Jimmy Alund Finishes 2019 Season at European Finals

Jimmy Ålund finished the 2019 FIA European Drag Race Series by winning his 11th Pro Stock championship and got within shouting distance of securing the Pro Mod crown. Here’s how he did at the season-ending European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway in the UK.

Pro Mod
The Pro Mod championship trophy was a mathematical reach for Ålund and The Old 51 team going into the European Finals, with every single point being critical. Ålund earning three bonus points for being Number One qualifier after the first session. He dropped down to second in the next round, but bounced back to Number One in the session three, earning another three points. What’s more, Ålund ran a 5.7806 second ET in the third session, making the Old 51 Chevy the first European Pro Mod blower car to crack the 5.7 second barrier.

Ålund entered eliminations as the Number One qualifier. He dodged a very large caliber bullet in Round One by winning a pedalfest. The second-ranked driver lost his first round race, but the
other top runners Including points leader Jan Ericsson of Sweden advanced to the next round.

Ålund won his race in Round Two, but Ericsson also won, giving him enough points to claim the 2019 FIA Pro Mod Championship. A red light and tire shake in the semifinals ended Ålund’s hopes of winning the event. Still, he finished the season third in the points standings.

"Well, it's two places down from last year," Ålund said. "But what a crowd to run with. 38 teams were in the championship and it was all decided at this last race. Congratulations to Jan Ericsson and his team for winning the championship. As funny and crazy as he is at times, he's a fierce and serious competitor and ran strong throughout the season."

Pro Stock
Ålund clinched the Pro Stock season championship at the event in Tierp, Sweden, but came to Santa Pod determined to win the European Finals. Ålund qualified Number One after having the quickest car in three of the four sessions. Eliminations started the same way, with Ålund having low ET and top speed in the second and semifinal rounds. His luck ran out in the final round as Number Two qualifier Robin Norén took his first European Finals win.

"It sure was an all-out team effort—what a great season!" Ålund said. "Except for me being tardy on the tree in the final of course. The team had the car tuned so well, we've been running 6.5s at solid speeds, and getting back the ET record at 6.48 was icing on the cake."

The first race of the 2020 FIA Drag Racing Championship series is The Main Event, May 23-24 at Santa Pod Raceway.

Congratulations to Jimmy on an awesome 2019 season!