ORLANDO, FL- Less than 24-hours after suffering debilitating front-end damage in a Day 3 accident, Nick Ledson returned to action at Orlando Speedworld with an impressive 6th place performance in Legends Semi-Pro competition.
“I didn’t really think another top-10 was in the cards after we hit the wall on Wednesday night,” admitted Ledson. “This car was awfully beat up, but my team wouldn’t stop until we had it back together again. None of this is possible without the long hours that the people around me put in”
The 2-time Ontario Legends Series champion overcame his recent qualifying struggles, rolling off 10th after his strongest preliminary run of the Winternationals.
“I’ve been focused on improving my qualifying efforts all week,” explained Ledson. “I’m happy that the hard work is starting to pay off. Our times still aren’t where we need them to be, but starting the race from inside of the top-10 is definitely what we were shooting for”
The Cookstown, ON driver raced his way to 2nd in Thursday’s event, though contact with another competitor removed him from the top-3.
“This was, by far, the fastest we’ve been all week,” said Ledson. “It felt as though we had a car capable of contending for a win. The contact was unfortunate, but that’s all part of racing. Two cars going for the same spot, there wasn’t a whole lot that could have been done to avoid it”
“After what happened on Wednesday, I’m just happy we were able to continue,” offered the teenager. “Battling back for a 6th place finish was a huge relief”
With a trio of top-10 finishes in his 4 Winternationals starts, Ledson looks forward to a strong run in Friday’s finale.
“In a lot of ways, Friday is going to be the culmination of an entire week’s worth of work,” said Ledson. “We’ve made some big gains, despite some pretty serious setbacks, and I just hope we can continue to improve”
“We’ve had a fast enough car to make up a lot of spots in race trim all week, and I think we can build on that for a solid run on Day 5. I’m aiming to qualify in the top-5. I believe it’ll make all the difference in the world to not have to come from deep in the field”
“No matter what happens, I’ve learned a tonne this week and I’m as ready for the upcoming Ontario season as I’ve ever been before.”
Fans can keep up with Nick on Twitter all week long @NickLedson15.
Ledson’s 2015 efforts are made possible thanks to Cavalier Transport and Ledson Vineyard & Winery.
By Spencer Lewis
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