2011-09-16

7-time European Pro Stock Champion!
The Finals, Santa Pod Raceway

The J&J Performance Racing Team left Hockenheim with a solid points lead. All that was needed to clinch the 2011 championship was to have the car pass scrutineering and run a qualifying run at The Finals at Santa Pod Raceway but until that was done, the championship was not confirmed.

"That's right, anything can happen. We race on the track, not on paper", says a very elated Jimmy Ålund. "I'm very happy about this championship. This year has to count as one of the most competitive seasons in the history of FIA Pro Stock championship racing, to win it all this year rates very high in my list of accomplishments."

This last event was just as tough as usual. Jimmy got off to a good start by being the #1 qualifier after the first round of qualifying but ran into problems in both Q2 and Q3. "Tireshake in the second round and too soft a setup in Q3 hurt us. To be honest, the track was not good at all, the changing conditions created a lot problems for the racers but we came back OK in the last run of qualifying". Yes, Jimmy Ålund ran the fastest time and speed of Q4 and went into eliminations as the number 1 qualifier, having run both quickest ET and fastest speed of all. Those numbers turned out to be the best for the whole event.

Sunday means eliminations. Jimmy won the first round with 6.7887 seconds at 328.9 km/hour (204.42 miles/hour) but fell victim to a tricky track in the semifinals. "We spun and shook the tires again. We did all we could and were just waiting for this bad track to hit us and it did in the semi finals."

Jimmy is all smiles despite the early departure from eliminations, "the whole team worked hard this season and brought home another European championship to the team and the sponsors".

"It's been a great season for everyone involved, it started out with us getting DHL Express on board as a new major sponsor which turned out to be very important for winning the championship. DHL Express have been very supportive of our efforts and saved us more than once when we needed fast and reliable delivery of parts from the US. Of course we thank all of our sponsors, this is simply not possible without their support."

Jimmy sends a special thought to engine builder Bob Ingles. "As always it's been good to work with a world class engineer like Bob Ingles. He did it again, supplying us with good engines and the horsepower necessary to win the championship. Thanks Bob."

The 2011 season has just ended but planning has already started for next year. Many of the cars in the class have been updated with new technology while J&J Racing have been hard at work getting the most out of what has been in place for a few seasons. The ever increasing performances in the class calls for stepping up in the engine department. "Yes, we need to take a realistic look at what we can afford for next year" says Jimmy, "it takes a good sized wallet to be competitive in these championships but right now we're very much enjoying what we accomplished this year."

All right, that's it for the 2011 FIA Pro Stock championship. Many thanks to all the fans for the great support you've given us during the year, see you next season.

2011-08-17

"Teamwork!"
Round 4, Hockenheim, Germany

Round 4 of the FIA Pro Stock Championship was held at the legendary Hockenheimring but the team had been testing at Tierp Arena just two weeks earlier.

The test session was the proverbial "good news, bad news"-scenario. The performance was very good and according to plan, the J&J Racing Team pulled off the best incrementals of all the teams present which included 8 of the top-10 cars in the championship. The bad news was that the engine was hurt in the 5th run of the weekend. Jimmy was clearly dejected and saw no possibilities for getting that motor repaired in two weeks, "we have to attend Hockenheim with a single engine which is obviously not ideal at all".

However, with the help of new team sponsor DHL Express, Jimmy managed to get all the parts delivered from Bob Ingles at J&B Performance based in New York, USA. "Simply fantastic", says Jimmy, "all in record time which allowed us to travel to Hockenheim with two engines in top shape".

"We're really happy about the very professional service that we're getting from DHL Express." Jimmy again, "this is the third time this season that DHL Express has gotten us out of trouble". Jimma also passes on a huge "thank you" to Bob Ingles for his efforts.

It paid off at the Hockenheim-race. Jimmy took it easy in the first qualifying round on Friday to get a feel for the new track, #3 qualifier 0,03 seconds behind. The team stepped things up slightly in Q2: #2 qualifier, fastest speed of the session and 0,006 seconds behind. It all fell into place for the two qualifying sessions on Saturday where Jimmy ended up in the #1 qualifying spot after it was all said and done. On the way there, Jimmy ran what turned out to be the two fastest ETs of the whole weekend. In addition, he also pulled off top speed of the event.

"Yes, things fell in place", said a very satisfied Jimmy, "qualifying was great. Everything we did was according to a plan that was set long before we left our base in Sweden". That team focus continued into eliminations with two straight wins, the J&J Performance Racing Team running low ET of each round and a place in the final. "It's very hard competition now", "some of the other teams are going all out and bringing home new engines during the on-going season".

