Wednesday - June 8
Big bus! Robert Karström saved Blackout Racing from a lot of problems when letting us transport our
Impala SS'n'stuff in his specially built race and Web TV-bus to Sweden Internationals at Tierp Arena!
We saved a lot of time and work since we didn't have to roll the SS through the yearly traffic inspection
first
to get it street legal so we could drive it up there! Now maybe some of you are asking:
"But how about the road worthiness
of the Blackout SS then?"
and to you I say Cheers! I have no more to prove in that subject.
Nothing new has happened,
the
Blackout SS is still as street worthy as last year complete with full exhaust system and all!
Even if the bus was large we had to be innovative to be able to get all our normal
stuff with us,
that we usually pack into the Dodge Grand Caravan and the Impala SS!
Okey, we also brought that large gasoline drum. And extra new slicks. And old slicks for sale.
And two stock front wheels as reserves. And the big garage fan. And...
However, the SS was too long to fit inside the bus! We used a great part of the day to figure this out,
but
the planks and ramps couldn't be placed further forward because the aluminium wheel wells wouldn't
hold the 1100 kg / 2425 lb weight on the front wheels! Then Robert figured it out...Lets' back it in!
The longer rear overhang filled the space better and we got the SS in with
a couple of generous inches.
Lucky me that I am so athletic and limber to manage to get out and in through this unmanly passage!
Now our departure was late by hours! Our aim was still to enter the Tierp gates before closing tonight!
The distance is 523 km / 325 miles between Gothenburg and Tierp, and we have approx 6 hours...
Robert is a handy man who rebuilt this bus! I want a bus like this too! Our family could
get around and
travel on vacations all over Europe!
And bring lots of friends too!
We don't even need the Impala SS!
There is a 90 degree sofa where you see that step ladder and a large flat screen (it's hard to see)
is up on the facing wall to watch TV or today's filmings. Fridge with cold beers? Guess!
Downstairs. I sat and cut several stickers of the letters S and G for the class "Super Gas" to cover my
"Pro ET"
when we
heard a "growing
unbalanced slammin' noise" under the floor to the right...
It was the rubber bushings for the arbor support that were totally worn out! Normally this would
have been a situation where to call a towing company but "luckily" the Blackout Full Size
Racing
always bring "a lot of junk" so with the blue "rubber box" this was a quick fix!
I think this is a blues that most of the bus based drag racing teams recognizes, repairing the bus
along the road.
At least we could pull
in on a Parking lot, we
had good
weather, the sun was up
and
nobody
was drunk. Not in our bus.
With the right kind of tools Robert could fabricate new busnings out of some of my hoses.
-Heybaberiba! Here we go again!
Robert went up on the roof to repair an antenna or something and to save time I took the opportunity
to
do some driving.
I mean, in my military service at F21 in Luleå it was all I did for a year, driving buses.
Thursday - June 9
We were at the closed gate of Tierp Arena at AM 03.22 which means that our trip had taken around
10 hours! So we could not get started to build our pit and make the SS ready. At least we were here.
Now a quick sleep until AM 7.00 when the gate opened. I just fell asleep when suddenly Robert
shouted
"get up you lazy son-of-a..."
Good friend Kent Edin from Umeå - who was here in good time yesterday - had his SS ready for start
and
he
had
three
qualification
runs before I was done with my preparations, like mounting that new
extra engine
diaper.
Kent's first runs: 10.14 - 10.09 - 10.10 @ 222 kmh / 137 mph - 60 foot: 1.53
It was getting too hot in the
sun! Kent's roof and that large garage fan wasn't enough to save our lives!
Keep cool said Robert Karström who started to unfold his roof...
And the inspection went well.
Largest Super Gas bus ever!? Robert's roof covered both teams! Kent had to fold in his roof on his Merc.
After I was ready we ran together through the whole qualifying. First run at the Tierp concrete for me
was
like
the first
time on slicks. Omph! I have to re-think the start procedure...higher stall? And
finally I got
closer to the 60-foot
times we had on Santa Pod in 2006 when running 9's! It was 1.49 here
compared to
the PB 1.41 which now was reachable again!
