BROWNSBURG, Ind. (March 1, 2024) – JCM Racing’s Ida Zetterström has been selected to join the Swedish National Motorsport Team, the Swedish Automobile Sports Federation announced today. The three-time series champion on the European drag racing circuit is the first straight-line racer to be selected into the prestigious program, which aims to develop Swedish auto racing drivers by providing access to various resources intended to help racers reach their full potential.
The Swedish National Motorsport Team, which is supported by the country’s National Sports Confederation, offers its participants access to top-notch physical training, nutrition plans, data logging, networking, and on-track and simulator testing, among other resources. As part of the program, Zetterström will receive a custom-tailored development plan, which will help ensure that she is at the top of her game, both physically and mentally, when she makes her NHRA Drag Racing debut later this summer competing alongside teammate Tony Schumacher aboard JCM Racing’s second Top Fuel entry.
“This is the first time that the Swedish National Motorsport Team has selected a drag racer to be represented in their line-up of drivers, so this is a big deal for me, and for the Swedish drag racing community in general,” said Zetterström, who originally hails from Stockholm, Sweden, but relocated to the Indianapolis area in January to be close to the JCM Racing shop in Brownsburg. “Being invited into this group is something we have been working toward for a while now. It’s an honor to be included and break some new ground as the team’s first drag racer. I would love to see drag racing have a permanent place on the National team, and that is something Swedish National team captain Pier Steffansson and I will be working on together. Their goal is to produce more Swedish drivers who will compete in various forms of auto racing at the highest level. For us drag racers, NHRA is the pinnacle, and I look forward to opening doors for other Swedish racers interested in pursuing a career in professional drag racing.
“My goal right now is to put myself in the best possible position to compete for NHRA’s Rookie of the Year, and ultimately, one day become an NHRA champion. Having the support of the Swedish National team will be a huge asset as I work towards these goals. I look forward to making the team proud as I represent our country over here in the U.S., competing with JCM Racing on the NHRA circuit.”
With the invitation, Zetterström joins an elite group of her fellow countrymen and women, including Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, Linus Lundqvist, and Felix Rosenqvist. Other standouts include Oliver Solberg, Johan Kristoffersson, Kevin Hansen, and Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky, who represent the Swedish National Motorsport Team in the Rallycross arena, and Formula 3 star Dino Beganovic, among others.
“Ida Zetterström is a new addition to the Swedish National team and with that, we have a new discipline represented with drag racing,” explained Steffansson. “If you look back many years, you will find that the National team has focused on five disciplines, and drag racing has not been one of them. Last year, the National team worked a lot on exchanging experiences and knowledge, and through that, we’ve been able to see a valuable development between the disciplines. This is a part of that work. With Ida serving as an ambassador for drag racing, she will be able to provide valuable input to the National team for further development of up-and-coming drag racers.”
Like her Swedish National Motorsport Team peers, Zetterström boasts a lengthy list of accomplishments, including becoming the first woman and youngest competitor to win a Super Street Bike title when she won her first of two championships in the category in 2019. In 2023, she reset the FIA Top Fuel records for both E.T. and speed en route to winning the FIA series championship. Other accolades include becoming the first female to post a sub-seven-second run in the FIM Super Street Bike class and clocking the first 3.8-second FIA Top Fuel pass in 1,000-foot competition.
"We are incredibly proud to start working with Ida,” Steffansson added. “Her experience and the way she has made it to the absolute elite level is an inspiration for the Swedish motorsports industry. We look forward to a multilateral partnership, both for Ida’s career and to start building the foundation of how we can help develop aspiring young racers that are aiming to compete at an elite level of drag racing."
For more information about the Swedish National Motorsport Team, please visit: https://www.swedennationalteam.se/
