{"id":102,"date":"2012-02-14T05:37:51","date_gmt":"2012-02-14T05:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/?p=102"},"modified":"2012-07-03T15:24:17","modified_gmt":"2012-07-03T15:24:17","slug":"positive-first-race-impression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/?p=102","title":{"rendered":"Positive First Race Impression"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Positive First Race Impression<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Todd Lesenko\u2019s first venture into the NHRA Fuel FC \u201csand box\u201d as driver for legendary Jim Dunn came at Pomona last weekend and the Alberta-based racer certainly raised a few eyebrows\u2026\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

While the team\u2019s initial season numbers were not exactly earth shattering from a performance perspective \u2013 the reality is they qualified for the O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals event and then won their first round of competition together. Both of those facts are huge and come despite the fact that Lesenko had \u201cnever\u201d driven Dunn\u2019s \u201cTap It Brewery\u201d sponsored car before. His first ever lap in that machine came during Thursday\u2019s first FC class qualifying session.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Lesenko qualified on the 16-car bump with a 4.306 secs lap at 277.07 mph in the rain shortened program which saw only 3 of 4 Pro sessions completed. In round one on Sunday, Lesenko scored a truly major upset when he beat low qualifier Robert Hight to the stripe. That match was a problem plagued affair with both Todd and Robert experiencing \u201cissues\u201d and with Hight\u2019s (tire smoke) ultimately being more serious.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI never did see Robert and I did not know I had won until I came round the corner and took my helmet off,\u201d said Lesenko. \u201cWhen they told me \u2013 I was speechless.\u201d<\/p>\n

In round two, Lesenko was paired against Ron Capps and his day came to an end then when the car blew its tires off immediately off the starting line. Speculation was that an air leak to the clutch cannon caused a malfunction. Capps roared to a winning 4.086 secs at 311.13 mph driving the Napa Dodge in the far lane.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo qualify and to win our first round at our first race \u2013 I\u2019m just extremely happy,\u201d said Lesenko, who will drive for the full 23-race NHRA tour in 2012. \u201cThis relationship being developed with the Dunn family is just outstanding \u2013 they are giving me the opportunity to do what I\u2019ve always wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI said coming into this season that my objective is a top ten finish in NHRA points,\u201d Todd affirmed. \u201cWe are leaving Pomona #8. It\u2019s obviously very early \u2014 but so far so good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Lesenko\/Jim Dunn Racing season effort features an impressive alignment of both American and Canadian sponsorship. While California-based \u201cTap It Brewery\u201d is the primary backer Lesenko remains focused on what he considers the untapped potential for Canadian corporate backing within NHRA Pro class racing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate the fact that some Canadian companies have chosen to invest in my future and also in the future for drag racing in Canada,\u201d Todd added. \u201cI plan to do whatever I can to improve the Canadian content aspect at this level of drag racing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lesenko and Jim Dunn Racing will next race this coming weekend at the NHRA national event near Phoenix.<\/p>\n

Posted by: Bruce Biegler \u2013 Photos by: Bruce Biegler www.DragRaceCanada.com<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Positive First Race Impression Todd Lesenko\u2019s first venture into the NHRA Fuel FC \u201csand box\u201d as driver for legendary Jim Dunn came at Pomona last weekend and the Alberta-based racer certainly raised a few eyebrows\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=102"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237,"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102\/revisions\/237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nitrofccanada.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}