Kent ran 10.14 and his fourth (!) 222 kmh / 137 mph
trap
speed
while I got a 10.46 @ 211 kmh / 131 mph. Best ET in years of problems but still no good
and a too low speed showed I was "out of power". It should have been higher because...
...the engine wasn't missing anymore at the last 1/8 of the run which of course was a result of the new
100 amp chinese battery
which hold up the juice to let the injectors do their job all the way! Before
the voltage could drop from 12.5 to 10.5 V during a run! The new battery is also charged beween the
runs! But the SS was still smoking of too much gasoline, while the log said it was too lean...
The top end officials simply waved me in because of the reported smoke and checked
the Blackout SS
for the reason why, before
they let
me go.
That's a good procedure. And engine was sizzling hot! Water
was
over the boiling point so
I
stayed for a while enjoying the flow of other cars. Why was it so hot?
Busy staff in the Safetygroup. Jörgen Hult and Micke Schriever, both locals of Gothenburg and vicinity.
Engines on parade! Ellwein Engines "King of Spades" 383 stroker ProCharger F2 and
Autoshop Racing
Engines
"Jeezus" 396 stroker ProCharger F1R.
Both of them well over 1000 horsepower! But not now!
In the next run Kent had 10.23 @ 219 kmh and I had 10.48 @ 214 kmh
- and Blackout SS was still
smoking! I hate when it's smoking during the run and everybody tell me!! Then I have to look surprised
because if I would say "I know" I would be taken for an idiot. Even more than normal.
Our friends Carla Pittau and Rick McCann in Heaven & Hell As Well Racing from London finally came
here even if they were followed
with a lot of Hell. Their camper was broken at home so the team had to
be cut in half, and Dave
Buckland had to fly in by Ryan Air to Nyköping. Note that tent on the trailer
which was used first night, then changed to hotel rooms in Gävle. Dave slept in the back of
the truck!
What we do of love for our sport...
When Rick finally got to run his Camaro 1984 in the Stock/Super Stock qualifying he broke the
fuel pump and you see Carla working on it in the picture. The spirit was very low at this moment...
That was the Hell part, when could we see the Heaven part?
The kitchen in Robert's bus is on a height for nice views. Can you spot the Ferris wheel of the
tivoli?
A good initiative of Tierp Arena to get something like that for families with kids when the race is for
four days!
Just like the fair at Santa Pod.
Bunks for five here with Captain's double bed furthest back.
Work at midnight and beyond. Robert Karström insisted that we should move the lambda sond from
the passenger side collector up to the single No 2 exhaust tube. He had the stuff needed, the weld
bung and a plug. And Mr Al Holt was willing to do the actual TIG welding in his welding shop in the
rear
of Pro Mod racer Roger Johansson's bus!
A Big Thanks to all of you involved!
Why do this? The lambda is of course super sensitive of the air/fuel ratio (it's what it do) so maybe
it have read
a leakage from where the exhaust tubes are just sticked into the collector (no welds)?
If so, maybe that's why the SS is smoking of too much gasoline while the log says lean?
I know we have discussed it before, but now we will have a test.
Friday - June 10
Gladiators gather around its coliseum! The Tierp Arena is unreal. You almost get bad consious for
driving here "Me? No I shouldn't come here and disturb...excuse me" But then, when you realise
that this is for you and all others you just love it.
Did Blackout SS smoke or not? NO! The smoke was GONE and
it wasn't as hot at the top
end
either!!
The excessive heat problem was gone by the same operation! And it was running smoother than ever!
But
SLOWER?! 10.82 @ 196 kmh / 121 mph !!!!! What the fxxx! It must be because I did a flash start?
Yes it must be because of that!....? Yes! Or?
Kent just disappered from me and hit us all with an outstanding 9.76 @ 227,66 kmh / 141,1 mph!
With that the "Gentle Giant SS" finally drove quicker and faster than "Blackout SS"!
Kent's proof of the quickest and fastest Impala SS outside of the USA. Bostic Bolero now only
second! I tried to talk a little about "road worthiness, traffic inspection, street leagal issues, 200 lb
difference, no transbrake..." and
such things but
no one listens to an ex-star! :-)
Congratulation you you you...Kent!
