Welcome to Santa Pod for the FIA Main Event!

Welcome to Santa Pod for the FIA Main Event. The crew and dragster arrived at the track yesterday and the day was spent readying the Lucas Oil pit. Today the crew have been busy making final preparations for the weekend. Andy had his final seat fitting where his Impact Racing belts were adjusted to a perfect fit. It was the first chance we got to see Andy in his new Impact Racing fire suit too – and it looks fantastic! Andy has a new helmet for this season and it has been expertly painted by Ultimate Airbrush – be sure to check it out on the startline. Many fans got excited this afternoon when we towed the car out of the pit but we were not making our way to the startline, just to the weighbridge to confirm the weight of the car following the chassis changes over the weekend... we wont say whether Andy is lighter or heavier this year! The crew are currently sitting down to dinner on a nice, warm Santa Pod evening, Tune back in the morning for the first round of qualifying.

Welcome back to Santa Pod, its a glorious sunny day here... perfect conditions for racing. It was a difficult first session for most teams, Anita Makela and Stig Neergaard both had problems. Micke Kagered ran a good 5.1 second pass before it was time for Andy Carter to take to the track in the brand new Lucas Oil dragster. The car, as expected, looked fantastic on the track, the sun shining off the new blue and white paintwork. The car sounded fearsome but unfortunately at the hit we overpowered the track, Andy pedalled but couldn't get it to stick and idled down the track to a 12 second pass. A disappointing start to the weekend, but it has given us a good baseline to work from, the crew are now back in the pits servicing the dragster and we will be back out later today.

After session 1 qualifying is as follows:

1. Micke Kågered 5.11
2. Lex Joon 5.86
3. Jon Webster 8.15
4. Andy Carter 12.64
5. Anita Mäkelä 26.27

Qualifier #2

We have professional photographer Dom with us this weekend from www.modernpics.co.uk. Dom has spent the day taking some stunning shots of Andy and the team... we can't wait to show you the results.

We had a long, long wait before the second qualifier, several oil downs and delays meant we didn't hit the track until 5:30pm. Several racers made their first passes and dipped into the fives, we knew we had to step up from our earlier run. The car left the line well but at mid track it started to haze the tires, Andy sensed this quickly and sensibly got off the throttle. A 5.9 second pass, putting us in number 5 place after the session. Still not the performance we are looking for but we are moving forward and know which direction to take the tune. See you all tomorrow.

After the second session:

1. Micke Kågered 5.11
2. Lex Joon 5.27
3. Stig Neergaard 5.59
4. Anita Mäkelä 5.77
5. Andy Carter 5.91
6. Risto Poutiainen 5.96
7. Jon Webster 7.26

Another glorious day at Santa Pod, not a cloud in the sky. Before the run the Lucas Oil promo boys... and girl were out on the track throwing t-shirts to the huge crowd in the grandstand and on the banking. Andy pulled a long and smokey burnout before coming back to run. Once again the tires smoked at the hit and Andy was off the throttle straight away. The team are having trouble putting the power down to the track, a step back after last nights good launch but we will be back out later today looking for a strong full pass.

After session 3...

1. Lex Joon 4.83
2. Risto Poutiainen 4.83
3. Micke Kågered 5.11
4. Linda Thun Tønseth 5.32
5. Stig Neergaard 5.59
6. Anita Mäkelä 5.77
7. Andy Carter 5.91
8. Jon Webster 7.26

Andy was first up in this session, sitting in number seven the pressure was really on to deliver a big number. The car launched well and was on a strong pass when the blower belt came off at ¾ track... 4.9 flashed up on the scoreboard at on only 255mph. At that time it was good enough for number three spot, in the final pair Kagered ran a strong 4.8 to drop us down to four. Spirits have lifted in the Lucas Oil camp and we can wait to hit the track tomorrow morning when we face Linda Thun Tonseth.

Final qualifying positions are:

1. Lex Joon 4.83
2. Risto Poutiainen 4.83
3. Micke Kågered 4.89
4. Andy Carter 4.91
5. Linda Thun Tønseth 5.32
6. Stig Neergaard 5.59
7. Anita Mäkelä 5.77
8. Jon Webster 6.51

The weather here is not as nice as yesterday but the rain has stayed away so far and a full round of Top Fuel eliminations were contested. The first pair saw Lex Joon up against Jon Webster. Lex was handed a solo after Jon sidelined the car after the burnout.

It was then our turn, choosing the left lane which had seen us run our 4.9 qualifier yesterday. Andy put himself into the next round with a solid 5.01 to Linda's 5.82. Andy slowed again at the top end suggesting the blower belt was off the car. When we got back to the pits we found the engine had suffered a lot of damage. The Lucas Oil super crew are currently changing engines ready for the semi final.

Risto and and Stig took their match ups, Risto running a hard 4.8. It's now Lex in the next round for Andy and the Lucas Oil dragster.

An eagerly awaited battle for many fans – AC vs Lex! Lex was away first, Andy was catching Lex by the eighth mile when Lex's engine started eating itself up, neither driver was giving up and both was driving to the finish. At the top end it was very, very close Andy just crossing the line first to give the win to the Lucas Oil team! Andy ran 4.80 to Lex's 5.19. Andy said “It was a sweet victory, after a difficult start to the weekend – what a great job by the team after issues in the first round... the championship winning team really showed what it is made of.” We are currently on hold for a clean up, we are patiently waiting to find out who our opponent will be in the final.

In the final we were to face Stig Neergaard, always a tricky opponent. Andy left the line first and was ahead at 60ft. Stig started to smoke the tires and Andy pulled away. The tires on the Lucas Oil dragster started to haze in the second half of the track but Andy stuck with it to run a 4.90 and take the win! A fantastic victory for Andy Carter and the Andersen Racing / Carter Motorsport team. It was a difficult win, problems during qualifying were overcome to put in a good performance on race day. The Lucas Oil super-crew worked superbly well together and really do deserve this win. We now move on to round two in Finland.

Thanks to all our fans who have supported us this weekend, thanks to Lucas Oil and all of our associate sponsors... Landmeco, Impact Race Products, NGK Spark Plugs, Binamic, Pioneer Print, K&N Filters, Yuasa Batteries, BMRS, Sigma Signs, Rainbow Conference Sets, 3T Creative, Norfolkline Ferriers, RCS Cables, Teng Tools, CAAR, Autotel, Jerrys, USA Autodele, AACI and Ultimate Airbrush.