Last-Minute Epping Appearance Leads to Quarterfinal Finish for Ida Zetterström

Epping, NH – Just days before the NHRA New England Nationals, Ida Zetterström and the JCM Racing Top Fuel team added New England Dragway to their limited 2025 schedule. The move paid off Sunday morning when Zetterström scored her first round-win of the season using a career-best elapsed time in the JCM Racing dragster. She matched that performance in the quarterfinals, capping off a promising outing in her Epping debut.

Zetterström kicked off qualifying on a high note when she recorded a 3.78 E.T. at 328.78 mph to move to the middle of the pack in the No. 7 spot. She lost traction early in the second qualifying attempt, then bounced back with an improved 3.764 E.T. at 328.06 mph in the third session. Zetterström stepped up again in the fourth and final session, tying her season-quickest pass with a 3.741-second run at 330.55 mph to end up in a season-best No. 8 spot on the final qualifying sheet.

On Sunday, Zetterström paired up with multi-time world champion Steve Torrence, who she defeated to get her first career NHRA Top Fuel round win in her debut at Brainerd last season. This meeting went Zetterström’s way as well, as she charged to a career-best 3.720 E.T. at 332.18 mph, while Torrence lost traction early. In a battle of Top Fuel champions, Zetterström, the 2023 FIA champion, lined up against 2023 NHRA world champion Doug Kalitta in the second round. The two drivers left the starting line together and raced side-by-side to the finish line, which Kalitta crossed first with a 3.68 E.T. to Zetterström’s 3.72-second performance. She was the third-quickest driver in the round.

“I’m so happy we were able to add this race at the last minute,” said Zetterström, who didn’t compete in the most recent NHRA Mission Foods Series race in Chicago. “When we left Charlotte, we felt like we had made big moves in the right direction with this program. We made some big changes going into Charlotte, which we felt paid off, but we wanted more track time to really see what we could do with it. Coming here, we proved that what we saw in Charlotte wasn’t just a one-off, and improving on that felt really good. We broke a long streak of losing in the first round. That was a slump I really wanted to break out of. Everyone on the team has kept their head up and worked through it. We got a lot of great data to bring with us to Bristol. This is the best our team has ever been with this car and combination. Overall, I’m very happy.”

Zetterström will roll right into the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, June 6-8, at Bristol Dragway, which is the home race for the Maynard family.

Qualified: No. 8 (3.741 E.T. at 330.55 MPH)

Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.720 E.T. at 332.18 MPH defeated Steve Torrence 7.295 E.T. at 121.23 MPH
E2: 3.720 E.T. at 330.55 MPH defeated by Doug Kalitta 3.680 E.T. at 330.31 MPH