Dave Buckland got a minute over from Heaven & Hell As Well Racing Team so he could enjoy a seat.
He still takes photos as he did in the 70's. It was also nice to meet the Callin family with Gordon, Chris
and Linda. They were here to cheer Gordon's brother Micke Callin who qualified In Pro Stock at the
bump
6.8945 @ 325.30 kmh / 202.13
mph.
Good to see Patrick Wikström in his Pro Mod Camaro on a race again! Patrick is still developing his
own
internal design of a race blower under the name BOSS
BLOWERS and he was here to add some
research to his development, testing that is.
He and Tommy have been busy
doing a lot of other stuff
lately but now they finally showed up, the whole team except Tommy who had to
work this weekend!!
European NDRS Pro Mod champ in 2001 and 2005, Patrick Wikström ran 6.11's @ 379 kmh / 235,9
mph
already
in 2009 - before stepping aside to work on his blower ideas - now faced that a 6.281
in a
jumpy Camaro wasn't enough to qualify! Late arrival and inspection had Patrick a couple of qualification
runs short to really tune and tame the car.
That filmer in grey t-shirt at least got the runs in HD!
Sweden Internationals
had the lowest ever bump
in Pro Mod with 6.240 for Robert Kuno
in the huge 29 car showdown!
No1 qualifyer was Autoshop backed Adam Flamholc
on a 6.010
@ 386.54 kmh / 240.18 mph!
Never before
have we seen such a tight 16 car field in Pro Mod,
and when will we do that again?
Just a nice shot from Kirstie on the Swiss Top Fuel team Erbacher in line.
The view from the media veranda is stunning. Click to enjoy a bigger one!
Of course Mr SmartTV was there too! Robert Karström was everywhere all the time!
This is the veranda and building, with mirror windows that will be pictured for many many years!
Official Tierp Arena building is filled with offices, media, officials, timing, VIP's, bar and more!
Rumors say
they will
have hotell rooms here too, so I'll book a room
for ten years! OK?
This car looks better every year!
Did you know that the fastest bikes need chutes today? Australian (!!) guest Mark Ashelford uses it
every run
to take his Super Twin Bike down from speeds around 350 kmh - 217 mph!!
Englishman Ian King on his brand new Gulf Top Fuel Bike forgot to use his chute...and landed in a sea
of
Leca stones which seems to be a perfect mass to use for "soft braking" since they're lightweight
and
I can imagine they are not too hard on man and machine.
But they are sure dirty! You can almost hear the crunching noise if cranking it here!
The environmental issue is growing also within drag racing. Tierp Arena demands every team to present
a person to be the "environmental contact" who is responsible for that their team are keeping it clean
and leave
their pit as clean as when they arrived. To our help, every team is getting an empty drum
for waste oil
and plastic buckets for sorting waste. Agneta was presenting a fantastic plateful
of fruit and berry!
And when she starts to skin potatoes you know it will be a serious dinner.
Meanwhile I rigged our GoPro 3D camera so I can do some fun captions tomorrow.
A picture for Karl and n'Ola, a tradition from the race at Fällfors in 2008. The Impala SS racers wear
lumberjack
jackets in the evening. Kent started it all without knowning it. We just laughed out loud
when he came out of his camper with that jacket, so we had to follow.
Love the sunset over a drag racing pit. It's like a second start of the day! We go into relax mood.
Super Gas again, a 9.90 index. The only class Kent and I can run in the NDRS series which basicly
is
what they run at Tierp Arena with Speedgroup as a partner. Kent and I would love an ET-class where
you Dial-in, decide your own
index, like the ET Pro in the SDS series or the very popular Pro ET in
the UK! Works perfectly for all racers who don't want to aim at the same ET all the time!
However, Mats "Masken" (The Worm) Karlsson from Umeå is a big shot in Super Gas and
won the series last year!
Even so he got a low chair to sit on at the table which amused many.
Including himself.
Saturday - June 11
The bullshit stops in that gate! I asked Agneta to take some pictures and gave her the SA-card (starting
area) but she didn't want to disturb so much so she
took these picture on a distance...
