Jimmy Alund Wins Pro Stock at FIA European Drag Racing Season-Opener

Jimmy Ålund doesn’t let moss grow under his rear slicks.

Ålund competes in the FIA European Drag Racing Championship Pro Stock class behind the wheel of the Summit Racing Camaro. He also competes in FIA Pro Modified driving ‘The Old 51’ Chevy Business Coupe. In 2018 he won the FIA Pro Mod Championship, and made history by being the first driver to win both the classes at a single event.

Ålund is campaigning both cars again this season, and fully intends on winning the crown in both classes. He put his Pro Stock competition on notice with a victory at the season-opening Main Event at Santa Pod Raceway in the UK.

"After two very solid seasons with The Old 51 team, we feel we have the kind of strong and close relationship needed to go for both championships," Ålund said. "The team behind the Summit Racing Pro Stock Camaro have tremendous experience and skills, they have been instrumental in collecting our 10 FIA Pro Stock championships."

Pro Stock
Racing Pro Stock at Santa Pod for the first time since 2016, Ålund qualified second with a 6.575 second pass, right on the heels of veteran Michael Malmgren’s 6.572. He also set fastest speed in all rounds of qualifying, picking up 11 of a possible 12 qualifying bonus points.

Ålund won Round One of eliminations with a 6.58 second pass. He dodged a bullet in the semi-finals against 2018 champion Bengt Ljungdahl. Ålund had a severe case of tire shake, but took the win when Ljungdahl redlighted.

Ålund met up with Michael Malmgren in the final, taking the win with a 6.59/209.95 run.

"Definitely, this came out well," he said. "I could've done better in the seat, but it's like the first day on the job getting the cobwebs out. I'm lucky to have such a good team giving me a good car to drive."

"I hope you've all seen the new livery across the whole side of the Camaro, we now have an even bigger commitment from our main sponsor Summit Racing Equipment,” Ålund continued. “It really sets the standard for us this year—we're in deep and solid to fight for the 2019 FIA Pro Stock championship."

Pro Mod
Ålund qualified The Old 51 in fourth place, with two solid runs in the 5.8-second range. He took the win in Round One of eliminations with a 5.88 second, 241 MPH pass, and ran a near-identical 5.87/240 in the second round. Tire shake put an end to Ålund’s day in the semi-finals.

"We did as well as we'd expected,” he said. "I've driven this car for two seasons and we've never made as many changes to the car as we did for this one race. The car has been made lighter, blower speed is slowed down, we have a new torque converter, engine parts, and suspension setup. We're right on track, the whole team knows what to do and we're all very much looking forward to the next event at Tierp Arena in front of a Swedish crowd."

Ålund leaves Santa Pod as the leader in Pro Stock and fourth in the Pro Mod points standings.

Next Race
The next race is the Tierp Internationals, June 7-9 in Tierp, Sweden. Visit the FIA European Drag Racing Championship website for more information and the complete schedule.