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a row across both continents ; did a race here , flew to Finland , came back here , flew back to Sweden , then back here . The traveling part is tough , but my crew flies in from Sweden for the weekend too . I ’ m more impressed of them . They have their regular jobs and they fly in on Thursday and fly back to Sweden on Monday ,” Lindberg added proudly .
The 2015 national championship was decided in Lindberg ’ s favor by just two points on the final raceday Sunday of the season . Still , the soft-spoken driver and tuner of the Landmeco Camaro was just getting warmed up .
“ I knew a lot of cars would probably step up , and they did ,” Lindberg revealed of his line of thinking after winning his first NHRA championship . “ The competition becomes tougher and tougher , so we need to be tougher as well .”
Lindberg went to work over the winter and reminded the world why he was the defending national champion when he kicked off the 2016 season with another win at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona . He was introduced to the ice cream-based winner ’ s circle celebrations at Summit Motorosports Park when he swept the Norwalk regional race and national event later in the summer portion of the season . Another raucous celebration followed when he won the Brainerd race an ocean away from his older brother , Johan , who was celebrating his Pro Mod win at the NitrOlympX in Hockenheim , Germany .
“ I raced Brainerd and he raced in Germany , and we won on the same day just a couple hours apart . That was really cool . I had the most pressure on me because he won first ,” the younger Lindberg laughed . “ Then I was like , Now I really need to go win it , and we did . That was cool . That ’ s unique . I don ’ t think anyone has ever done that before .”
Lindberg kept the party rolling in September as he celebrated his 27 th birthday with a large , eclectic gathering of drivers and crew members at his Brownsburg , Indiana race shop on the Thursday of the Chevrolet Performance U . S . Nationals . Later that weekend , he claimed possibly the biggest win of his American career , hoisting the Wally that so many drivers have considered as prestigious and meaningful as a world championship title .
“ Winning Indy is pretty spectacular . It ’ s the biggest race in the world . That was a cool feeling . My family came over from Sweden , all of my friends were there , and it was my birthday weekend . It was really cool that we managed to win that race .”
The week after winning Indy , Lindberg hopped
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in his rig and headed south to GALOT Motorsports Park for PDRA Dragstock XIII . He was originally scheduled to make the trip to tune the Pro Extreme 1963 Corvette of fellow Swedes Mikael and Magnus Lindahl , but a grudge race callout by Pro Extreme star Frankie “ the Madman ” Taylor gave Lindberg a reason to bring his McKinney-built flip-top Camaro along with him .
“ It was fun to go to PDRA and be part of a whole different scene ,” claimed Lindberg , who posted a strong run in testing , but shook alongside Taylor in a 3.71-to-3.77 race in front of the PDRA ’ s largest crowd . “ It was good that Frankie had problems , too , because I was trying to run a 3.58 or 3.59 . I had friends in the grandstands ,
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and they said we both pulled wheelstands and pedaled at the same time . It was a close race . We just got a little overexcited I guess .”
Unfazed , Lindberg moved on to the final few races of the year , charging to the semifinals at the Charlotte and Dallas races as he worked to defend his championship from west coast hitters Doug Gordon and John Lombardo Jr . Lindberg entered the Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas knowing that he had a good chance of locking up his second national championship . By the time qualifying was complete and the eliminations ladder was set , the scenario was nearly perfect . Gordon needed to lose first round , and the championship would belong to Lindberg . Who was Gordon slated to
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PHOTOS : JOE McHUGH , NATE VAN WAGNEN |