Lucky us that Patrik Jacobsson was at the barrier at AM 9.00! Kent killed me right off with a 9.74 @
227.85 kmh /
141.58 mph!
Blackout SS ran the worst so far: 11.30 @ 186 kmh / 115 mph.
Why? Why? Why? Total humiliation! Why???
Kent was so happy! And I was so...happy! We have actually both waited and worked for this
since
2006 when he started this project and promised this! It took five years but now it was finally done!
Kent, how come you jumped from 10's to 9.7's? "I did another routine before staging. Before I did burn
on 2nd gear, stopped, revved a little on neutral then put it in 1st gear. Now I stopped after the burnout
and put
it in first gear without going into neutral and stuff, it worked"
It must mean that your transmission is broken in some way!?? "Yes I know, I'll change to next year"
Blackout Full Size Racing and the entire Impala SS world community says Congratulations
to Kent and his engine builder Karl Ellwein and his engineer in Umeå Jan-Åke Norberg
for reaching their goal!
Yesterday's 9.76 backed up today's 9.74 and Kent also climbed the Impala SS Dynamic ET List
where he still is listed as a "street driven" which actually ended in 2006. On the other hand,
both
Voss Boreta
and
Mike Smith
are still in the "street driven" category. BTW the statue to the right is
made entirely of
glass and is named "Green Fire" and the photo is taken in the middle of the long,
cold
winter in Umeå which happens to be Kent's hometown and also where I grew up.
Back to Tierp Arena in June! The stands of the arena are really capturing and enhancing the sounds
much like an amphitheatre. Even the Junior dragsters sound loud! And many of these dragsters are
today so extremely well built and have such
a high class finish, like this one driven by
"Drummin' Man"
Joe Kellet from the UK who ran 8.0's on the 1/8" and
lasted to the Semis.
Yes, I heard Axel! Yes!
Talking about well built, take a closer look at Roger Johansson's new Pro Mod Corvette! Roger is a
"Ford-man" so this is a car they will use in waiting for the new Ford. Engine is a humongous
nitrous injected
903 c.i. which is 14.8 Liter!
Roger qualified 15th as the quickest non-blower cars, 6.235 @ 366.25 kmh / 227.64 mph but lost in
round one.
Please
also note that filmer again! He walked around with his
tri-pod in the starting area like
he
owned the place.
I was
worried that it should get entangled in a dragster or something...
Life in the stands is very good, especially since they're coming and selling coffee, icecream and small
stuff to you! Hello Kenneth and Kim Feldthusen who had to drive here from Landvetter to see the race.
Kenneth was inspired as all of us and will of course bring his Nilfisk-ALTO Competition Altered
and team here for a race here in the future.
Now the west stand was finished and crowded. A total of 28.000 people visited Sweden International
which must be good considered the weather being "go to the beach and have a swim"
In a weather like this you really enjoy taps with running cold water! We took a shower over our feet
as often as we could. Jan Phersson and Annelie Olsson
filled their "plastic-bag-ice-cube-makers"
before going back to hide in their safe Simpson shadow.
This pit lane is a real success too! See earlier analysis in May here! Nice attack girls from the
local Tierp
Community Office who I believe had a lot to do during the weekend when Tierp Arena
actually
had much more
people than Tierp itself. The girls were spreading the gospel of Tierp as
a nice place to live in or at least visit. I asked Agneta if we should move here and the answer was
"I have no problem with that" Maybe Tierp could be that "Race City USA" Mooresville in N.C.
USA
where more than 60 big
NASCAR teams have moved in and they have racing schools, racing
businesses,
museums, Hall of Fame etc. and it is really close to the Charlotte race track!
Tierp would be a really nice community to live in like that!
Clean again! We love those classic Gulf racing colors! Ian King now used his chute every run after he
plowed
through the sea of Leca stones. He qualified
2nd with a best of 6.3602 @
346 kmh / 215 mph.
Ian King advanced to the final in his brand new Top Fuel Bike but didn't show.
