The Main Event 2009 was a disaster for Arvid Grødem and his Westside Racing. Before the race was over the Norwegian put his Mustang up for sale on Eurodragster. “The car did not work at all. We thought the chassis was too old and worn out, but later when the emotions were gone we talking with the Leanders brothers and came to the conclusion we were far out of the tuning window. When a chassis is not bent it can’t be from good to so bad in one race. But we already had made the decision to buy a car from the States or order a new one from Mats Eriksson.



There is only one race car for me and that’s a Mustang and I knew Jeff Burnett had one. That one was for sale a year ago but we could not get to an agreement. I saw he was still racing it and called him. The car was not for sale anymore but as a real businessman he told me everything was for sale. I bought the rolling chassis without seeing it. But then I saw he went into the sand trap with it and decided to go to the States and see the car. We came to an agreement and the only condition was that Jeff wanted to race Indy with it.



That was no problem for me, because we already skipped the 2009 season”, says Arvid. In the States the car ran a 5.66 seconds with a BAE engine combination. “Like we did in the last ten years we use our TFX Veney combination. I think it’s our third or fourth engine since we started. In the old Mustang we ran a 5.8 seconds so in the new chassis it should go quicker.”



For the fourth consecutive season Arvid is supported by Sunoco. The new Mustang and truck/trailer combination got a fresh and shiny Sunoco livery and looks very professional, an eye catcher on the strip and the road. “Sunoco is a Belgium owned company now. Keddell & Bommen A/S is the Norwegian distributor and the manager is very interested in racing and raced himself. We were the first team they supported and now more Norwegian teams get support from Sunoco. We visit shows with the car too and hope to represent Sunoco for many years to come.”



This is Arvid’s tenth year in Top Methanol Funny Car. He got into dragracing by a cousin a long time ago. “He had an American car, made a burn out and I was hooked. I started racing a Funny Car in Super Comp, together with a friend as co owner of the team and then on my own. After the car was wrecked in a pit accident my crew chief and I decided to step up to Top Methanol Funny Car.

I have no feelings with dragsters and was always interested in short wheelbase cars. I knew Micke Kagered’s Mustang was for sale and bought it immediately. And very special, the guy that ran into me bought my old car.” If he is not at the dragstrip, Arvid’s life is still filled with Christmas trees. No not the real trees. Arvid is a consultant in the oil business and the valves on the bottom of the sea on oil wells are called Christmas trees as well. Let’s hope Arvid will never get confused when standing on the start line.

The Westside Racing team members are long time crew chief Pål-Henning Sørensen, Tore Karlsen, Jan Vidar Vestvik, Bjørn Arild Sjøblom, Gunnar Olssen, Bjørn Myhrer Vestvik and Jens Petter Lindstrøm. The team is supported by Sunoco, Phoenix US Cars AS, Holmestrand Lakkering AS, IKT Allianse-Delmo Tele og Data AS.



Former owner Jeff Burnett was at Santa Pod too. Jeff comes from Australia but lives in America for almost ten years now. He was at Santa Pod to see his former car race but had other interests too. “Together with Murf McKinney I founded Composite Specialties. We were the first to build carbon composite bodies. In 2003 I bought out Murf and moved over to Brownsburg. We produce all kind of carbon product but our main product is injectors. As JBR Carbon Fiber Injectors we do the design our self and it’s an ongoing process build on experience to get the best possible airflow.



After 10 years of development injectors look totally different right now. Our main market is in dragracing and tractor pulling. In ADRL Outlaw Pro Mod 50% of the cars use JBR injectors and two weeks ago two records were reset by cars with JBR injectors and NRE heads.” Jeff Burnett also represents NRE heads and after NRE already signed for the Speedgroup contingency program JBR joint too. “We met the Speedgroup at the PRI show in Orlando.



For us as JBR it’s a perfect way to get more involved in the European market. It’s the first time I visit a European race. Andy Robinson and Graham Ellis are two of the racers that use our products, but there are many more and I also see older type JBR injectors here at Santa Pod.” How good the JBR and NRE products are proved Ellis. Using a JBR injector and NRE heads his Superbird ran a 6.07 seconds, a new personal best and the number two spot in qualifying. With a JBR injector Robinson advanced to the final. For more information about JBR see the contingency page on the Speedgroup website.