Thank you for a world-class week!

It all kicked off on a sunny Saturday at Mantorp Park with inspections ahead of Street Week Central Swing. With just over 180 inspected vehicles, the conditions were crystal clear: it was going to be fast this year – and it certainly was! Sunday brought cloudy weather as the first day of competition began. Right from the start, we got a taste of extremely fast times, world-class performances, and a massive crowd. We will not soon forget Jimmy Gudrus (#174) lifting his wheels with his super cool Dodge pickup. A total of 11 drivers ran fours in both Max and Street Outlaw, while the more limited classes showcased low fives and incredibly fast runs.

After that, the Street Week circus rolled on to Dala-Järna Raceway. Record attendance and a folk festival – what more can one expect? Here too, there were brutally fast times during a very successful race day. Tuesday's competition took place at Sundsvall Raceway in Kovland. Here, we faced northern chill, but the weather did not stop either drivers or spectators from performing. With a well-prepared track and full stands, the chaff began to separate from the wheat, but no class had a clear winner yet. It would be a fierce battle all the way to the finish line at Mantorp Park.

Wednesday was a pure transport day. For the Crew, it was mostly about getting there and scouting the debut track, Tierp Arena. On Thursday, history was made when Street Week was held for the first time at this historic drag racing arena. Those who arrived early got to witness an impressive display by Mats Eriksson in a Pro Mod. Shortly thereafter, the first official Street Week run on the track was made by none other than the king of kings: Michael Westberg. He set a new Street Week record at Tierp with a final time of 4.0517 – the bar was thus set. The audience flocked in such numbers that the B-stand, which was supposed to be closed, had to be opened. So much fun! There were a couple of clean-ups during the day, but even more personal bests on a track that truly delivered. An extremely successful debut!

The decision would obviously take place at Linde Raceway, which on this special day offered completely new asphalt. If there had been a large audience at the other tracks, it looked like an anthill in the tight area around the track in Lindesberg. The well-prepared track resulted in super-fast times that stirred things up significantly in the results list. Thorsen's and Sahlin's average times were so low that they would have been enough to snatch the championship belt last year. Unfortunately, Thorsen suffered a breakdown on the way back to Mantorp Park. Jonas Sahlin thus secured second place, while Henrik Persson took third place with an average time that was incredibly close to the average record set last year by last year's champ, Chribbe Haglund (#206).

But there can only be one Champ during Street Week 2026. Those who have followed the competition in previous years already know who he is – because driving a race car, he can do that. Michael Westberg broke the Street Week record on 5 out of 5 tracks this year, delivering the fastest time and the lowest average in history. He is therefore more than deserving of the champion's belt. What a king!

However, it is not just Westberg's record year that is an enormous achievement. It has been fast and fiercely competitive in every class this year. In Hot Rod, Martin Lundqvist (#179) took first place in his cool Ford -32 with an average of 6.5401, while second and third place were just a few hundredths behind. Keep in mind that the class's time breakout is 6.50.

Jimmy Karlsson (#119) got revenge after last year's crash on the first day of the competition and secured second place in his wicked Camaro, just behind Henrik Andersen (#12). Henrik took home first place in his unique and even wilder BMW E87. Sami Toivonen (#107) in his orange Camaro seems to have subscribed to the title in Ultimate Street; he defended last year's win and repeatedly showed how to warm up the tires like a true street racer.

In True Street, Juhani Sjöman (#22) took home first place in his sleek Taunus. Last year's winner, Mattias Jansson (#46), was the runner-up, just ahead of Gunnar Larsson (#17) in his Volvo 242. The Pro Touring class was won by Petter Lundgren (#13) in his Corvette, just under two-tenths of a second ahead of Niklas Wikander (#182), who took second place in his Firebird Trans Am. It was also incredibly fast in this class, and Michael Callin (#7) secured third place with an average of 5.9911.

In the Import War for rear-wheel drive cars, Per Kristian Harildstad (#155) took home first place with his BMW E30 323. Behind him was Kazy from Lithuania in his BMW 335i, and third place was claimed by Dan Österberg in a Ford Anglia. In the same class but for front-wheel drive cars, there was a Danish sweep on the podium: Nicolai Heering (#147) took first place while his compatriots Oliver Pedersen (#132) and Morten Mortensen (#30) secured second and third places, respectively.

In the 4WD class, Christian Dalgas took home the title. He not only defended last year's win but secured a "three-peat" by winning the class for the third consecutive year. Impressive! In the class below, Diesel Power, we saw Fredrik Skoglöf claim the title with his incredible Mercedes-Benz 220, adorned with Swedish flags at the front – a truly stunning ride! In the Classic class, which featured some really beautiful cars, Per Justesen (#60) drove to first place with an average time of 5.7742.

We also want to congratulate the one with the lowest average time who drove with a manual transmission, big congratulations to Martin Nützman (#148) who has an average of 6.2423. Of course, we must congratulate Fredrik Lindberg who achieves a "three-peat" in the Sealed-Hood challenge where he drives an average time of 5.9494 during the week without opening the hood.

There is so much to write that it would have required an entire magazine! But we want to extend a big congratulations to all the winners of Street Week Central Swing 2026. We also want to give a huge shoutout to everyone who has crossed the finish line this year. It's not just tough – it's an adventure that must be experienced to be understood!

Without all the racers, crew members, officials, clubs, and spectators, this would never have been possible. A big thank you to Chad Reynolds fromBangShiftwho flew over from the States to watch and comment, and who got to see that we Swedes not only can, but are absolutely amazing at this. A special thanks to our fantastic sponsors who make this incredible week possible!

If you missed anything during the week, you can watch the entire competition replay on Street Week Play. Do you want to scrutinize the entire results list?Click here!

Street Week Central Swing 2026 is not over yet! On September 24th, we’re throwing an afterparty to wrap up this year's edition in the best way possible. It will take place at Slaktkyrkan in Johanneshov, Stockholm. Book your ticket now and get ready for a real blast where Thundermother will rock the hell out of all of us.Book your ticket here!

Once again, a big thank you for a week beyond all expectations! We'll see each other on September 24th to recharge our batteries for Street Week 2027. Because we are going to write more racing history together!