Peter Svensson
was the No 1 qualifyer in Top Fuel Bike with a 6.022 @ 340 kmh / 211 mph (he shut
off at 1000 feet, therefore the "slow speed") and then he continued right through the Elimination
with
an unmatched
series
of 6.045, 6.051 and a 6.006 in the solo Final. Best speed was 370.4 kmh /
230.16 mph! "Hold on to your hat" as we say in Sweden! :-) In that first run where he shut
off early
he got a new PB at the 1/8 mile with a 3.95 @ 321.05 kmh /
199.49 mph!
Congratulations!
And Heaven & Hell As Well team managed to fix the fuel pump by borrowing one from
Pro Stock
racer
Conrad Stanley from Wales! So the only Englishmen in Stock/Super Stock anywhere on Earth
could
continue to qualify! This class doesn't excist in the UK so they have to go to Sweden once a year!
Now the spirit was much higher in this London team! A 10.148 @ 210 kmh / 130,7 mph gave a 27th
place in the
32 car
field, but they went far in that ladder... Rick and Carla is as attentive in details and
facts. I agree, keep the book updated, or else you forget!
I also had to sit and read and translate
everything
written in Swedish about Stock/SuperStock in the printed race programme.
It was like
a moment at pre-school when the kids sat in a ring and the
teacher read a fairytale... :-)
This is a ROCKET! Martin Lundqvist is still sorting out this twin turbo Pro Mod Camaro but we all saw
the potential in a disqualified run! Do you remember that little yellow Chevy S10 Pick-Up who ran 6's
with a turbo 301 ci?
Same guy. I can visualize World Domination with this Camaro!
This is TWO rockets! It's nice to have two of them together like this to compare. Closest is Kent's SS
which have stock bumper skin and spoiler while I have aftermarket
choices. Just as nice either way.
But why has Blackout SS dropped ET from 10.46 to 11.30 and still feels just fine?
I was looking for the problem of this declining performance, and when I disassembled
the cover over the blower intake this is what I saw!! One of the duct plates
that directed air from
the
Intercooler to the radiator had loosened in one end and blocked the ProCharger
funnel intake!
I could get two fingers max in there!
It was obvious why it had happened! When backing up
in Roberts bus the front of the SS
went lower
than
ever before. That wrecked and flattened the aluminium plate intake
underneath in the front left
corner - "my lips
are sealed!" It was even a dent made in the IC tube
with all the rocking up'n'down on
the
way here!
So the ProCharger must have ripped the walls in search for more air!
We all got engaged when knowing why the Blackout SS went slower and slower. So now we all dug in
and worked on this problem during the better part of Saturday evening. Agneta cleaned the IC.
There was one more run to go - 1st Elimination run tomorrow morning!
When the plates loosened a lot of duct tape also loosened and went into the ProCharger! That's
why Agneta had to clean the intercooler. Also the ProCharger needed to be cleaned!
Before and After. That melted duct tape didn't came off easily! Thanks Agneta!
Note that black tape waste in the volute! And Kenneth jumped in and cleaned the impeller.
Thomas Öhman helped us with a general overhaul underneath, as straighten up the transmission mat.
Note the exhaust collector and the four tubes sticked in there. Not totally tight is it!? Of course there
was a risk that the lambda sond felt any fresh air leakage there!? Lambda bung on the far left was
closed. And that was now an old problem solved...
Then Lars-Inge Johansson came by with Scott Bathurst from California who is a designer and big
producer
of racing wear in USA in his company Classic Graphix and also the man behind all Tierp
official clothing and t-shirts too.
So
I showed him
my graphics which I am
proud of having done myself.
"No no, I do things more
like
a piece of art
you see!" Aha, Ok. "I have also owned a 1996 Impala SS..!"
To honour our late friend and mentor Lennart "Bagarn" Bergqvist we opened the Bullens Korvkiosk and
Axel
was the man to take care of it. "Bagarn" loved this classic canned hot dog with it's 50's origins.
Well, we all do!
The best summer nights are spent in drag racing pits during hot, rain free weather. Parties, music, BBQ's
and
laughters everywhere
and people visit each other and no noise no more from any electric
generator
which
are forbidden, the
electric current is instead provided by the track. Note that little
tent where Kenneth and Kim slept. Anything goes for the sport we love!
