The season finale at Santa Pod Raceway, England. Can the Lucas Oil team come from behind to take the 2007 Top Fuel chamiponship?

Well here we are again, thousands of miles, fast racing, and lots of rain – back at Santa Pod for the FIA European Finals! Its crunch time for Carter Motorsport / Andersen Racing - we need to go over two rounds further than Lex Joon to give Andy a historic third FIA title – well, we will certainly be doing our very best.

Today was ‘Press Day’ at Santa Pod and we had a great time talking to the assembled media about the forthcoming race. Andy was involved in a photo shoot with TV personality Bianca Gascoigne and if you live in the Anglia region you can catch the Lucas Oil team on TV during the evening news on Friday.

We are all looking forward to what should be a great end to the season. You can follow us all weekend on www.andycarter.net or if you are at the track be sure to come and show your support at the Lucas Oil pit

Welcome back to Santa Pod, it’s a nice day here, high cloud cover at the moment but that is due to clear soon. The Lucas Oil pit area is looking splendid, the car is all ready to go and we can’t wait to get on the track for the first qualifying session.

Good morning and a big hello to everyone at Lucas Oil in the USA, Lucas Oil UK and all our associate sponsors. Thanks to everyone for tuning in – we hope you enjoy the updates!

The Top Fuel session kicked off at 11:45 under sunny skies. Andy had to sit for a long time in the car, but that didn’t affect him at all. A great launch, the Lucas Oil dragster hooked up superbly, there was a small fire at the top end  but that didn’t hold the car back - 4.703 at only 270mph! A big cheer from the crowd, Andy takes the number one spot for now and a new European record if it can be backed up during the weekend.

In the other lane Lex Joon went up in smoke at 60ft and only recorded a 10.45. Joran Persaker is number two with a 5.17 and Urs Erbacher is number three with a 5.823.

There is a long way to go this weekend and there is sure to be a few twists and turns along the way but it’s a great start for the Lucas Oil team!

It’s a real warm and sunny day now here at Santa Pod. Another strong launch from Andy, the car was really hauling but at half track the tires hazed and Andy coolly got off the throttle coasting through to a 5.71 at 156.75mph.

Thomas Nataas ran a 4.7831 to move into number two spot and Joran Persaker ran his first 4 to move into number three spot. Lex Joon went up in smoke again meaning he stays in the number eight spot. All that means Andy Carter and the Lucas Oil team remain the number one qualifier. A great day for the team, and we can’t wait for tomorrow.

Here at Santa Pod it’s been a lovely evening, the team have been turning the car around as the sun sets – a good end to the day. We had a quick chat with Andy who said “It’s been a great day – I’m happy going to bed as number one qualifier, but I will be even happier when I got to bed number one qualifier tomorrow!”

Crew Chief Karsten Andersen told us “I’m very pleased with how things have gone today. Our first run was fantastic – the fastest we have ever been at the 1/8th mile – faster than our 4.64 with Kim Reymond in 2003. On the last run we over powered the track – tomorrow we will look at the weather and change the tune slightly, at the moment I’m really happy.” Tune back tomorrow for all the news from the second day of qualifying.

Welcome back to Santa Pod, it has cooled considerably since last night and there is a thick cover of high cloud – it doesn’t look like it will rain though. This morning we were the second pair out Urs and Tommi had run side by side fours in the pair before and the massive crowd were looking for a good run from the Lucas Oil car. Andy pulled a strong burnout, was first in to pre-stage, closely followed by Stig Neergaard.  Another hard launch from the car but then just before half track the blower belt came off and Andy coasted to a 6.967. Our championship rival Lex Joon failed to improve, running an 11.389 after going up in smoke off the line and getting the car sideways. After qualifier three we are still in number one spot and Lex Joon is on the outside looking in.

We were kept waiting a very long time before this qualifying session due to oil downs etc - but it was worth the wait. Andy is number 1 qualifier with a stunning 4.64 at 296mph. At half track, Andy’s speed was 266 mph, he was on one! As you may have read before the weekend, Andy had the chance to become the FIA European Top Fuel – all time points record holder. This is a record Barry Sheavills has held since 2002 so we are delighted to have taken this one. The 4.64 was too quick to become the new ET record but does back up the 4.703 set yesterday.

“I would like to say a huge thank you to Lucas Oil and all my associate sponsors. Without your continued support, none of this would be possible. I would also like to thank my crew who have once again, done an awesome job! They are superb at their jobs and are such a fantastic bunch of guys. We’ve had a number of special guests with us today and I really hope they’ve enjoyed sharing this moment with us. It’s great to be back on top!” said Andy Carter.

We will now face Stig Neergaard in round one.

Please note, all records etc are subject to official ratification.

I remember sitting in the pit in Sweden feeling very similar to how I do now. Highs and lows really have been the theme of the season for us. Having qualified so well at both meetings with European records, the belief was there. We just needed that little bit of luck and a strong car. If Lex Joon was to go out in the first round, the championship would be ours, if we won the semis. I know it seems like a tall order but if you know the history of our team, this is the way we like to do it! With Lex running against Thomas Nataas in the pairing before us the nerves were jangling as the lights ran down. With the win light coming on in Thomas’s lane, all was going to plan! I can’t remember feeling that nervous before a run but as Andy pulled through to burn out, there was a sense that this would be our day. However, one broken blower belt later, our championship hopes were gone. Stig had a wild ride in his lane and was on and off the loud pedal. It really looked like momentum would carry Andy through, even though the belt was gone. However, one stab of the throttle from Stig and he was round us with a 7.09 to our 7.36.

Once again, we would like to thank our primary sponsor Lucas Oil and our associate sponsors who make it all possible.

We are aiming to make a test pass later today and see if we can’t drop the ET that little bit more. Stay tuned and we will of course keep you up to date.

Welcome back to Santa Pod Raceway for our last update of 2007. As mentioned earlier, we managed to fit in a very important test run to enable us to gather more data on the car. It’s fair to say, this weekend has seen the car perform to a whole new level. The signs were there in Sweden but this weekend we’ve really seen the improvement. The test launch went totally to plan with a .8300 60 foot. The car is leaving the line so hard now and we can now build on this for next year.

At this point, we must once again thank our primary sponsor, Lucas Oil for their support. We look forward to flying the Lucas flag again in 2008.

We would also like to thank our associate sponsors: NGK Spark Plugs, Binamic, Pioneer Print, Crane Cams, K&N Filters, Yuasa Batteries, BMRS, Sigma Signs, Antiqus-2000, Rainbow Conference Sets, 3T Creative, Norfolkline Ferriers, RCS Cables, Teng Tools, CAAR, Autotel and AACI.