Fuel Funny Car racer Harlan Thompson is running the replica Tre Kronor Plymouth Arrow Nitro Funny Car built by Johnny Nilsson. "This is a special event for me because it is thirty years ago that I raced here for the first time with the Tre Kronor. It's fun to drive and we got the bugs out on the run today. One of the things I noticed is that I could see out of it better than a modern funny car. The engine, blower and injector are all smaller. My best memory of the car is racing in 1980 at Santa Pod against Raymond Beadle who had brought the Blue Max over. We were pretty even in performance, swapping track records back and forward in the event and then meeting in the final. I always enjoy Funny Cars more than dragsters to drive as you don't have to do as much in a Top Fuel Dragster. I did mostly match racing in the 1980s but did more in Europe than in the US because it meant I could spend more time with my family than if I was on the NHRA tour." Harlan is running Tre Kronor tomorrow and twice on Sunday. A business Harlan is involved with is www.mygirldrivein.com which features a museum of 25 classic American cars and a diner. For pictures of Harlan's cars over the years, see www.ukdrn.co.uk.

Pro Stock racer Michael Malmgren discovered he had problems with his rear shock absorbers that were affecting the car's handling. "We had the problem in Finland too and we were getting a lot of shake. I replaced the shocks and immediately ran my best 60ft times for two years. Even with a bumpy run after first and second gears. We set the new shocks up differently and the car hauled ass."

Pro Mod racer Patrik Wikström became no.1 qualifier after the second session with a 6.1620/367.26. "We have a strengthened rear end after the Main Event. We burnt one piston but otherwise there were no problem." Patrik has a new supercharger for 2009 designed by him and built by Lennart Nedergården, pictured right. "We bounced ideas around between us. Lennart then made CAD drawings and manufactured the parts. This is a prototype and a test bed and we plan to supply to others in the future. Best wishes to crew member Tommy Aga who is ailing and tuned in from home.

Pro Mod racer and Eurodragster.com sponsor Andy Robinson said "The day was good and bad. In the first session we ran a 6.18 in the right lane, which I was really pleased with. But in the second session we got too aggressive and shook the tyres. The engine is lovely and, Jerry, the team are doing a great job." Team member Jerry Clayton is celebrating his tenth wedding anniversary and can't be here.

Top Fuel racer Tommy Rostgaard was pleased that after a crash at the Main Event and a difficult race at Alastaro, the first run was successful and his final licensing pass. It also qualified him seventh but may not continue there. "I can only afford one more qualifying pass so I hope I will stay qualified. I lifted after 3.6s even though it was a straight pass." A second pass improved to 4.37 leaving him in seventh place after two sessions.

Top Fuel racer Stig Neergaard said after a 4.17 qualifying him second, "The track is pretty close to what we had in Finland and we ran the same combination as at Alastaro. The air is not so good and I smoked the tyres in the last 100ft so we will calm that down a bit. But we are close to where we want to be. John (Smith) wants the championship and his pay depends on how we do in the points."

Lucas Oil Top Fuel team co-owner Per Andersen thought that conditions are marginally worse than Finland but will improve. The tyres started to slip after 2.5s but the car is fine. We will calm it down a little. Tuning consultant Jim Brisette said "I really enjoy Europe, this is my eighth race here and I go to European meetings as they are less hectic than the US."

Top Fuel racer Timo Lehtimaki said "The clutch was too tight on the first run and we will loosen it up. The tyres started to spin just after I left the starting line and I pedaled after 2.5s. There is no damage but we will look tonight and change what we need to. We had the wrong clutch setup at Alastaro as well and did not run quicker than 4.63. Thanks to crew chief ulf Hultholm for translations.

Top Fuel racer Urs Erbacher, pictured with crew chief Wayne Dupuy had a successful return to European competition running 4.22 and then 4.15 in the second session. Wayne said "We just wanted to get from A to B. The track gets affected when it is sandblasted before circuit racing and the surface changes. A 4.1 is definitely possible but a 4.0s run may not be on, or at least no quicker than a high 4.0." Urs's other car is repaired and ready in the US and Urs and Wayne hope to run in the final rounds of the NHRA championship later in the year.

Fuel Funny Car racer Gary Page is joining mechanic Rob Inglis, aka Scotch Rob on Micke Kågered's Top Fuel team and so this piece of headwear became required of him. He said "The transition with the circuit is a problem in the right lane and the left lane is definitely better for us to run in. On the first run the tyres shook badly but the car is ok mechanically apart from a couple of scuffed pistons and a new head gasket, requiring us to loosen and retorque the heads.

Top Fuel Bike racer Rene van den Berg's team are pictured before their second run which put them up to sixth place with a 4.96. "In the first run we put the bike too far to the left hand side of the right lane knowing the camber can cause the bike to go right, and it got out of the groove," said team member John Hunt. As qualifying is in alternate lanes the bike was able to make a pass down the middle of the left lane in the second session.

Pro Stock racer Bo Pettersson has a Cavalier constructed from a Jerry Bickel kit chassis. He said "After we built it I looked at it and decided I wanted it to be stiffer so added 15-20 more struts." The engine is a Reher Morrison which Tommy Leindahl used to run. Bo's background is in Super Street which he moved up from after several years "Because it wasn't so much fun any more." On the car's initial runs at Alastaro, the team could not understand why the times and speeds were well down on the data. Then later in the evening one of the fans said I was opening the chutes at 1000ft rather than the end of the quarter mile." The result was delivery of tee shirts saying "Bo tusenfoting" which is Swedish for...millepede.