Robert enjoys another Bullens. He's getting a serious tan from standing at the start filming for hours!
Kjelle Ahl is called Stockholm. And in his case it's spelled like they pronounces it in our capital city.
Then we went for a small excursion in Robert's shuttle. And we saw the sea of Leca stones! And the
Tierp air strip actually continues after that! The sky is
light to the North in Swedish summers.
And darker to the South.
Sunday - June 12
Can you spot the guilty one?
From left Tommy Johnson Jr, Top Fuel. Christian Jäger, Super Twin Bike.
Ulf
Leanders, Top Alcohol Funny Car. Peter Svensson, Top Fuel Bike. Dave Wilson, Top Alcohol
Dragster.
Jesper Thiel, Prop Stock Bike. Or Thomas Lindström, Pro Stock?
Traditional interviews with the No 1 qualifyers.
A J34 Hawker Hunter amazed the crowd as one of many highlights during the official inauguration. The
Swedish Airforce used this English plane between their own SAAB J29 "Flying Drum" and SAAB A32
"Lance" in the 50's. Did you know that "Lance"/"Lansen" was built to carry small nukes over the
Soviet Union!
I think it never happened, I'm pretty sure I would have heard about it...
Leif Andreasson and Lars-Erik Lindberg recieved an American Flag from Public Diplomacy
Counselor
Chris Dunnet who represented
the USA and the American Embassy in Stockholm!
Chris had a very popular speach and that flag was then
raised
over the facility in recognition
of
drag
racing as a Swedish-American cultural connection,
as Chris writes in his own blog.
He has some own photos with comments there too!
Kent lost his first Elimination round in the 9.90 Super Gas class with an easy 10.009, but look who's
taking
photos from
the
barrier! Agneta! You can do it! And it was good! "But where is my husband...?"
Here my Dear! This son-of-a-gun 1996 Impala SS built in Arlington Texas USA just died in
the tunnel!!!
No fuel pressure! FUEL PUMP WAS DEAD!!! DAMN!!I XXX!!! So, I became the first ever to be pushed
back from the Tierp
tunnel
in the first round of Eliminations! How about that? Who else? Robert came
with his HqTec
shuttle
so we could get the 2 tonnes SS towed back somehow to the pit.
But first check fuses.
Yep, the 30 amp fuse for the fuel pump was burned! Why here and now and not at the top end?????
Why did it burn at all? Well, the little ground cable to the small panel in the trunk with fuseholders and
relays
was forgotten to be re-connected after we changed battery on thursday morning when we had
to alter the existing cables. And I forgot to inspect. The fact that it lasted for more than three days
makes it even
more silly that it didn't burn AFTER my run! Don't you agree?
I put on the ground cable, put in a new fuse and drove back to the pit...
This must be the fastest Volvo in the World? Krister Adeen's totally awesome Volvo 850 with a Volvo
2.5 L 4-cyl engine
on alcohol
and a sound
that
changes color of your ears! Liberty 5-speed and
9" rear.
Runs low 7's in CT/A.
Has an earlier PB of 7.095 from first race at
Tierp Arena
and now
qualified No 9 in
on
7.13 @ 310
2 kmh / 192.7 mph!
All are waiting for the 6's..
When you have melted that, here is Mattias Stenström's Volvo S90 in the same class that have run
6.72 @ 335.82 kmh / 208.7 mph! However, he has a 3 L BMW M3 engine also on turbo and alcohol
and he won
Competition Eliminator! There are so many nice cars and bikes in today's drag racing that
you have a feeling that you're missing it all when you are racing yourself!
Here Rick McCann puts away my old friend PA Lindström who has driven that same Dodge
Challenger
all these years since the 80's when he cruised and raced the streets of Umeå in it.
Ulf "Totte" Lindqvist from Skara in his own construction
Fiat Topolino based on a
rebuilt
former Funny
Car
chassie from USA and a blown Bigblock Chevy. Entered Super Comp (index 8.90) as a good
excuse to be racing at Sweden Internationals (just like us in Super Gas).
