LANGDON WINS ALL-TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINAL AT NORWALK
NORWALK, OH – Shawn Langdon defeated J.R. Todd in an all-Toyota Top Fuel final to win the Summit Racing 
Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, Sunday. The win is the eighth of the season for a Toyota driver in NHRA competition.
The victory was the second straight for Langdon after winning last weekend in Bristol. He opened the day defeating Troy Buff and then followed by beating Toyota teammate Antron Brown in round two and Brittany Force in the semi-finals before matching up with Todd.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Langdon. ”From where we started at the beginning of the year with this Red Fuel Toyota team with all the changes that we made through the first couple of races – all the test sessions, this is what we worked for. We kind of had to take a step back. We started to progress the car and had a better car, but we just weren’t getting the luck on Sunday. We just kept the mentality that we have to ride the waves.
“Drag racing is very streaky. You’re going to have the highs and the lows, but you have to not get too down from the lows and not just soak in all the highs. You have to continue to work and that’s what these guys have done. Two straight wins gives us confidence. When you have a good car like we do right now, it puts a little more pressure on the other teams. They have to start pushing their cars. So rather than seeing a good race at the finish line, we’re starting to see teams smoke some tires and take some chances against us. It’s a good feeling and I’m just happy to be a part of this team and it’s a good way to end this four-race swing.”
Todd fell just short of his first win of the 2016 season, but did advance to his second final round in the last six races. After picking up wins over Terry McMillen and Leah Pritchett in the first two rounds, he knocked off championship leader and Kalitta Motorsports teammate Doug Kalitta in the semi-finals before falling to Langdon, 3.845-3.937.
Kalitta advanced to his ninth semi-final in 12 races this season, while Brown reached the second round before meeting up with Langdon. Kalitta and Brown continue to lead the Top Fuel point race with just six races remaining in the regular season. Richie Crampton fell in his opening run of the day to Leah Pritchett.
In Funny Car, number one qualifier Del Worsham, Cruz Pedregon and Alexis DeJoria each advanced to the second round before losing, with Pedregon beating fellow Camry driver Chad Head.
After four races in the last four weeks, the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is off next weekend before resuming action for the Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in suburban Chicago, July 8-10.