Unfortunately the final round was rained out but Jimmy and the team left Hockenheim with an even larger points lead than from Alastaro.

Do you discuss points within the team? Jimmy replies, "not really, there are no tactics for placing in the points table other than to do your absolute best. You treat every single race as the finals, it's as simple as that". He continues, "we're in a good position going into the last race of the season but as for everybody in this sport, the one goal for each event is to leave with the winners trophy".

The final round of the 2011 FIA Pro Stock Championship will be contested at Santa Pod Raceway in the UK, September 8-11.

2011-07-05

"The old man is back!"
Round 3, Alastaro, Finland

Tough conditions, the weather was extreme, very hot and sticky air combined with torrential rain and thunderstorms that at one time knocked out the power for the whole town of Alastaro including the racetrack.

Qualifications were also tough with Thomas Lindström being the number one qualifier for the second race in a row. Jimmy qualified in the number two spot, only 6 thousands of a second behind - "The last race at Tierp was clearly a dissapointment for us and we needed to get back to form for this race. We came to Alastaro with a solid plan that we followed to 100%". It worked well, Jimmy pulled off fast and very consistent runs during qualifying. Jimmy is smiling again, "we were very pleased with our qualifying runs. The car reacted exactly according to our tuning changes."

That kind of car performance continued into eliminations on Sunday but a fast and consistent car does not win races on its own. With the small margins in todays Pro Stock racing, many of the races are decided on the starting line where a lightning fast reaction time is crucial for winning. "The old man is back", Jimmy had the best reaction times in all the elimination runs on Sunday including the final where he went up against Thomas Lindström and where J&J Performance Racing pulled off another event win in FIA Pro Stock Racing.

"What a win!" says an elated Jimmy Ålund, "we came here with one single purpose and that was to win the race. The team performed flawlessly and the driver did his job". Jimmy again, "it was real hard racing this weekend, the competition is better than ever."

An event win is big but not only that, Jimmy leaves Alastaro leading the championship. "Of course we feel good about that but we're only half way through the championship. The competion is fierce, no one can afford any mistakes and other teams are making big investments in going faster right now".

Next up is a test session at the Tierp Arena in Sweden on the last weekend of July. It's a rare opportunity for testing and at least eight of the fastest Pro Stock cars in Europe will be in place which speaks volumes about the professional level and commitment of todays FIA Pro Stock racing teams.

The next round of the FIA Pro Stock Championship will be contested at historic Hockenheim Ring in southern Germany, August 12-14.

2011-06-13

World premiere at Tierp Arena
Race 2, Sweden

This was a fantastic weekend for racefans as well as racers - the inaugural FIA race at the brand new world class Tierp Arena in Sweden.

It was very tight racing as usual, Jimmy ended up as the number 3 qualifier after a very eventful qualifying session that had three different cars at the #1 spot before the list was settled. Rookie Thomas Lindström took the top spot for the first time in his career with Jimmy a number three. "Yes, it was very tight racing, the number one position was decided by one thousand of a second", said Jimmy. "Very tough racing, we're happy to be up there in the top three. The spectators love this kind of racing, it is really good for the sport".

That kind of racing continued during eliminations on the Sunday. J&J Racing had the second fastest time and speed in the quarter finals, was quickest and fastest in the semi finals but met defeat in the finals against first-time event winner Sampso Palos from Finland. Sampsos winning margin was just
over 1 meter at the finish line.

"Everything was fine until the final". Jimmy is clearly dissapointed, "we made a small mistake with the cluch setup and on this level of racing there is literally no margin for errors". Jimmy continous, "Sampsa made seven good runs during the weekend, we made six. Well, we never stop learning and are looking forward to the next race at Alastaro, it's a different track with different conditions".

On a positive note, many of the teams sponsors were in place this historic weekend at the home track for the Swedish racers. Jimmy smiles again, "oh yeah, it's always a real pleasure to have our sponsors in place. This would simply not be possible without them, a special thanks to Vadstena Klosterhotel who again provided everybody with fantastic food and catering".

Jimmy leaves Sweden in second place in the points standings, 11 points behind new leader Sampsa Palos.

2011-05-30

Season opener rain-out in the UK
2011 FIA Main Event Santa Pod UK

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate with the intent of The Main Event at Santa Pod in the UK. Two days of qualifying in very hard winds were followed by a complete rain-out of eliminations.

