LEA OCHS
‘LEAD SLED LEA’
RETURNS
T
HIS 2019 SEASON IS A YEAR OF NEW BEGINNINGS
for “Lead Sled Lea” Ochs and her husband, Gary. The Texan
couple has a full schedule planned with their new single-tur-
bocharged “Lead Sled Resurrection” ’78 Ford Fairmont station
wagon, a completely new combination assembled after the
original nitrous-assisted “Lead Sled” was totaled in a devastating crash at
the Redemption No Prep race in 2017.
Coming back from the crash was an all-consuming process. It started
with finding a clean, unmodified Fairmont station wagon – not an easy task.
One turned up in Lawton, Oklahoma, where Ochs grew up, and the owner
parted with it even though it wasn’t technically for sale. He just wanted to
help Ochs in her mission to bring back the “Lead Sled.”
“We had a lot of that with this project,” Ochs says. “We went and got the
car the next day and the build started. The cage work was done by James
Mowdy out of Hazard Fab. He came out of retirement to help us get started
and get the cage work done. A lot of good people have been a part of this car.”
The switch to a turbocharger after years of experience with nitrous cars
has already shown early signs of great potential. Ochs made a few shake-
down passes last summer, remembering, “I was hooked and wondered
why I didn’t switch to turbos sooner.”
The first benefit Ochs noticed was the way the car carried the front wheels
off the starting line. “There’s so many things that you do to prevent it, but
(wagons) just like to wheelie,” Ochs says. “With nitrous, it’s a much more
violent feeling. With the turbo, it still does that, but for whatever reason it feels
more controlled. I feel more in control of the car. When the power comes in,
it’s a lot of power and it’s strong, it just doesn’t feel like it’s as violent of a hit.”
Ochs also believes the turbocharger is less violent when it comes to
maintenance. “I feel like it’s less wear and tear on parts,” Ochs states. “I
feel like the turbo setup is easier on the motor, all the parts and it’s easier
on my crew because they’re not running around pulling plugs and filling
nitrous bottles. It feels like a smoother program for us.”
Ochs actually has three different combinations for the Fairmont, switch-
ing engine and turbo sizes depending on where she’s racing. One combo
is for no-prep racing, another is for HOT ROD Drag Week competition
and the third is legal for Ultra Street and Limited 275 at Ochs’ home track,
North Star Dragway. The multi-class approach opens up new doors for
Ochs, her sponsors and her fans.
“Mostly we just want to be out there racing,” Ochs says. “I missed about a
year after the wreck while we rebuilt. We just want to branch out and just
be out there. We like to meet new people. It’s fun to actually meet the fans
who follow us on Facebook and they get to see the car in person. That’s a
lot of fun.” - NATE VAN WAGNEN
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D r a g Il l u s t r a t e d . c o m
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