Ida Zetterström Discusses Building Her ‘American Dream’ for Upcoming NHRA Debut
JCM Racing’s newest driver, Ida Zetterström, is ready for her NHRA debut this weekend in Brainerd, Minnesota, at Brainerd International Raceway.
Zetterström, a Sweden native, brings her own history of drag racing over to the U.S. with her. Starting at the young age of eight, she hopped in a junior dragster and progressed from there. At only sixteen she got her Super Comp dragster license, followed by racing in the European super street bike class, equivalent to America’s pro street bike class. Ida had great success in the Super Street bike class including securing the Super Street Bike Scandinavian Championship in 2019. This great feat only fueled Zetterström’s fire to continue chasing her dream of racing a top fuel dragster, ultimately leading to running in the European Drag Racing Series, FIA, starting in 2022. In the 2023 season, she won the FIA Top Fuel Championship, opening new doors for her future in drag racing.
During the NHRA off-season this past year, Zetterström made the big move from Sweden to America after becoming a part of JCM racing to continue following her dreams. Since January, her NHRA team has been built from the ground up and is now ready for their planned debut race at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals this coming weekend, August 16-18.
“I feel confident and excited going into my first NHRA race,” Ida said. She followed that by giving a shoutout to her team, saying, “My crew chief, Jon Schaffer, has done a great job getting a team together, and everyone has worked really hard to make this happen.” Zetterström has had multiple test sessions now, both in her teammate Tony Schumacher’s car and in her new operation. Because of this, her team has already had opportunities to work in a race track environment together, giving her the ability to go into Brainerd with ease.
Making the move from FIA racing to NHRA racing brings both excitement and nerves. Zetterström said, “I am just excited to get this started and be racing again.” Since winning the FIA Top Fuel Championship in 2023, she has not raced against other Top Fuel competitors as her team was being built. She continued to say, “I’m not super nervous about my debut because I feel like I have already played the rookie role. In Europe, all racing is open to the public, including test sessions, so when I was learning how to drive all of my mistakes were visible to thousands of people. That makes me less nervous about my debut, though, because I am used to being in front of a crowd in all of the ups and downs of racing.” Race day brings different feelings for Zetterström, however, as she said, “Race day always makes me anxious, and I probably won’t sleep much on Saturday night, but that’s ok because I’m just excited to be in the car.”
Brainerd International Raceway’s fanbase is at another level with the involvement of what is called “the zoo”. Zetterström is excited about the lively crowd, having said, “Many Swedes live in the Minnesota area which is one of the reasons I chose this as my debut race. I get to combine a little bit of home with where I’m at now and I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to race in front of the Brainerd crowd.” This brings the perfect opportunity for Ida to showcase her new team.
This past weekend in Michigan at an event called Roadkill Nights, Zetterström revealed her brand new car to an in-person crowd as well as across social media. Her car is lit up with patriotic red, white, and blue running down the body, playing into her having said she is living her very own American Dream. Ida commented, “Revealing a colorful car really shocked a lot of my fans as my previous top fuel cars have always had a more tamed black, red, and white theme.”
Zetterström’s NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series debut at Brainerd International Raceway will start with two qualifying passes on Friday, August 16, at 4:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. CT. She will then have two additional qualifying runs on Saturday, August 17, at 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., leading up to her first race day in NHRA Drag Racing, when eliminations begin on Sunday, August 18 at 10:30 a.m.
All of the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals action can be caught on Fox and FS1 throughout the weekend. Friday’s qualifying sessions will be aired on Friday, August 16, from 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM E.T. on FS1. Qualifying sessions three and four will be broadcast on Sunday, August 18, from 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM E.T. on FS1, followed by eliminations from 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM E.T. on Fox.
This story was originally published on August 15, 2024.
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