{"id":101910,"date":"2025-08-07T17:18:32","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T17:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/the-di-interview-ida-zetterstrom-discusses-chasing-opportunity-ahead-of-one-year-nhra-anniversary\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T17:18:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T17:18:32","slug":"the-di-interview-ida-zetterstrom-discusses-chasing-opportunity-ahead-of-one-year-nhra-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/the-di-interview-ida-zetterstrom-discusses-chasing-opportunity-ahead-of-one-year-nhra-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"The DI Interview: Ida Zetterstr\u00f6m Discusses Chasing Opportunity Ahead of One-Year NHRA Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly one year ago,\u00a0Ida Zetterstr\u00f6m\u00a0made her Top Fuel debut in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series at the\u00a0Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals\u00a0in Brainerd, Minnesota. Fast forward to today, the multi-time European champion has not only made a mark on the American drag racing scene but has also built a strong reputation as one of the most driven and dynamic personalities in the pits.<\/p>\n

With a fierce dedication to maximizing her performance both on and off the track, the Finnish racer has racked up 16 NHRA appearances, earned a semifinal finish in her debut, and even took home\u00a0National Dragster\u2019s \u201cBest New Talent\u201daward via fan vote. As she heads back to the track where her U.S. Top Fuel journey began, we sat down with Zetterstr\u00f6m to reflect on the highs, the hurdles, and her hopes for the road ahead.<\/p>\n

What moment made you feel like you belonged in the NHRA?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cDuring my debut in Brainerd, I felt so welcomed by all the teams. A lot of drivers gave me words of encouragement. One moment that really stood out was when Jack Beckman came up to me and said, \u2018You handle press interviews like you\u2019ve been doing this for years. Way better than I did when I started.\u2019 And I mean, he\u2019s one of the best. Moments like that mean a lot to me.<\/p>\n

I had that feeling again the next weekend at the U.S. Nationals. There were championship contenders who didn\u2019t qualify \u2013 and we did. Then we won first round. That back-to-back showing made us feel like this is where we belong.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What\u2019s something you wish you knew going into your debut season?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t realized how much of a difference it makes when a car is specifically built for you. My car in Europe was built for Leah Pruett \u2013 we\u2019re similar in size. But the one here was built for Tony Schumacher. So we\u2019ve spent a lot of time adjusting my position, learning the parts, and making small changes to get the fit and feel just right. That takes time, especially when you\u2019re not racing every weekend.<\/p>\n

Your proudest achievement so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWinning National Dragster\u2019s \u2018Best New Talent\u2019 at PRI last year meant a lot. It was a fan vote, and to feel like fans see our potential \u2013 that\u2019s huge. I was up against an incredible rookie class. We only raced 8 of 20 events, so winning something like that really validated what we\u2019re building.\u201d<\/p>\n

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How do you keep pushing when the odds are stacked?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the hardest thing I\u2019ve done in my life. But knowing how far we\u2019ve already come keeps me going. I know we\u2019re not far off. We\u2019ve qualified at every event we\u2019ve entered \u2013 against the best in the world, teams with more experience and bigger budgets. That says something.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your vision for the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully, a year from now we\u2019re talking about racing full-time with a fully funded, multi-year deal. That would give us the stability to build a long-term championship strategy instead of chasing race-to-race funding. I\u2019d also love to look back at some big wins.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Any dream collaborations?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always loved animals and I\u2019d love to work with a charity that supports animal welfare. Beyond that, I want to bring a non-endemic brand into the NHRA and help them activate in a way that makes a real impact. There\u2019s such an untapped market here \u2013 if we can bring a fresh brand into the sport and build something meaningful together, that would be a dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

On working with JCM Racing and Joe Maynard:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so grateful that Joe saw something in me. He wasn\u2019t even looking for a driver at the time \u2013 he built an operation around me. He\u2019s trusted me with a big role, from day-to-day operations to sponsor negotiations. That kind of trust means everything. I\u2019ve also really enjoyed working with the Jr. racers\u2014we\u2019re building something special.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was originally published on August 7, 2025. \"Drag<\/p>\n

The post The DI Interview: Ida Zetterstr\u00f6m Discusses Chasing Opportunity Ahead of One-Year NHRA Anniversary<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nearly one year ago,\u00a0Ida Zetterstr\u00f6m\u00a0made her Top Fuel debut in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series at the\u00a0Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals\u00a0in Brainerd, Minnesota. Fast forward to today, the multi-time European champion has not only made a mark on the American drag racing scene but has also built a strong reputation as one of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101910\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}