Euproean racer Andy Carter, who began 2009 competing at the NHRA season-opening Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals, wrapped up his fourth FIA European Top Fuel championship with his Lucas Oil-backed dragster. Victory at the Nitrolymp’x at the Hockenheimring, Germany, gave the British driver an unassailable lead that neither Finland’s Risto Poutiainen nor Denmark’s Stig Neergaard, Nos. 2 and 3 in the points, respectively, have a chance of overhauling at the European Finals at Santa Pod Raceway next month.

Carter came into the season as the defending FIA champion but was hungry to add to his three titles (2001 and 2004). In comparison to these three titles, all won by the slenderest of margins with the points chase going down to the wire at the final race of the year, the fourth is the culmination of the most dominant performance seen in European Top Fuel competition since the inception of the FIA championship in 1996; he has already secured a record-setting 11 round-wins this season.

Having won at Santa Pod Raceway (England) and Alastaro (Finland) and been a frustrated finalist at the rained-out meeting at Mantorp Park (Sweden), the Anglo-Swedish-Danish Lucas Oil team will now look to go through the season undefeated, something never achieved in FIA Top Fuel competition.