With Anita Mäkelä, Tommi Haapanen and their kids, the Schöfer brothers, Per Andersen and Eero Knihtilä and his crew, several classes were represented at Pomona – but not on the track. They all fancied an early-season taste of nitro while enjoying some California sunshine. However, with chilly temperatures and even a hailstorm, the weather was a big disappointment but the racing certainly compensated for it. Instead, this year the European racers preferred to start their racing season at Florida’s Gatornationals. With Stig Neergaard, Michael Gullqvist, Ulf Leanders and Fredrik Fredlund in action, no fewer than four European Championship contenders took up the challenge against the American pro racers.


Stig Neergard

In his familiar dragster Stig Neergaard did a fine job in qualifying. Without any testing, Stig’s John Smith-tuned combination ran 3.957sec at 307.02mph (494.10kph), a new personal best on only his second qualifying pass. After day one, Neergaard was number 14 of 20 entrants. A consistent 3.973 at 304.46 on Saturday morning suggested that Neergaard was on the right track, yet the Dane found himself in 18^th position and not in the field. The team needed to step up on their fourth and last attempt but a huge fireball at half-track ended their hopes of getting on to the 16-car elimination ladder. However, the achievement of a personal best showed Stig’s team’s impressive capabilities.

For the Pro Modified class, the Gatornationals was the first race of the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series. Last year Michael Gullqvist was a last-minute entry for R2B2 Racing and surprised everyone with a runner-up finish. The ’68 Camaro which Melanie Troxel and Gullqvist campaigned in Europe last season now belongs to the Swede and, although they worked out of the R2B2 pits, the Swedish crew handled the tuning themselves. The Camaro, now painted bright red, smoked and shook the tyres on Friday and a 6.213sec ET left Gullqvist back in 21st position. But on Saturday’s third and last qualifying attempt, Gullqvist and his crew hit the right form and a combative 5.908sec at 245mph (395kph) placed them sixth among the 25 entries bidding for the 16-car field. The first round of Pro Mod eliminations took place late on Saturday and Gullqvist had to run against Raymond Commisso. The pair left with almost identical reaction times before Gullqvist lost traction and had to click off. So there was no quarter-final for the Swede but his team showed they can run with America’s best.

In Top Alcohol Funny Car, double FIA European Champion Ulf Leanders represented Europe. With Ironcad sponsorship emblazoned on the car, Ulf’s first pass was a 6.135sec/252mph (406kph) followed by a 8.623sec in session number two. Things improved in Saturday morning’s third session when a 5.688sec lit up the scoreboard, a great run and a new personal best. Starting the day as the number 16 qualifier, Leanders jumped into 11^th position. The run, though, caused heavy engine damage and it seemed almost impossible to get the car fixed for the first round of eliminations on Saturday evening. But Leanders was not the only one having problems. His opponent, Thomas Carter, couldn’t even make it to the start line so Leanders merely had to take the green light to reach the quarter-finals. The team worked the whole night to get a new engine prepared for Sunday morning, only to find out that the blower did not fit the new block. So it was a ‘no show’ for the Leanders Brothers team in the quarter-final and the end of their Gators run.

Fredlund at Santa Pod UK 2010 photo by Remco Scheelings

For Fredrik Fredlund a dream came true when he received an invitation from the Sullivan family to ride their team’s second bike. The Finn had met Katie Sullivan and her family on one of his American trips when he attended the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School. The 2008 European Pro Stock Bike Champion knew it would be extremely difficult to qualify in the top 16 of the tough 27-bike entry. Fredlund started with a 7.30sec but faced problems on his second and third runs. His last run, at 7.255sec, was also his best but he still wound up number 25 and had to watch the races on Sunday from the grandstands. But it was a great experience and, like the other three Europeans, the Finn wants to come back for more.