NHRA Alcohol Funny Car race car driver Alexis Dejoria is the only woman competing in the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge. To make a splash in the competition, Dejoria took the challenge of building a custom-tuned vehicle using the biggest vehicle in the lot, a stock, full-sized Toyota Tundra.
Not lacking confidence one bit, Dejoria enlisted the help of Dale Dondel and his team at Racer Engineering to built the meanest vehicle at SEMA.
The first order of business was to make extensive modifications to the chassis and body of the Tundra. Dejoria and Racer Engineering made use of fabricated long A-arms, trailing arms, while also installing massive racing shocks, a new front and rear bumper, a new brush guard, fiberglass front and rear fenders, a dual spare tire carrier in the bed, and a new set of 17" Mehod racing wheels wrapped in Maxxis tires.
All told, the result is 20" of wheel travel in front and 24" in the rear, enough to allow the Tundra Pre-Runner to run roughshod over just about any navigable stretch of desert race territory.
Inside, the modifications include NRG racing seats with custom Hooker 7-point harnesses, a full leather-wrapped roll cage, and a high-powered JBL sound system.
Under its hood, the Tundra Pre-Runner received a 5.7-liter TRD-supercharged V8 engine fed by a custom rear-mounted fuel cell.
“I wanted to do the best possible off-road vehicle we could,” DeJoria said. “I think this is going to be the baddest vehicle at SEMA.”
Not one to make bold exaggerations, DeJoria could be on to something here, especially if her Tundra Pre-Runner somehow wins the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge. Voting for your favorite project is now open at the Toyota Racing Facebook page until October 29, 2012. The winner will receive $50,000, money that will go to their chosen charity. In Dejoria’s case, that charity would be Safety Harbor Kids.
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