Alund again improves career best elapsed time heading into raceday at Gatornationals
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 15, 2014) – Qualifying is complete at the
45th annual Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals, and Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Jimmy Alund continued to impress as he bettered his career best numbers and qualified in his highest position of the season. Alund, a native of Sweden and an eight-time FIA Pro Stock champion, is the No. 9 qualifier at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville and will race Summit teammate Jason Line in the first round of eliminations.
“This car was behaving exactly the way that we wanted it to,” said Alund, who was a quick 6.527 at 212.79 in the first round to immediately make a statement and followed up with a 6.537, 212.90 before racing to his best elapsed time ever in NHRA competition, a 6.525 at 212.36. He finished with a slowing 8.97.
Alund was ever-so close to qualifying in the top half of the field for the first time on American soil, but Line swooped in and scooped up the honor in the final hour. Although the two clocked identical 6.525-second blasts, Line got the nod on speed – his 212.76 mph topped Alund’s 212.36.
“We sure could have been a little bit faster [in the first round], but we had to race the racetrack and that’s what it could give us right there,” explained Alund. “Second round we made a good run in my opinion, and third round was also a really good run in my opinion. We were working on it for the fourth round, and we just had a little mishap. I felt something wasn’t right so I lifted. Anyway, we’re going to race Jason tomorrow. The only good thing about that is that we’re going to have a Summit Racing car in the next round.”
Alund continues to enjoy his six-race stint on the NHRA tour as KB Racing’s Greg Anderson recuperates from heart surgery to repair a bicuspid aortic valve. This weekend in Gainesville, the pit area and stands are overflowing with drag racing enthusiasts who have taken kindly to the friendly Swede.
“I have a lot of friends in the grandstands here, and when the pits are full like they’ve been today, I sign a lot of autographs and talk to a lot of fans,” said Alund. “It was a really fun experience. I like Florida; this is a good place to be. I couldn’t be more happy, and it’s going to be fun racing Jason tomorrow. Both of us want to win badly, I can tell you that.”
