’re going to motivate each other. I’m also really looking forward to working with Mike Neff. His credentials speak for themselves, and he’s had a lot of success in Funny Car. The guys are up in Indy, hard at work getting our car prepped and put together so that we’re ready to go come March. Our goal for this season is to be consistent and win races.”

DeJoria and Zetterström will hit the track for the first time during the NHRA preseason test session at Gainesville Raceway, March 4-5. Zetterström’s schedule of events will be announced closer to the start of the season.