Jimmy Ålund picked up the most points by being on top of the list after four rounds of qualifying.

The field was very tight with three cars running under 6.8 seconds, very good times considering the head winds.

J&J Racing pulled off a solid set of runs, Jimmy had the fastest times and speeds in three of the four qualifying rounds.

The eliminations were cancelled due to rain so the team left the first race at the top of the points list.

Next race in the championship series is in Sweden at the brand new Tierp Arena in just two weeks.

2010-09-16

2010 FIA European Finals
Business as usual...

OK, final race of an exciting year. Due to the Klintberg & Way US tour, J&J Racing missed events in Europe and was out of contention for the European Pro Stock championship.

But an event win is important and the team finished the season with a resounding reminder to the competitors that the car is as fast and the team is as solid as ever.

Jimmy started out the weekend by being the number one qualifier after the first round of qualifying and fastest car in 2 of the 3 qualifying rounds.

The team carried that kind of performances on into the Sunday eliminations: Jimmy ran the best times and fastest speeds in every round of eliminations and set the low ET and top speed marks during the semifinals - a blistering 6.69 seconds at 332.65 km/hour (206.70 miles/hour).

In the final round it was the reigning champion Jimmy Ålund against the newly crowned champion Michael Malmgren. Malmgren had the advantage off the starting line but Jimmy had that made up, and more, by the 60 foot timers and powered on to another event win at the prestigious Finals.

"That felt real good", said Jimmy, "big thanks to the fans, sponsors and the team". He continued "our hat is off to Michael Malmgren, the new champion. He did a lot things correct this year and will run the number 1 plate in 2011".

What about next year? "Well, the target is as always winning the championship. We felt we performed very well here during The Finals and are really looking forward to try to carry that momentum on to the 2011 season".

Another season to the close, with lots of fans already looking forward to the start of the 2011 FIM European Championship season. Next race coming up is The Main Event held at Santa Pod Raceway, racedate is May 27th, 2011.

2010-08-15

2010, third round, Hockenheim Germany
Strong performance, but...

A superb track and as usual a good show with a large crowd of dragracing fans. The team and car performed like the six-time champions they are. After two days and four rounds of qualifying where Jimmy had the fastest time in three of those rounds and fastest speed in all four rounds, Jimmy was the number one qualifier again. Included in that effort was yet another track record this season, the new Hockenheim ET record now stands at 6.74.

The Sunday eliminations started very good. In the quarterfinal against hometrack driver Harald Sturhan, Jimmy ran a superb 6.678 which turned out to be the quickest run of all Pro Stockers this weekend. Unfortunately, that performance did not follow on to the semi-finals against fellow Swede Jan Palmqvist. Jimmy left first on a reaction time of only 0.009 seconds, a quicker time to the 60-foot timer but then the car went into a tireshake and this weekend was over for the J&J Performance Racing Team.

The race ended with rain, no finals were run and Michael Malmgren leads the championship going into The European Finals at Santa Pod in the middle of September.

2010-08-05

2010, third round, Mantorp Sweden
Racing at home

Time for the hometrack race at Mantorp, Sweden. "The newly asphalted track was tricky but we managed well with setting the car up," said Jimmy. "We were the number one qualifyer with over one tenth of a second over number two". Very much so, the team and car performed well. Best time and speed in two of the three qualifying rounds, lowest time and highest speed of the weekend. That included not only a number one qualifying spot with en ET of 6.77 seconds but also a new speed record for the Mantorp track at 329,22 km/hour (204.62 miles/hour).

Unfortunately the weather was not aligned with what is needed for going dragracing. Sunday morning opened up with a rainfall that never really stopped, and the whole race had to be called off without a single run in eliminations for the Pro Stock cars. "Yes, that was really unfortunate" said Jimmy. "This was the first race back in Europe with our own car. The team had worked real hard and we felt we had a good chance to pick up much needed points in the European Chamionship." That was not to be, next race up is the Nitrolympix in Hockenheim, Germany, only two weeks away.

2010-07-06

2010, second round, Alastaro Finland
Back from the US Tour

First race in Europe for Jimmy Ålund this year. The team showed up at Alastaro for the second round of the European Pro Stock Dragracing Championship. The J&J Performance Team joined forces with Futura Racing to try to score their first points of the year after having spent the first part of the season in the USA, racing in the NHRA Pro Stock Series.

