Smiley
Nitro Member
Championship Funny Car teams gearing up for east vs. west showdown at Arizona Nitro Jam
TUCSON, Ariz. (March 16, 2011) – There is little doubt that in the world of professional drag racing, Nitro Funny Car is king.
Add to that the current popularity boom of nostalgia drag racing and you get a class that is quickly taking the sport by storm. With their old school looks and modern equipment, nostalgia Funny Cars have become a hit at drag racing events across the country and that includes being the newest feature class with the popular Nitro Jam series.
When Nitro Jam added the Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car class to its lineup at the beginning of last year, little did it know just how popular the class would become. Combining raw, nitro-driven horsepower with nostalgia bodies and wild designs, these unique and very exciting cars have become an exciting addition to the nitro-powered entertainment series as the largest and most diverse class the series has to offer.
The Arizona Nitro Jam will feature eight of the best Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car teams in the country
Now, one of the biggest Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car events of the season is set to take place at the inaugural Arizona Nitro Jam March 25-26 at Southwestern International Raceway as the best racers from the east converge on Tucson, Ariz. to take on the best of the west in one of the biggest nostalgia showdowns of the season – the Duel in the Desert.
“We are always looking for an opportunity to race against the best and this event will certainly feature many of the top teams in the country,” Gallen said. “It really pushes you to the limit and forces you to be on your game because one little mistake can be the difference between making the final and running in the consolation rounds. I can assure you we aren’t traveling 2,500 miles to run in the consolation rounds. We want to win, especially against a tough group like this.”
The Duel in the Desert will feature eight of the best Prostalgia Nitro Funny Cars in the country including such legendary machines as Dale Pulde’s “War Eagle” Trans Am and the “Poverty Stricken” ’74 Vega of current point leader Peter Gallen, along with six other superstars of the sport.
Among the talent-laden list are defending Nitro Jam champion Steve Nichols and the “Mill Road Boys” team, Mike “McAttack” McIntire and Gallen representing the east taking on “Mr. Explosive” Mark Sanders, Todd Lesenko and the “Jolly Rogers” team, Roger Garten in “War Horse,” Pulde’s “War Eagle” and the fastest driver in all of nostalgia drag racing Tim Boychuk in the “Troy Lee Designs” ’77 Pontiac.
Peter Gallen leads the Nitro Jam standings entering the Arizona Nitro Jam
All eight drivers have the equipment and the ability to take home one or both Ironman trophies from the two-night race, it will all simply come down to who wants it more.
“We are really looking forward to the Tucson race. I have never raced there, but I always have fun wherever we race and this will be no different,” Boychuk said. “We can’t wait to go against these guys. Our car has been touched up by Ron and Jim at Victory Race Cars so we should be in fine shape to run that group.”
Boychuk is one of the favorites entering the inaugural event at Southwestern International Raceway, having just put down the quickest and fastest lap in nostalgia drag racing history late last year, completing the quarter-mile in a mind-blowing 5.630 seconds at 258 miles per hour.
Boychuk also won two of four races during last year’s Nitro Jam west coast swing in Utah and Alberta, sweeping the Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals at Castrol Raceway in June. Now the Edmonton native brings his record-setting car to the desert in Arizona to take on another tough field at SIR.
“Putting down the fastest lap in one of these cars was simply amazing. We only wish we could have backed it up,” Boychuk said. “Still, we know the car is there and the tune-up is there, we just need to make sure the driver is there.”
Tim Boychuk brings one of the fastest Funny Cars in the country to Tucson
Another car favored at the Arizona Nitro Jam is Sanders in the “Mr. Explosive” ’70 Nova. Sanders won the other two events during last year’s west coast swing and should prove a tough competitor with one win already this year and several very quick laps just shy of placing him in the finals.
Sanders is currently third in the Prostalgia standings behind McIntire and Gallen, both of which will haul their racing operations from Ohio and Pennsylvania respectively to take part in the Duel in the Desert.
Gallen, who leads the class in wins since its creation last year with nine, currently leads the Nitro Jam standings by 14 points over McIntire after sweeping the most recent event in Baton Rouge, defeating McIntire both races.
