ENNIS, TX – One race after Ida Zetterström raced to her first career NHRA Top Fuel final round in St. Louis, the 2023 FIA European Top Fuel champion made it to the quarterfinals Sunday afternoon at the Texas NHRA FallNationals. Representing Dialight on the side of her JCM Racing Top Fuel dragster at the Texas Motorplex, Zetterström took down reigning world champion Antron Brown before falling to 2023 NHRA world champion Doug Kalitta in a rematch of the St. Louis final round to wrap up the 12th race of her sophomore season in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

In qualifying, Zetterström started with a tire-smoking pass in the first Friday session, but she bounced back with a 3.788-second pass at 326.70 mph in the second session. More tire smoke plagued her effort in the third session, then she made one of the quicker laps of the final qualifying round, a 3.919 E.T. at 312.80 mph, to get ready for eliminations.

Qualified No. 13, Zetterström in the Dialight dragster paired up with four-time and defending world champion Antron Brown in Sunday’s first round of eliminations. Both drivers had their fair share of issues, but it was Zetterström advancing with a 4.257 E.T. at 206.86 mph. She kicked off the second round of Top Fuel eliminations with a rematch of the final round in St. Louis against Doug Kalitta. This edition went Kalitta’s way as well, though Zetterström made her second-best pass of the event, a 3.845-second effort at 323.37 mph. Continue reading →

Ennis, TX – Ida enters the weekend fresh off her first NHRA final round appearance during the Midwest Nationals near St. Louis, the most recent event on tour.  This will be her second Texas Motorplex appearance.

Her team will banner Dialight, the world leader in LED industrial lighting technology with millions of LED fixtures installed worldwide, on the side of her dragster this weekend.  JCM currently utilizes Dialight lighting products both at the track and in the race shop. The team will rely on Dialight for LED High Bay lighting and exterior LED Wallpack lighting in the new JCM Racing headquarters in Brownsburg, Ind., scheduled for completion before the end of the year.

Ida talks Texas, “Super excited heading into Texas after our best performance yet in St. Louis. We are very eager to better our position in qualifying and try to go rounds again on Sunday. I’m especially looking forward to this weekend because we will be representing Dialight in Dallas. It’s going to be cool to have an iconic brand like that on the side of our car seeing how our team has such a deep-rooted background in the electric and engineering side of things. We use Dialight products, so we know their quality, and it’s a brand we respect. We are proud and thankful to have them as part of our program when we hit the track in Dallas for the Stampede of Speed. We’re still looking for partners to come on board with us for Pomona and in 2026 and beyond.” Continue reading →

MADISON, IL – In a last-minute appearance at the NHRA Midwest Nationals, 2023 FIA European Top Fuel champion Ida Zetterström raced to her first career final round in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Sunday afternoon at World Wide Technology Raceway. Competing in the shadows of St. Louis’s Gateway Arch, Zetterström posted a runner-up finish in her JCM Racing Top Fuel dragster after leaving the starting line first ahead of 2023 NHRA Top Fuel champion Doug Kalitta. It was a feel-good weekend for Zetterström, who will continue her second partial season in NHRA competition at the upcoming Texas NHRA FallNationals.

Zetterström’s best performance in qualifying came in the second session on Friday evening when she fired off a 3.788-second pass at 328.78 mph to go into Saturday qualified No. 13. She followed that up with a consistent 3.820 E.T. at 325.30 mph in the third session, then went into tire smoke on the final qualifying attempt.

Racing out of the No. 14 slot, Zetterström started Sunday eliminations with a monster matchup against regular season champion Tony Stewart. Zetterström showed just how bad she wanted the round win as she cut a perfect .000-second reaction time to lead Stewart out of the gate. Continue reading →

Madison, IL – The NHRA Midwest Nationals was recently added to Zetterström’s 2025 schedule. She is also expected to compete at the upcoming Dallas race with the remainder of her schedule to be announced.

