Thanks to a little faith and a whole lot of support, the team at Penticton’s Throttle Thrashers are heading to the SEMA show in Las Vegas, Nev., in November.

Chelsie Lesnoski, and her business partners Reb Lesnoski and Cole Marten, spent one month completely modifying her 2013 Scion FR-S as a demonstration of what their business is capable of. She said all of the design and planning for the concept of the car was done by her, while Marten and Reb helped in their own capacities.

“This was a way to show off all of our work together on the car. I found that we do a number of showcars so we’re kind of a routine now where we all know our part and what our place is with modifications,” said Chelsie. “So it all came together pretty smoothly and we built that car in a month. So to do something like that, that had never been done before, was an achievement in itself.”

READ MORE: Owners of Penticton’s Throttle Thrashers look to compete at SEMA show

Upon completion, Chelsie, Reb and Marten decided to enter the car in an auto show in Seattle as an attempt to have it showcased at the upcoming Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show, which runs from Nov. 5 to 8. It was there that they qualified for an online contest that let voters choose the 10th contestant in the SEMA Battle of the Builders Young Guns 27 & Under category.

Chelsie said she was surprised by the amount of support her car received from the community when it was entered into the online contest, but surprise turned to glee when she got the call earlier this week that her car had won it.

“It hasn’t really set in yet to be honest, it was a little bit shocking. So SEMA is calling my win the ’10th golden ticket’ and also the People’s Choice so it’s a combined award. They give out nine tickets at shows, and the 10th ticket is the People’s Choice so it’s picked by everyone who votes (online),” said Chelsie. “So SEMA will pick the car up on Oct. 28 and they fly all of us down to Vegas on Nov. 2.”

Chelsie said she is grateful for the opportunity to represent her small city on an international platform, and said her hopes are to inspire others that they can achieve great things, regardless of their education or background.

“I just worked retail in Penticton until about two years ago, when I actually quit cold turkey. I’ve been working in this business with my two partners ever since, and it was a really big change and we did a lot of learning along the way but it seems like it’s starting to pay off,” said Chelsie.

For more information about Throttle Thrashers, visit their Facebook page. More details about the SEMA show, visit www.semashow.com.

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