EURO FINALS SHOOTOUT

at a rolling 92.37 mph .

After four rounds of Pro Mod qualifying , Vegter showed no rust and went straight to the top spot , posting a 5.87 run on the boards at 243.69 mph . Nic Davies followed in his turbocharged Pontiac with a 5.94 , only a margin in front of Swiss Bruno Bader , winner of the “ Doorslammer ” event the weekend before , sitting in third spot with his 5.95 .

Four Funny Cars from the UK duked it out in qualifying with Steve Ashdown coming out on top of the ladder with his 5.31 at a slowing 142.11 mph in his “ Undertaker ” Dodge Stratus-bodied Funny Car .

RACE DAY HIGHLIGHTS In Top Fuel , Callin faced off against Horto in the first-round pairing . Both had to step off the throttle due to traction problems around the 330-

foot mark . Callin ’ s 6.32 at 97.30 gave her the win over Horto ’ s 8.31 at 77.87 mph . Zetterström took the round one solo , running a solid 4.10 at 214.04 mph drifting to the wall from half-track on but managed to stay off it . She then defeated Callin with a solid 4.02 at 222.35 to Callin ’ s 4.16 at 216.52 .

In Funny Car , Ashdown beat Kent in a tire shake troubled finale with a rolling 10.65 to a 10.87 run .

The final of Pro Mod was a bit more exciting when Bader beat Vegter . Bader , who beat Dulamon in the first round and Davies in the second round , roared past Vegter , beating his 3.89 at 190.98 with a slightly quicker 3.85 at 191.24 . At the finish line sparks were emerging underneath Vegter ’ s Camaro . Later he found out that his flexplate broke during the run , which unfortunately resulted in further damage to the blower and chassis .

In the duel of the Nostalgia Funny Cars , contested over five show runs , Tim Garlick took home the crown with his “ Apache ” Pontiac defeating Tony Betts in the “ Venom ” Camaro with a 6.11 at 229.07 to Betts ’ 6.22 at 236.54 .

All in all and under the given circumstances , it was a great event with plenty of highlights like Andy Bond ’ s Street Eliminator ET record of 6.82 or Steve Venables ’ Super Street Bike speed record of 218.97 mph , which gave hope for a complete and even more competitive international 2022 FIA European Championship starting in May at Santa Pod . DI

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