While Mattias Flamholc was born in Sweden, he has traveled throughout the United States and other countries as a crew member for his father, Adam Flamholc.
Mattias has seen Adam race to 3.60s at over 200 mph in his Corvette with a 526 cubic-inch Hemi built by Flamholc Racing Engines and topped with a screw-style supercharger, and he has helped him rack up win after win, including in VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod at the recent 12th Annual Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.
Inspired and influenced by his father's prowess and passion for motorsports, Mattias very successfully raced a junior-dragster, and is now preparing to climb into the driver's seat of the 1957 Bel Air that he and his parents, Adam and Anna, recently purchased near their home in Cape Coral, Florida.
We were kind of looking, and this one came up locally here in Florida, said Mattias, who's 16 and drives a diesel-fuel sipping Dodge pickup truck on a daily basis. It was built as a Pro Mod car back in 2002, and when we picked it up, it had been sitting in the same spot in a garage for 10 years, so it doesn't have a lot of runs on it.
[gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="18077,18075"]Mattias will take his time working up to running the car in NMCA ARP Nitrous Pro Street or Outlaw 632 at various events.
For now, we're putting an 800-horsepower big-block Chevrolet in it, and after I get some practice, my dad, who's an engine-builder, will put together a nitrous 632 cubic-inch engine for it, said Mattias. I have not raced a door-car before, so I'm excited for this.
Flamholc Racing is also in the process of making upgrades to the car's fuel system, cooling system, wiring and gearing, and plans are in place to replace its wheels and tires.
The car really needed a good cleanup after 10 years of sleep, said Mattias. Depending on how busy my dad is with his racing, tuning and building engines for people, we'll try to have the car ready to go testing in three or four weeks.
There's no doubt that the beautiful car will turn heads when it hits the track, and there's also no doubt that Mattias will be in good hands as he secures seat-time.
I'm very thankful to my mom and dad, who helped me make this dream come true, said Mattias. I also want to thank my friends, Aaron Cole and Richie Gudz, who are helping me and my dad work on the car. They will also be on my team when we go racing.