They didn't get back
to their
8.37 @ 249 kmh / 154.7 mph performance from last year to start experimenting from, but qualified with
a
problematic 9.97, and lost first round
with a 9.02. "Totte" was happy anyway.
"Bad Luck Boys"
have
the right attitude and doesn't quit that easily, recognise that? His aim is 7's and 300 kmh / 186 mph.
"Totte" is also one of the people
in mk402m.se
who organizes
the
nice relaxed drag races at
Moholmstrippen! Actually he's often the announcer!
(They have a race in August 27-28, click orange link if interested!)
Starting area action! Lindberg family when Johan put down their first ever 5-second run in round two with
a 5.987 @ 384.89 kmh /
239.16 mph defeating Mark Meihuizen! Will Hanna is from Richmond, Texas
USA and is sucessful in supporting and pushing Norwegian Fred Hanssen in Top Alcohol Dragster,
who won this race on a PB 5.305 @ 434 kmh / 269.7 mph! (But Englishman Dave Wilson broke the
5.30 barrier with a 5.298!). The man to the right must have been training a lot at the Polar Circle to
levitate like that, or he simply was a mechanic for Danish Pro Stock Bike winner Jesper Thiel.
"I don't care what people say - Rock'n'roll is here to stay!"
Jan Gunnarsson's 1959 Badillac is one of the most magnificent machines in Pro Mod! What an impact
that body and paintjob has! And it's not a Donald Duck entry, it runs low 6.10's with an 6.1239 as the
best here and earlier a 6.047
@ 367.74 kmh / 228.5 mph. Best 60 foot: 0.993 sec. So you could duck!
Team Badillac website.
Australian Mark Ashelford was consistent and took his bike all the way to the Final where he met
another consistent driver in
Swede Per
Bengtsson who won 6.696 over 6.912. Mark's best performance
was 6.619 @ 351.1 kmh / 218.2 mph in round 2. He is here to race the whole UEM series and he
just
loves it!
Not to mention the Tierp Arena. What an adventure for him! And us!
The Super Gas final! Our friend and 6th qualifyer Mats "Masken" Karlsson to the left vs. 11th qualifyer
(kvalelvan!
hahaha! Karl Ellwein hahaha!)
Håkan "Strawhat" Mattsson. Close racing as usual on this
level! Mattsson won 9.99 over 9.93. It was very nice to have that big Mediatec LED screen to look at
from a long distance, especially
when they have close ups on the drivers and teams and what
they do in the starting area!
All racing teams had Section 11 furthest down on the east stand reserved, free entry upon showing
your team card.
And actually it was a good place to follow the races, to hear the clean intake sound
of the machines
and to witness the SPEEDS which you don't do at the startline. And here were
Rick McCann
lined up for the semis in Stock/Super Stock! However Rick redlit with -0.001 !!!
Anyway, very good work team and much better end than
start of the race for you.
I love this new entry in Pro Stock! Thomas Lindström stir up European Pro Stock with his
HEMI-powered
Dodge Stratus! Qualified No 1 with a 6.7352 @ 332.92 kmh / 206.87 mph! Backed it up with another .73
in first round. I think many of the other Pro Stock racers - almost all in GM machines - got hiccups even
if they
knew this could happen!
But the surprises wasn't over in this class...
Now, let there also be FORDS of this magnitude so we get that old factory war back in Pro Stock!
Jonas Staflund from Skellefteå won his first FIA race in his Top Alcohol Funny Car and was so happy
he forgot that he wasn't 20 anymore! Someone suggested that he had a bit of luck and Jonas had a
good answer to that: "Yes it was my turn to have good luck". Big Norrlands Congratulations Jonas!
Chassis builder and Swedish SFI representative Mats Eriksson from Borlänge. Unbeatable in 2009
with
the first Pro Mod 5 second run in Europe and winning the whole
European Championship in his
"Green Goblin"
Crown
Victoria!
Qualified 3rd here on 6.047 but redlit in first
round. Angry.
