Born into a racing dynasty, Sondra Leslie grew up on the track. Gaining her love and passion for drag racing and Mustangs from her father, “John Leslie Sr.”, who is also in the sport. Sondra began her journey in a supporting role to her brother, Factory Stock veteran John Leslie Jr. However Sondra soon found just being part of the crew for her brother was not feeding her hunger and desire to throw down at the track herself. Sondra made the choice to come out of the shadows and on to the stage. Beginning her career in 2009, and completing her first full season in SuperStang class with the Ken Bjonnes team in 2010, Sondra came out strong, finishing the season out in the top five and won, “Rookie of the Year”.
Sondra has worked hard to make a name for herself on her skills and knowledge of the sport. This girl not only delivers behind the wheel on the strip, but can also talk shop with the best. A part Sondra loves most is the surprised expression on her guy counter parts face when she can have a tech conversation with them.
Sondra has gained respect in the industry by putting in the time and effort between races and during the off season in the garage with her team to ensure she is involved in all aspects. Sondra’s sister, Melissa Urist, currently along with handling two Hellion cars for her husband John Urist also serves as Sondra’s Crew Chief. This girl duo is a force to be reckoned with and can compete equally with any guy duo on the scene. These two ladies have no fear of getting in the garage and getting greasy to get the job done.
Now embarking on her fifth year in the sport, and competing in Factory Stock under the sponsorship of Strange Engineering, Sondra not only has changed the look of her 2006 Mustang, but has reworked many other components as well.
Rule changes in Factory Stock have given way to some positive changes that are aiding the team to put together the right combo for a successful 2014 season. Some noticeable changes came with the new look of the car. In celebration of 50th anniversary of Mustang, Strange Engineering put an amazing wrap on the car.
Some of the major enhancements made with rule changes include Hyperaktive Performance making the rolling chassis more efficient, suspension changes from front to back, backed by Team Z Motorsports, some under the hood tuning changes with new tuning software from Chris Groves of Dyno Edge, and the team is also exploring some converter technology as well.
So with a new outer package and inner package enhancements and with Sondra’s lethal drive to win this team is on track to have a winning performance in the 2014 season. Expect Sondra and her team to be at all NMRA events and a few local in the Northwest Region of Indiana near Sondra’s hometown of Munster. Keep close eye on the Sondra Leslie team in 2014 as they are tuned and primed to exceed all expectations. With outstanding driver skills and a mean machine 2014 could easily be the year of Sondra Leslie.