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Jolly Rogers Racing, Plueger Unveil NHRA, IHRA Funny Car Plans


What’s better than driving one Funny Car? Why, two Funny Cars of course. Such will be the case for Jolly Rogers Racing owner and driver Todd “The Pirate” Lesenko as he and Jolly Rogers team embark on a schedule that will include both NHRA and IHRA events and both a modern and nostalgia flopper.

For more information and to view the complete Jolly Rogers Racing 2011 schedule, log on to www.jollyrogersdragracing.com [1].

Lesensko has partnered with Steve Plueger Racing, AGI – Total Oil and AGI – Bumper to Bumper to campaign on the NHRA Full Throttle professional drag racing series and the IHRA Nitro Jam tour in 2011. After finishing third in last seasons’ NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series Nostalgia Funny Car class, Lesenko announced his new partnership with Plueger – a thee-time nostalgia flopper champion – that would help enable him to compete in both series this season.

Lesenko explains, “I have dreamed of being a nitro Funny Car pilot since I was 12 years old watching drag racing legends at Edmonton Raceway. Today I am able to live that dream thanks to my marketing partners, Steve Plueger Racing, and my incredible teammate and wife Liz. Although I can tell you drag racing and the business of drag racing is very different from the days of my youth we have a different approach to marketing and growing our brand and sponsors. We are starting with a limited NHRA professional schedule to get our feet wet and understand the professional ranks.  This is a long term plan and we are just at the starting point.”
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Lesenko, Plueger, and company will begin the 2011 season at the annual March Meet in Bakersfield with the Steve Plueger Mach 1 Mustang and will make their Nitro Jam debut March 26 in Tucson, Arizona. The Total Oil Jolly Rogers NHRA Funny Car will then be unveiled over the summer at the FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals in Sonoma, Calif. July 29-31.