Final round of Top Fuel! We already knew that the danish Andersen & Andersen Top Fuel team was top
notch in Europe
and
with professional driver Tommy Johnson Jr USA - with a thousand runs experience -
their act just went
skyhigh! No one in the thirteen car class was
really
close to this show! Well, maybe
Finland's Risto Poutianen who ran 4.0's and qualified 2nd, but lost the final with a 4.37
to Tommy's
3.956 @ 495.41 kmh / 307.8 mph. These are 1000 foot times and speeds.
1000 foot vs. Quartermile
Sorry, but for me drag racing is a competition over a Quartermile - 1320 foot - 402.33 meter. Have
always
been and
will always be.
I don't like or agree that 1000 foot is a drag racing distance because
NHRA
prefer to quickly implement safety that way instead of changing the conditions for the cars
(or their
dangerous tracks like Englishtown for that matter!) You can change cars in many ways, like
engine size, blower overdrive,
fuel system, fuel mixture, wings, wheels, slicks, weight
etc. etc.
The arguments we hear for 1000 foot are most likely the very same we will hear again in a couple of
years
when the performance is knocking at the gate again?
If the
cars don't change we are aiming for a future with shorter and shorter distances that may end
with explosions-like
bursts on the startline as the actual race!
Better to keep
the distance intact
at 1320 feet
and change the cars.
That is what I think.
The Top Fuel driver's are not unanimous on the issue and I personally don't really care. Since the day
NHRA switched to 1000 foot I don't think about ET nor speeds in Top Fuel any more. I'm not at
all fond of
the figures from the 1000 foot because I never remember them! And in a time when
EVERYBODY
talks about how to make drag racing more attractive and easier to understand for
media I think
different distances for different classes is entering a nightmare!
A Quartermile is a distance which is compareable over time,
in history
and geographicly.
Santa Pod has so far kept the Quartermile and Hockenheim too - so why couldn't Tierp Arena?
Time to pack and go home! Watch out there you helpful friend of Johan Rehnström! That knirping sound
from the winsch wire doesn't sound too safe...
This is the ol' faithful Bedford transport of "Masken" who have everything he need on this
carrier
and he can even sleep in the seat! As stated here a couple of times already, "what we do for love
of our sport"...
Congratulations Mats for the Runner up in Super Gas! Heja Umeå!
To load the Blackout SS again was much faster than the first time! And now we had help from good
sport
Ståkkhålmskjelle.
At 10 past seven in the evening we said goodbye to our English friends who now had reached the
Heaven level thanks to hard work and never giving up! Congratulations! They now
also took with them the
first
international edition of the Bolero X tomato plant in courtesy of Blackout SS
Full SIze Racing!
Good luck through Customs...
Axel and Agneta came up to Tierp with a train after Axel's speachday when school was over.
It took
them under 5 hours
to Tierp station and then a short cab ride to the Arena. Quickest way! Now they had
this cosy
room on second floor! They checked internet for news and TV-reports from Sweden
Internationals
before the sleep took over!
Why is the road back home so much longer? We had to stop halfways for a power-nap. But we didn't
need to repair anything this time.
Over 9 hours later. Thanks Robert for the opportunity. Let's do it again sometime.
Thanks to Patrik Jacobsson www.racebilder.nu and Kirstie Tramm Eurodragster.com
and www.safetygroup for lending me your pictures!
For more wonderful details and pictures from Sweden Internationals
please see thorough
report here:
eurodragster.com/SwedenInternationals
Interviews and ladders here:
speedgroup.eu/newsletter8
Web TV-shows here:
speedgroup.eu/tv_shows_2011
These are just a few examples of what has been made since
the 9's in 2006
to
make the Blackout SS a much better car! And
to make it
easier for it to
go
much
quicker than those 9.84 seconds!
V .Renovation of fuel pump (broken during 9.84!)
V .Anti Roll bar
V .New CK Super Comp racing drum and sprag
V .Transbrake
V .New 2" headers, new ceramic spark plug hats
V .ProCharger repair (had manufacturing flaw in all these years!)
V .Further stabilization of ProCharger
V .100 amp battery
V .Relocation of lambda sond
V .And now I have even put in a new fuse and connected the ground cable...
So please can I have back my 9's now?!
First ever race at Tierp Arena here!
Thanks for reading! ;-)