“I’m super stoked to be adding another race to our schedule, especially here in the Countdown. Originally, we were planning on Dallas being our next event, so as of now, this sets us up to run three races to close out the year. I want to make these three races count as much as possible and really enjoy the end of the season and finish it out on a good note. Every time we add an extra race that wasn’t already on the schedule it makes it feel like a great bonus, and it gives us an opportunity to come out there and really swing for the fences and try to make the most out of it. I raced in St. Louis last year and I’m looking forward to being back there. We tested after Indy and we found some good performance, so we’re excited to have the opportunity to be able to show out on the track this weekend,” explained Ida.

2024 NHRA Midwest Nationals Event Recap: Qualified ninth; First round exit (defeated by Steve Torrence in E1)

Last Event (Indianapolis): Qualified 15th; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Jordan Vandergriff in E1; defeated by Tony Stewart in E2)

INDIANAPOLIS – Making her second NHRA U.S. Nationals appearance, Swedish speedster-turned-Indianapolis resident Ida Zetterström was hoping to add to her round-win total at Indianapolis Raceway Park, her new home track since relocating to the Indianapolis area in early 2024 to drive for the Brownsburg-based JCM Racing team. Unfortunately for Zetterström, a first-round matchup versus the fastest team in the sport proved to be a tough draw for the part-time Top Fuel team, ending their day early on Monday at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

The JCM Racing team struggled throughout the first three qualifying sessions and went into Sunday sitting on the bump spot in 16th and without yet having made a full pass. They pulled through for the final two qualifying rounds, clocking a 3.824 E.T. at 325.30 mph in Q4, and a 3.828 at 320.81 mph in Q5. Their 3.824-second pass was enough to solidify their position in the Indianapolis field and placed Zetterström in the No. 16 spot to start race day.

Zetterström, a multi-time European drag racing champion, faced Brittany Force, a past NHRA champion, in the first round of eliminations on Monday morning. Against Force, Zetterström clocked a 0.060-second reaction time, but started to lose traction while Force ran the fastest pass in NHRA history and low E.T. of the round in the opposite lane to advance. Continue reading →

Indianapolis – This is year 2 for Zetterström competing at the U.S. Nationals.  Her first Big GO was in 2024.  Last year’s Indianapolis race was Zetterström’s second NHRA event after making her American Top Fuel debut with JCM Racing in Brainerd, Minn. where she advanced to the semifinals

The Indianapolis event is a home race for Zetterström, who relocated to the area from Finland in early 2024 to be near the Brownsburg-based JCM Racing team

“Excited for the biggest race of the year. Last year, it was a big accomplishment for us to qualify in one of the toughest fields ever and then we went on to win first round. We’re hoping to do at least that this year; we need a good bounce back weekend,” explained Ida.

“We’ll have several sponsors in the house, including Leatherwood Distillery and Bourbon City Golf Carts, and that’s always fun. We hope to put on a good show for them. We’re kicking off the festivities with an autograph signing at Cruz Pedregon’s Open House Thursday night, and then ready for a long weekend and some win lights on Monday.” Continue reading →

Brainerd, MN – Heading into the weekend of the one-year anniversary of her American Top Fuel debut, multi-time European drag racing champion Ida Zetterström was looking to repeat the success of her 2024 Brainerd, Minn. outing, which saw her advance to the semifinals. Unfortunately for Zetterström, the JCM Racing dragster shook the tires early during the first round of eliminations on Sunday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals while her opponent clocked his best pass of the weekend in the opposite lane to advance, ending her anniversary weekend much earlier than she had hoped.