“We are coming off of a big weekend in Louisiana and I hope we can continue that momentum in Tucson,” Gallen said. “This is a race I am really looking forward to and I really think the fans will be in for a treat. It should be a good one.”
Other drivers who certainly can’t be counted out are the defending Nitro Jam champions headed by driver Steve Nichols, who is looking to get his season back on track after an uncharacteristically slow start, along with Garten, the always fast “War Eagle” team and the man known as Todd “The Pirate” Lesenko.
Lesenko recently teamed up with the very successful Steve Plueger camp and looks forward to turning that partnership into a very successful year for the “Jolly Rogers” race team beginning at the Arizona Nitro Jam.
Todd ‘The Pirate’ Lesenko is excited about his return to Nitro Jam competition
“I can’t wait for the Arizona event. It is a new year and I am with a new team and I believe it will be a great season,” Lesenko said. “And what better way to start a great season than by competing in a great event like the Nitro Jam in Tucson. I had the pleasure of racing at a Nitro Jam last year in Edmonton and it was great. The people at the IHRA really know how to put on a great race for both the competitors and the fans.”
Lesenko said he is especially looking forward to going against a number of race teams he doesn’t get to see on a regular basis throughout the season.
“I am really excited about competing against the racers from the east. They are fierce competitors and really know how to race,” Lesenko said. “I had the opportunity to race against those guys in Kansas City and they were a handful. But with the skill of our team tuner Steve Plueger and Paul Tribute and the rest of the crew I believe we will be a threat at all the races we attend in 2011.
“If you are in Arizona the last weekend of March it would be a big mistake to miss this race. It will be a barnburner with all the top performers from the east and the west.”
Race fans don’t miss the biggest Prostalgia Funny Car race of the year at the inaugural Arizona Nitro Jam March 25-26 in Tucson. The Duel in the Desert will be accompanied by three additional nitro classes including Top Fuel dragsters, Nitro Harleys and Fuel Altereds, in addition to jet dragsters, wheelstanders and the drag racing debut of the world-famous Grave Digger monster truck versus the Shockwave jet semi.
TUCSON, Ariz. (March 16, 2011) – There is little doubt that in the world of professional drag racing, Nitro Funny Car is king.
Add to that the current popularity boom of nostalgia drag racing and you get a class that is quickly taking the sport by storm. With their old school looks and modern equipment, nostalgia Funny Cars have become a hit at drag racing events across the country and that includes being the newest feature class with the popular Nitro Jam series.
When Nitro Jam added the Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car class to its lineup at the beginning of last year, little did it know just how popular the class would become. Combining raw, nitro-driven horsepower with nostalgia bodies and wild designs, these unique and very exciting cars have become an exciting addition to the nitro-powered entertainment series as the largest and most diverse class the series has to offer.
The Arizona Nitro Jam will feature eight of the best Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car teams in the country
Now, one of the biggest Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car events of the season is set to take place at the inaugural Arizona Nitro Jam March 25-26 at Southwestern International Raceway as the best racers from the east converge on Tucson, Ariz. to take on the best of the west in one of the biggest nostalgia showdowns of the season – the Duel in the Desert.
“We are always looking for an opportunity to race against the best and this event will certainly feature many of the top teams in the country,” Gallen said. “It really pushes you to the limit and forces you to be on your game because one little mistake can be the difference between making the final and running in the consolation rounds. I can assure you we aren’t traveling 2,500 miles to run in the consolation rounds. We want to win, especially against a tough group like this.”
The Duel in the Desert will feature eight of the best Prostalgia Nitro Funny Cars in the country including such legendary machines as Dale Pulde’s “War Eagle” Trans Am and the “Poverty Stricken” ’74 Vega of current point leader Peter Gallen, along with six other superstars of the sport.
Among the talent-laden list are defending Nitro Jam champion Steve Nichols and the “Mill Road Boys” team, Mike “McAttack” McIntire and Gallen representing the east taking on “Mr. Explosive” Mark Sanders, Todd Lesenko and the “Jolly Rogers” team, Roger Garten in “War Horse,” Pulde’s “War Eagle” and the fastest driver in all of nostalgia drag racing Tim Boychuk in the “Troy Lee Designs” ’77 Pontiac.
