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| Todd Lesenko (Photo property of NHRA.com) |
Todd Lesenko of Alberta, Canada is the driver of the Tap It Brewing Company/Jim Dunn Racing Funny Car on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. In 2011, he made his professional debut at Phoenix in October and qualifed in the #11 position. He attended the final three events of the season, qualifying in 2 of the 3 races and setting a personal best ET and MPH. At Pomona last week he qualified in the #16 spot and got his first NHRA career round win against #1 qualifier Robert Hight in the first round. Todd is currently tied for 7th place in the Funny Car standings.
Jason Culley: How did you get involved in drag racing?
Jason Culley: How did you get involved in drag racing?
Todd Lesenko: I got involved with drag racing when I was about 12 years old. I worked at a automotive shop and the owner and employees were racers so I was the young kid that got to help the guys do the stuff that happened in tight areas. Then as I grew up I was involved in high school racing and my bonus was that if I worked hard and kept out of trouble I was able to take the tow truck to the races on Friday and sit on the starting line. It was a cheap place to take a certain girl on a date and now that girl is my wife!
JC: Did you have a drag racing idols growing up?
TL: When I was growing up there were 11 Top Fuel cars in the Pacific Northwest and 7 were fielded in Edmonton but my idols were 240 Gordie and Terry Cap.
JC: How did you get the nickname, Todd “The Pirate” Lesenko?
TL: When I was 12 years old I got a model kit for Christmas and it was the Jolly Rogers. When it came time to build my first Funny Car I wanted to name it the Jolly Rogers and it had to be yellow. So because the Jolly Rogers was a pirate ship the name "The Pirate" stuck and it didn't hurt that I also like RUM!
JC: How did you get involved with Jim Dunn and Tap It Brewing Co.?
TL: At the beginning of last year my sponsors expressed interested in being in the NHRA for the purposes of marketing so I committed to 3 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series and it went well so they wanted to run a full season. I went searching for a team and the Dunn's were a great fit and a great family. The Tap It Brewing Co sponsorship was all done by Jim Dunn. He is a very talented hard working individual and is great for our team.
JC: Congrats on you first round win against Robert Hight in Pomona! What were your goals/expectations heading into the 2012 drag racing season.
TL: I am truly blessed to be able to live my dream and drive a Top Fuel Funny Car the NHRA and I will do the best I can every time I get get in the car. To have a teacher like Jim Dunn is incredible. His knowledge and experience is unbelievable. The competition is tough but I don't run away from tough. There are a lot of new drivers on the scene which makes it difficult for me to get any recognition but I will work hard and stay focused so that I can impress Big Jim, my team and sponsors. I would like to qualify in every event and I would like to go as many rounds as we can. This is a difficult task just because there are 18 touring cars this year and a possibility of having at least 20 cars at each event.
TL: I am truly blessed to be able to live my dream and drive a Top Fuel Funny Car the NHRA and I will do the best I can every time I get get in the car. To have a teacher like Jim Dunn is incredible. His knowledge and experience is unbelievable. The competition is tough but I don't run away from tough. There are a lot of new drivers on the scene which makes it difficult for me to get any recognition but I will work hard and stay focused so that I can impress Big Jim, my team and sponsors. I would like to qualify in every event and I would like to go as many rounds as we can. This is a difficult task just because there are 18 touring cars this year and a possibility of having at least 20 cars at each event.
JC: When you are not racing what are some of your hobbies?
TL: My off track life is very simple, I do an hour of cardio in the morning and a half a hour at night time. I use the elliptical trainer or treadmill to get rid of the unnecessary weight. I have given up impact sports because if I was to get hurt that would be bad for me and the team so I play tennis, golf and long board. My home life is all about my wife of 29 years, Liz and my two boys Deuce and Harley (our puppies). I also have a very busy business that takes up a lot of my time away from racing.
TL: I would like to thank all my sponsors and the Dunn family for allowing me to live my dream and drive a professional race car. I would like to thank god for watching over me and keeping all of us safe in doing what we love doing.
Jolly Rodgers Racing - www.jollyrogersdragracing.com
Tap It Brewing Co. - www.tapitbrewing.com/racing-nhra.html
I want to thank Todd for taking the time out of his busy schedule to contribute to my blog. You can follow Todd and his fellow NHRA drivers this weekend at Firebird International Raceway at www.nhra.com.
Please feel free to leave your comments below.
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