IDA ZETTERSTRÖM Brings European Top Fuel Championship to NHRA Proving Ground

August 30, 2025

by Elana Scherr // from www.caranddriver.com

GRRL! SUMMARY:

IDA ZETTERSTRÖM made the leap from European champion to NHRA contender after winning the 2023 FIA Top Fuel championship, but funding challenges meant she could only tackle eight races in her debut season. Despite the limited schedule and a bare-bones three-person crew, she managed career-best passes and earned fans’ votes for ‘Best New Talent’ – proving that sometimes the best stories come from those willing to bet everything on their dreams.
Before conquering Top Fuel, ZETTERSTRÖM dominated Super Street Bike racing, becoming the first woman and youngest driver ever to win championships in one of Europe’s most competitive drag racing classes. Her unconventional path from motorcycles to 330+ mph dragsters shows there’s no single route to the top – just the determination to find whatever gets you there fastest.
What sets NHRA apart isn’t just the speed (ZETTERSTRÖM’s quickest pass: 3.73 seconds at 334 mph), but the culture that naturally includes women without making it a spectacle. She points out that drag racing has always been about 50/50 gender participation from junior levels up, creating an environment where talent speaks louder than outdated expectations – something sponsors would be smart to notice.