Peter Gallen leads the Nitro Jam standings entering the Arizona Nitro Jam
All eight drivers have the equipment and the ability to take home one or both Ironman trophies from the two-night race, it will all simply come down to who wants it more.
“We are really looking forward to the Tucson race. I have never raced there, but I always have fun wherever we race and this will be no different,” Boychuk said. “We can’t wait to go against these guys. Our car has been touched up by Ron and Jim at Victory Race Cars so we should be in fine shape to run that group.”
Boychuk is one of the favorites entering the inaugural event at Southwestern International Raceway, having just put down the quickest and fastest lap in nostalgia drag racing history late last year, completing the quarter-mile in a mind-blowing 5.630 seconds at 258 miles per hour.
Boychuk also won two of four races during last year’s Nitro Jam west coast swing in Utah and Alberta, sweeping the Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals at Castrol Raceway in June. Now the Edmonton native brings his record-setting car to the desert in Arizona to take on another tough field at SIR.
“Putting down the fastest lap in one of these cars was simply amazing. We only wish we could have backed it up,” Boychuk said. “Still, we know the car is there and the tune-up is there, we just need to make sure the driver is there.”
Tim Boychuk brings one of the fastest Funny Cars in the country to Tucson
Another car favored at the Arizona Nitro Jam is Sanders in the “Mr. Explosive” ’70 Nova. Sanders won the other two events during last year’s west coast swing and should prove a tough competitor with one win already this year and several very quick laps just shy of placing him in the finals.
Sanders is currently third in the Prostalgia standings behind McIntire and Gallen, both of which will haul their racing operations from Ohio and Pennsylvania respectively to take part in the Duel in the Desert.
Gallen, who leads the class in wins since its creation last year with nine, currently leads the Nitro Jam standings by 14 points over McIntire after sweeping the most recent event in Baton Rouge, defeating McIntire both races.
“We are coming off of a big weekend in Louisiana and I hope we can continue that momentum in Tucson,” Gallen said. “This is a race I am really looking forward to and I really think the fans will be in for a treat. It should be a good one.”
Other drivers who certainly can’t be counted out are the defending Nitro Jam champions headed by driver Steve Nichols, who is looking to get his season back on track after an uncharacteristically slow start, along with Garten, the always fast “War Eagle” team and the man known as Todd “The Pirate” Lesenko.
Lesenko recently teamed up with the very successful Steve Plueger camp and looks forward to turning that partnership into a very successful year for the “Jolly Rogers” race team beginning at the Arizona Nitro Jam.
Todd ‘The Pirate’ Lesenko is excited about his return to Nitro Jam competition
“I can’t wait for the Arizona event. It is a new year and I am with a new team and I believe it will be a great season,” Lesenko said. “And what better way to start a great season than by competing in a great event like the Nitro Jam in Tucson. I had the pleasure of racing at a Nitro Jam last year in Edmonton and it was great. The people at the IHRA really know how to put on a great race for both the competitors and the fans.”
Lesenko said he is especially looking forward to going against a number of race teams he doesn’t get to see on a regular basis throughout the season.
“I am really excited about competing against the racers from the east. They are fierce competitors and really know how to race,” Lesenko said. “I had the opportunity to race against those guys in Kansas City and they were a handful. But with the skill of our team tuner Steve Plueger and Paul Tribute and the rest of the crew I believe we will be a threat at all the races we attend in 2011.
“If you are in Arizona the last weekend of March it would be a big mistake to miss this race. It will be a barnburner with all the top performers from the east and the west.”
Race fans don’t miss the biggest Prostalgia Funny Car race of the year at the inaugural Arizona Nitro Jam March 25-26 in Tucson. The Duel in the Desert will be accompanied by three additional nitro classes including Top Fuel dragsters, Nitro Harleys and Fuel Altereds, in addition to jet dragsters, wheelstanders and the drag racing debut of the world-famous Grave Digger monster truck versus the Shockwave jet semi.