This was the first race with this combination of car, engine and driveline. Having that in mind, the first round of qualifying turned out very satisfying. Jimmy Ålund ran an ET of 6.93 which put the team in the number three qualifying spot and ahead of some of the strongest Pro Stock teams in Europe. The second qualifying run netted almost as good an ET as the first, 6.97 seconds, but when the team returned to the pits they found that a connecting rod had broken right at the finish line. Unfortunately, that meant the end of the weekend for J&J Performance.

"We tried hard" say Jimmy, "the performance level of these Pro Stock motors is astounding and sooner or later things break". He continues, "the runs we got in were really promising but unfortunately it was all over after that second qualifying run". "We picked up points and are now part of this years European Pro Stock Championship". Jimmy sends thanks to the sponsors and obviously to Stefan Eriksson and Mats Olsson of Futura Racing who made the Alastaro race possible.

Next race is coming up at the end of July. The venue is Mantorp Park, Sweden, only a few miles from Jimmys shop. The team are waiting for their own car which is in transit from the US and it's all for picking up a maximum of points at round 3 of the championship.

2009-09-12

European Finals, Santa Pod, UK. September 12, 2009
New European ProStock Records: 6,6492/207,07 MPH!

We would like to congratulate Richard 'Nixxon' Sundblom to the race win, well deserved after running consistantly fast all weekend.

Jimmy and crew did it again during 1st round of qualifying for the 2009 FIA European Pro Stock Championship: The new ET record run in details: 0,0093 RT, 0,9871 60ft, 4,2785/164,00 MPH 1/8, 6,6492 1/4. Later Jimmy also captured the new speed record which now reads 207,07 MPH. Jimmy's # 1 GTO broke with a engine failure during the final run against Nixxon's Cobalt.

But the 2009 FIA European Pro Stock Champion is multiple champ and ace driver Jimmy Ålund and his JJ Performance crew of Petter Greborn (clutch), Mats Appelgren (engine) and Kalle Hrupa (rear end).

The team would like to say THANK YOU to all our great sponsors for their participation under 2009! Please use our sponsors if you need a product or service supplied by them.

2009-08-17

2009 Pro Stock Champion!
NitrOlympx, Hockenheim Germany

Jimmy Ålund and crew secured the 2009 FIA Pro Stock Championship early at Hockenheim on Sunday, August 16.

The Jerry Haas GTO performed good in the heat, with temperatures as high as 32C on Sunday with only 3,000 ft of air. The track was going away with the high temp's so it was a real challenge to adjust the setups.

Qualifying began on friday with a 6,804/204,4 MPH run, followed by 6,767/204,5 MPH, 6,784/205,4 MPH and a 6,768 205,0 MPH which put Jimmy in the No 1 qualifying spot.
Eliminations started with taking on the no 8 qualifyer Harry Sturhan from Germany, with a winning time of 6,772/204,6 MPH. Next round against Magnus Hansson produced a winning time of 6,80/204,02 MPH.

Richard Nixxon Sundblom, no 2 qualifier, made it to the final but ended up losing to Jimmy's better 6,812/204 MPH.

Congratulations to Jimmy, Petter, Mats and Kalle for making history in European Dragracing with 6 straight F.I.A European Championships!

Next stop on the 2009 FIA Pro Stock Championship tour is on September 10-13 at Santa Pod Raceway in the UK.

2009-07-27

2009 Veidec Festival Mantorp Park Sweden
Rain halted, record braking race

Tight qualifying with only 1/1000 sec separating No 1 qualifyer Richard Nixxon Sundblom at 6,791, from Jimmy's almost identical ET!
Bump spot in the 15 car field 6,91
New track record 6,773/203,90 mph by Jimmy Ålund's Klintberg & Way entry in the winning semi final run against Michael Malmgren's Lahega GTO

Jimmy's final race against Magnus Hansson was not possible due to heavy rain

2009-07-08

2009 FHRA Nitro Nationals, Finland
Swedish Pro Stock Victory!

Jimmy wins the finals with a bye run since Richard Sundblom and Michael Malmgren were disquilified due to crossing the line and hitting the wall in a wild semi final round.
Jimmy qualified at No 1 with 6,767/330,00 km/h, and raced Tommy Leindahl with a winning time 6,772 to 6,945 then defeating Magnus Hansson with a 6,786 to a 6,94. In the final bye run Jimmy ran a new trac record with 6,755/330,76 km/h (205,6 mph)

2009-06-01

Jimmy wins the season opener
2009 FIA Main Event Santa Pod UK

By defeating Jonas Dantanus with a 6,7858/204,06 to a 6,8777/201,53 Jimmy Alund took his first win in the 2009 European Pro Stock Championship. With Bob Ingels power he also ran a new European Pro Stock Record with 6,694/206,84! Next stop on the tour will be in Alastaro, Finland 2-5 July.

