Trevor Lebsack Edmonton Pre race and Friday wrap up

Trevor Lebsack Rocky Mountain Nationals Weekend Journal


The Tenacity Alcohol Funny Car and "Tenacious Motorsports" could not have a better team name. In a nutshell it means: persistent, dogged determination. You could not have a more apt description of this race team.

When the season started, Trevor and wife Kristi Lebsack set out optimistic, yet reachable goals, when you look at their results at the end of the season. They had gone 5.95 at over 230 mph. With many sponsors signed up for the 2005 season, the team decided to do what only few Canadian teams have done and that was to compete full time in a professional drag racing series. The IHRA was the right fit for a number of reasons: Alcohol Funny Car is considered a professional class, there are only 12 events in the series, and the car Trevor and Kristi bought was originally run in the IHRA.

In order to compete at this level, they went out looking for a crew chief with lots of Top Alcohol experience, and Calgary's Sean Brown was a perfect fit for the team. Consistency and more power were the order of the day, so they put together a combination that would give them more power.

So far this year they have made baby steps, and are right at the threshhold of being a contender at every event. Up to this point of the season, they have yet to qualify, usually ending up just outside the field in the # 9 or 10 spot. Little gremlins have popped up at the most inopportune times, and they are still getting a handle of a higher horsepower race car.

"Yes, it hurt to be just outside the field so far at every race. But when we made the decision to run this deal, the fields were set at 16 cars. Then the IHRA decided that a few races were not getting enough cars, so they went to an 8-car field. Their statement was they wanted to 'enhance the program', and the fans did not like to see bye runs and the small fields. To do this when only one race (San Antonio) in reality had bad car counts really makes it tough for new teams to enter the class. But we made a choice, no one put a gun to our head, and we will show dogged determination. Team "Tenacious" is the epitome of their name.

This weekend's event here at Bud Park is their home event. They want to do well here for all their sponsors and themselves, and it will give them confidence going into the second half of the year. Trevor had an exciting run in round one at Bud Park. When he left the starting line, the car was on a strong lap, then it started to move hard to the right. Trevor tried to muscle it back, but by the time he had the car under control, he had crossed the centre line, and the run was disqualified.

Round two went much better, as Trevor went out and ran a solid 6.11 @ 232.23 mph. He currently sits # 6 in the 8-car field. Saturday, they get two more qualifiying sessions to set the field, and the team feels they can improve by another tenth, to put them in a good position for Sunday's eliminations.

As if the Funny Car wasn't enough for Trevor and Kristi, their four kids: Taylor, Jaedyn, Graeme and Daylen all drive Jr. Dragsters as well, so Kristi particularly, is busy from the start of the day to the end keeping track of all the goings on.

Trevor and Kristi would like to thanks their sponsors: Above and Beyond Compression Inc., Bulldog Protective Coatings, PIC, Snap-On (Jacques Gagnon dealer), SL Ford Racing, Direct Current and Max Fuel Distributors. The valuable crew members include Sean Brown, Adam Crain, JD Dennis, Steve Dyck, Jarret Seatter and Doug Smith.

Stop by the pits and say hello to the team, and log onto dragracecentral.com and speedzonemagazine.com for all the action.

[ June 25, 2005, 06:55 PM: Message edited by: The Zone ]