Alexis DeJoria will have plenty working in her favor when the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals gets underway September 4-7 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
She’ll have a crowd of family and friends in her corner. She’ll have a John Force Racing Funny Car that has shown flashes of serious potential all season. And she’ll have one of the coolest throwback paint schemes in the pits.
DeJoria’s Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car will wear a tribute to John Force’s original “Night Stalker” Funny Car, a wild rear-engine, chain-drive machine from the early 1970s. It’s a fitting tribute during NHRA’s 75th anniversary season, and DeJoria hopes the retro look can help produce a modern-day result at the biggest drag race of the year.
The Night Stalker Story Goes Back To 1973
Long before John Force became the winningest Funny Car driver in NHRA history, he was simply trying to get his career started.
In 1973, Force attempted to make his Funny Car debut in a rear-engine, chain-drive car built by Jack Chrisman. The machine was named Night Stalker, taking inspiration from the 1972 made-for-TV movie starring Darren McGavin. The original experiment didn’t exactly launch Force’s career on the right foot, but the car’s unique appearance became one of the more memorable early chapters in his racing history.
Force later revived the Night Stalker paint scheme for the 2009 Night Under Fire at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, and won the event. Now the look is coming back again, this time on DeJoria’s Funny Car.
“We were at the shop one day, and Alexis said the car her dad always loved the most was the Night Stalker,” said Force. “That was the rear-engined, chain-drive car with the driver out front that Jack Chrisman built and that I drove briefly in the early 1970s. The Night Stalker TV movie was big at the time so we painted ‘Night Stalker’ with a caped goblin on the side of it. Alexis loved the idea, so that’s the paint scheme her Bandero Café Chevy will be running at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals.”
DeJoria Wanted To Be Part Of The Throwback Theme
DeJoria didn’t need much convincing once she learned that the other John Force Racing Funny Cars would be wearing special liveries at Indy.
“I was really excited when I found out the other two John Force Racing Funny Cars were doing special liveries and wanted to be part of it. So, I asked if our team could do the Night Stalker paint scheme that was John Force’s very first nitro Funny Car back in the mid-1970s. The Bandero Café car is already black, but it’s just the fact that the Night Stalker is one of the coolest liveries I’ve seen from John Force’s camp. More than anything, I wanted to do it to show support for my new boss and my new team.”
DeJoria is in her first season with John Force Racing, and the Night Stalker scheme gives her a way to acknowledge the history of the organization she now drives for while also chasing an important win of her own.
DeJoria Has Ground To Make Up Before The Countdown
The U.S. Nationals is the final race of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series regular season, and DeJoria enters Indy eighth in the Funny Car standings. She has 737 points, just 34 behind sixth-place Austin Prock.
That gap is especially important because Indy awards points-and-a-half. Each round win is worth 30 points instead of the standard 20, which means one strong Monday could substantially change the order before the Countdown to the Championship begins. The Funny Car standings are extremely tight at the top, but DeJoria has her own battle to fight further down the list. A deep run at Indy could move her several positions and give the Bandero Café team a better starting spot when the points reset.
DeJoria Already Knows What Winning Indy Feels Like
DeJoria doesn’t need anyone to explain how much a U.S. Nationals Wally means. She won the event in 2014 during what became a breakout season, and that victory carried extra significance because it came at the 60th anniversary edition of the race.
“If there’s one trophy above all that a team wants, it’s the one from the U.S. Nationals. My team and I won the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Nationals, and that was special due to the fact that there will never be another 60th. The same can be said of this year’s 75th.”
That gives DeJoria an opportunity to do something pretty special in 2026. She already owns the 60th anniversary U.S. Nationals trophy. Winning during NHRA’s 75th anniversary season would put another once-in-a-lifetime piece of hardware on the shelf.
DeJoria’s 2014 Indy victory is also connected directly to the man whose paint scheme she’ll be honoring this year. She defeated Courtney Force in the semifinals before lining up against John Force in the final round. Then she beat him.
“The 2014 season was a breakout year for us. Adding the Chevrolet Performance 60th Anniversary U.S. Nationals win was beyond belief, especially winning the final round against none other than the man himself, John Force. It was a daughter/father duo that day, from beating my friend and competitor at the time, Courtney Force in the semifinals to beating John in the final. It was a very proud moment to beat the best in front of my family and friends on the biggest stage.”
Another Shot At The Funny Car All-Star Callout
The U.S. Nationals weekend will also give DeJoria a second opportunity to chase hardware before Monday eliminations even begin. She’ll compete in the PlayNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout, another high-profile specialty race stacked with some of the best drivers in the class.
DeJoria has been close to winning this type of shootout before, but hasn’t closed the deal.
“I’ve been in quite a few of these grudge matches and came close to sealing the deal in 2014. It’s something that’s eluded us, but we have a great chance this year to put ourselves in a position to do so this year.”
The Callout could also provide valuable momentum for the main event. Any driver who starts stacking win lights early in the weekend tends to get more comfortable, and at Indy, confidence can matter just as much as horsepower.
The Night Stalker paint scheme may be rooted in the 1970s, but everything about DeJoria’s weekend at Indy is tied to the present. She’s fighting for playoff positioning. She’s trying to win the Funny Car All-Star Callout. She’s chasing a second U.S. Nationals victory. And she’s doing it during NHRA’s 75th anniversary season with one of John Force’s most unusual early designs wrapped around her Bandero Café Chevrolet.
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