2009-05-25

6,6940/206,84 MPH
New European Pro Stock Record!

Jimmy Alund took his # 1 GTO to the top spot in qualification for the FIA Main Event in England at Santa Pod Raceway with a blistering 6,6940 at 206,84 mph which is the new European Pro Stock Record.
Stand by for the results of today's exiting finals.....

2009-05-18

Poker Wallenberg 50 år
Jimmy Ålund inbjuden....

Grattis Poker!
Tillsammans med andra specialinbjudna gäster hade Jimma sin Pro Stock GTO med sig. Poker fick en teknisk genomgång, och han fick lyssna på hur 1,400 HK låter live!

2009-05-14

Test: Jimmy Ålund Meca Test Event
May 2009

New personal best with 4,32/260 km/h at the 2009 season opening test event. FIA Pro Stock season premiere will be at the Santa Pod Main Event 22-25 May.

2009-03-04

Pro 1 på mässa i Oslo

Som representant för Klintberg & Way besökte team JJ Performance Automessen i Februari. Jimmy höll ett föredrag för Klintberg & Ways kunder i Norge om vad som är viktigt i dragracing…

2008-09-10

European Finals 2008
Victory in a rainy race

J&J Performance team with ace driver Jimmy Ålund managed to secure his 5th consecutive European Pro Stock Championship at Santa Pod Raceway in UK.
The weekend started out with rain on friday and saturday, with no qualification runs at all. Sunday started dry, so each team got just one qualification run. Jimmy kept cool and managed to qualify at the top with a 6,83 run. The following runs were winning runs at 6,82 and 6,80. Just before the final run the sky opened up again, and destroyed all chances to complete the race.
However, Jimmy was the winner in the overall points and the 2008 FIA Pro Stock Champion!
It's a great feeling - and a BIG thank you to the crew and all our sponsors for making our racing possible!

2008-07-28

Veidec Festival, Mantorp Park July 26-27
Semi final loss - struggling in the heat!

The heat was definitely on! Over 125 degrees in the track on Sunday....!



The racetrack gradually became really hard to cope with, as the heat was taking most of the traction out and making it very unpredictable and tricky for Petter to read.

After strong qualifying with some solid high 6,80 runs we clinched number 1 spot at 6,85. But it all ended for Jimmy in the semifinal round against Richard Nixxon Sundblom, who later defeated Michael Malmgren in the final. Winning time 7,24 says a lot about the track condition.

We are taking our hats of to Nixxon for his win, and by that making the run for the championship very tough.

Last round of the European Championship will be at the European Finals, Santa Pod Raceway September 4-7.

2008-07-08

FHRA Nitro Nationals, July 3-5 2008, Alastaro, Finland
On the winning streak!

The bumpspot was a record low 6,93! The quickest Pro Stock field in Europe, ever!

After qualifying second at 6,79@325 behind Richard 'Nixon' Sundblom (6,77@327*), the Klintberg & Way Pontiac GTO was unstoppable, winning the final over Tommy Leindahls new Cobalt at 6,881@322 vs 6,954@319.

Thanks to Jimmy for flawless driving, thanks Mats for nursing the motor between rounds, thanks Petter for reading the track and finetune the clutch and thanks to Kalle for doing all the hardwork under the car. And a big thank you to all our great sponsors who made it all possible!
As a result, we are now the new 2008 European Pro Stock Championship points leader.

Next stop Mantorp Park, Sweden July 25-27. See you all there!

By Lars, the PR-guy

PS We got a glitch in the website photo management. Therefore no new pictures yet....

* new european speed record at 329,93 km/h - congratulations Team Nixon!

2008-06-27

6,766 s / 204,95 mph
(329,76 kmh)
Jimmy sets new European Pro Stock Record at the Main Event, Santa Pod Raceway, UK.

The 2008 season opening race at Santa Pod could not be completed. Only two qualifying runs were possible on May 24, after that racing became impossible because of repeated rain. But Jimmy and the team managed to make two good runs in qualifying, backing up the new European Pro Stock record.

Next stop on the FIA European Championship tour is on 3rd-6th July: FHRA Nitro Nationals, Alastaro, Finland