Zetterström’s outing at Brainerd International Raceway began with a 3.877-second pass to place her third on the timing sheets after the first round of qualifying. She lost traction during Friday’s evening session, but bounced back on Saturday with a 3.829 at 325.40 mph run. A loss of traction followed in Q4, and Zetterström eventually settled into the No. 11 spot on the Brainerd Top Fuel ladder, pitting her against a tough opponent in Billy Torrence during Sunday’s first round of eliminations. Against the elder Torrence, Zetterström’s machine overpowered the track early. Her years of driving experience came into play as she successfully pedaled her red, white, and blue dragster, which sported a throwback livery from her ’24 campaign, but unfortunately for Zetterström, Torrence made a quick and clean pass in the opposite lane. Despite getting her car to quickly hook back up, Zetterström wasn’t able to chase him down as he crossed the finish line beams in 3.706 seconds to her 6.7-second pass. Continue reading →

Brainerd, MN – Ida made her American Top Fuel debut with JCM Racing at the 2024 Brainerd event where she powered to a semifinal finish
In honor of her one-year NHRA anniversary, Zetterström will run a special throwback livery at BIR with her dragster decked out to look similar to her ’24 red, white, and blue scheme.

The Brainerd race was recently added to Zetterström’s limited schedule, and marks the third of four consecutive events for the JCM Racing Top Fuel team.  Friday marks a special event for the JCM Team as team owner Joe Maynard celebrates his birthday on Aug. 15

“I’m very excited to get back to Brainerd, which marks one year since my NHRA debut. The fans last year gave us an incredible welcome and I can’t wait to see them all. For this race only, we’re going to run the livery we debuted with. We got so much love for that scheme; it was part of our Rookie of the Year campaign, and I think the fans really enjoyed the red, white, and blue. So, it’ll be nice to have a little memory from last season on board,” explained Ida. Continue reading →

BROWNSBURG, IN – Multi-time European drag racing champion Ida Zetterström made her NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel debut nearly one year ago at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn. As the fan favorite prepares to return to the track that launched her American drag racing career, she took some time to share her thoughts on a whirlwind season that included winning the National Dragster All-Star Team fan vote for ‘Best New Talent,’ blogging her experience for Autoweek, and pursuing every possible opportunity to maximize her exposure and sharpen her skills as a driver.

After earning an FIA European Top Fuel championship in 2023, Zetterström uprooted her life in her native Finland to pursue her dream of making a name for herself in the National Hot Rod Association with the Brownsburg-based JCM Racing team. With an unfathomable drive, Zetterström has been relentless in her pursuit of attracting potential marketing partners as she works towards a full-time NHRA Top Fuel career. Since hitting the track in Brainerd last August, the Swedish National Motorsports Team member has competed on a limited basis, having recently completed her 16th NHRA event at the Sonoma Nationals.

Despite not running a full season, Zetterström is quickly cementing herself as a name in the sport of NHRA Drag Racing. She recently attended the Bristol NASCAR race as an NHRA ambassador, was a featured speaker at the Business of Women’s Sports Summit in New York, and has even joined the NHRA.tv crew in the announcers’ booth to bring color commentary and insightful interviews to fans. Continue reading →

SONOMA, CA – Ida Zetterström and the JCM Racing Top Fuel team made strides at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, posting solid runs in challenging conditions, but a first-round loss to the reigning world champ Sunday morning ended her chance at going rounds on race day.

Making her 16th NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series start and first appearance at Sonoma Raceway, the multi-time European drag racing champion opened the weekend with a strong run in the first qualifying session, taking her 12,000-horsepower machine straight down the groove in 3.754 seconds at 328.70 mph to place her fourth on the timing sheets. During Friday’s nighttime run, her dragster lost traction early, but she quickly rebounded, clocking another good, clean pass of 3.730 seconds at 331.45 mph on Saturday in Q3. A loss of traction followed in Q4 and once qualifying had wrapped, she settled into the No. 7 position on the Top Fuel elimination ladder.

Facing the category’s defending event champion, Zetterström lined up next to Antron Brown on Sunday morning, ready to add more round wins to her total. She took the JCM Racing dragster on a respectable 3.739-second at 323.12 mph ride but was outpaced by Brown’s 3.718-second pass. Continue reading →