Top Methanol racer Fred Hanssen had the first trip into the gravel after the parachutes deployed wrongly. "I had new tyres and the car was all over the track. I didn't hit the wall but it was close. Then one parachute didn't come out and the other one came out late because I didn't feel it until after the hill. I went off the end of the track and the car dug in and went over as the gravel is large and deep. I stopped counting after four rolls and I think it must have been five or six." The accident is eerily very similar to one that Paul Ingar Udtian suffered at this event last year when Dave Wilson's spare wing enabled him to get back on track. "We have a new wing and plan to be out tomorrow," he said.

Top Methanol racer Rob Turner's crew chief and brother Steve said "There is a case to run TMD to 1000ft as the cars carry so much speed now they will go into the gravel and roll." Meanwhile in Rob's own pairing a malfunction with the lights in the other lane resulted in the car leaving at less than peak rpm and not running to its usual form with a 5.71.

Top Methanol racer and Eurodragster.com blogger Derek Flynn was in the other lane from Rob Turner and with Derek's former car owners Larry Miersch and Jim Rizzoli present, it was a disappointment to be the recipient of a malfunction with the pre-stage and stage bulbs. It was a problem that occured with other pairings too and when the bulbs went out, Derek floored the throttle and disappeared into the distance. The computer readout suggested a 5.60. In the second session, Derek had problems and could only run a 15 second pass leaving him to wait until tomorrow to find if he can run a qualifying time against the ten car entry.

Top Methanol racer Dave Wilson had better luck running a 5.34 in the first session at a near-record speed. The problem has been the engine torching the heads on a hard pass. From the smiles in the team we are guessing that this problem may have been resolved for the moment.

Pro Mod racer Tomi Pöntinen is here with a new blower car. "I started in the sport in Outlaw Street in 1997. I raced in Pro Mod in 2000 and then took 2005-7 off before getting the new car and testing it last year. The car was bought from US racer Eddie Ware and Tomi tested it at Alastaro last year. "The blower combination is new to us and we have the Brad Andersen engine, Kobelco supercharger and Waterman fuel pump. The car is competitive, but the team is not as it is still learning the new combination. Our best time is a 6.64 and so far we have not yet run a full pass. Tomi is pictured second from the left and at the left is crew chief Mika Räihä.

Super Twin racer Eric Frank's team members Uffe and Elisabet were minding Eric's bike in the staging lanes. Eric said "We rebuilt the engine this winter and tested at Malmö. There were problems with the oil supply and after one run the main bearing broke and we had to have a new crank. My best time is 4.81 in round one here last year against Job Heezen when my handlebar broke at 250m. My handlebars are now much stronger.

Top Fuel bike racer Asko Määttä from Finland has his Suzuki Baldie's Gun III Katana funny bike for sale. "I am very busy", he said. "I do grass track racing as well as drag racing and my next weekend I am not racing is mid-September. My bike has run high sevens and has the best available parts. I am selling it for �8000. I do have future plans but can't say what they are at this time." Asko is pictured with wife Tepa.

Super Twin racer and four time Harley Drags champion Ismo Mäenpää has only made ten runs on this immaculate bike, bought from Bill Furr in the US where it ran 6.5s. The bike was constructed in 2004 has a Dixie frame, Overkill crank and Ultra Pro heads through which 97% nitro flows. Unusually the trans is a two speed Lenco and belt driven. Ismo's team is Rapamäkiracing.com.

Pro Mod racer Johan Samuelsson who has run a turbo Viper in Competition Eliminator since 2005 now has taken the advantage of rule changes in the class this year to move up. "I run twin 91mm Switzer turbos and we are using 35psi boost. Although the rules have no limit on the boost, we found that 40psi produces 3000hp which is difficult to get to the track. The combination we now have is all new so we don't know how it will go here. We tested at Västerås and rattled the tyres on all four attempts. The 3 speed Lenco transmission has a clutchless Bruno convertor and the body and frame have been changed in line with class regulations.

Pro Mod racer Matthias Wulcan has had a front half rebuild by Bertans Race Cars after the Jerry Bickel-built car crashed twice. He said "My race number PM13 is a bit ironic". Matthias who is based in Linköping, has a Brad Andersen Stage VI engine with Kobelco K11 supercharger. "It's our fourth time in the car since the rebuild. We want to go easy at the start." Matthias's start in the sport was in Competition Eliminator and Pro Street and the car, new for 2009 after running a nitrous Firebird last year, races in the Top Doorslammer championship regularly.

Pro Mod racer Pierre Rydberg and Robert Lund bought their '57 Chevy from the Lindahl brothers in 2006 and raced in Competition Eliminator for two years. They have now moved up with a new short block and rear end. The engine is a Brad Andersen Series VI block of 521cu in with Series V heads and a Kobelco K9 blower. "We tested in Sundsvall and ran a 6.54 but that may not qualify us here and that is our aim." More detail on the team and pictures of the car's preparation for 2009 can be seen at www.ropracing.se.

Pro Mod racer David Vegter's '68 Camaro is making its racing debut here after initial runs at the recent Drachten International. "The car was built brand new by Andy Robinson Racecars in 2008 and will be making its first quarter mile passes here. The engine is BAE Stage V with a BDS blower containing Kobelco internals and a B&J transmission with Mark Williams rear end. Many thanks to my sponsor MPM Oils who give me oil and fluids for the car."