Tough Outing Does Not Hurt Shawn Langdon, DHL Top Fuel

Indianapolis – Coming back to the race track in Indianapolis just minutes from his home had Shawn Langdon and the DHL Top Fuel dragster team eager to spend a long day at the races. After the second qualifying run on Saturday which Langdon posted the quickest run of the session and collected three valuable bonus points the 2013 Top Fuel champion looked to be in a position to advance.

The unpredictability of the 2020 NHRA season reared its head as the No. 1 qualifier, No. 3 qualifier, the No. 5 qualifier and the No. 7 qualifier all lost in first round upsets. Unfortunately on the strength of his Saturday runs Langdon was the No. 3 qualifier that was ousted by eventual finalist Justin Ashley.

In one of the closest races of the first round Langdon and Ashley left side by side and were both charging down track. The pair were both flying to the finish line with Ashley barely out in front. When the scoreboards lit up it was Ashley with a quicker elapsed time of 3.829 seconds beside Langdon’s 3.891 second pass.

With a third race in Indianapolis in two weeks due to the postponement of the Denver NHRA National event Langdon is pleased he will have a home field advantage.

“It’s like racing for the Indy track championship. I don’t mind it, it’s just different,” said Langdon. “Truthfully, it’s nice. I’m at home every night and sleeping in my own bed. I can come out here and my condo is just 10 minutes from the track. I couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve been at home for a month in probably 10, 15 or 20 years. Of course, we want to go out and race, but it’s an aspect of life that I’ve missed. It’s nice being out here and racing. We’ve got a good car. Your team is like your family and it’s good to see them and work with them again. I’ve missed a lot of Connie’s jokes and his stories.”

Quotable:
Langdon on Top Fuel competition: “There are a lot of good Top Fuel cars out here. Look at some of the upsets in the first round. There are no easy rounds and you have to have a total package to get a win every single round. I have a lot of confidence in my DHL guys that we will be able to do that week in and week out.”

Statistics:
Qualified: No. 3 (3.855 sec., 314.46 mph)
Bonus points: +3 (Quickest of Q2)

Race Details:

First Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH
Shawn Langdon         3          .050     3.891   305.91
Justin Ashley                14        .062     3.829   321.27 (W)

Tough Outing Does Not Hurt
Shawn Langdon, DHL Top Fuel
Coming back to the race track in Indianapolis just minutes from his home had Shawn Langdon and the DHL Top Fuel dragster team eager to spend a long day at the races. After the second qualifying run on Saturday which Langdon posted the quickest run of the session and collected three valuable bonus points the 2013 Top Fuel champion looked to be in a position to advance.

The unpredictability of the 2020 NHRA season reared its head as the No. 1 qualifier, No. 3 qualifier, the No. 5 qualifier and the No. 7 qualifier all lost in first round upsets. Unfortunately on the strength of his Saturday runs Langdon was the No. 3 qualifier that was ousted by eventual finalist Justin Ashley.

In one of the closest races of the first round Langdon and Ashley left side by side and were both charging down track. The pair were both flying to the finish line with Ashley barely out in front. When the scoreboards lit up it was Ashley with a quicker elapsed time of 3.829 seconds beside Langdon’s 3.891 second pass.

With a third race in Indianapolis in two weeks due to the postponement of the Denver NHRA National event Langdon is pleased he will have a home field advantage.

“It’s like racing for the Indy track championship. I don’t mind it, it’s just different,” said Langdon. “Truthfully, it’s nice. I’m at home every night and sleeping in my own bed. I can come out here and my condo is just 10 minutes from the track. I couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve been at home for a month in probably 10, 15 or 20 years. Of course, we want to go out and race, but it’s an aspect of life that I’ve missed. It’s nice being out here and racing. We’ve got a good car. Your team is like your family and it’s good to see them and work with them again. I’ve missed a lot of Connie’s jokes and his stories.”

Quotable:
Langdon on Top Fuel competition: “There are a lot of good Top Fuel cars out here. Look at some of the upsets in the first round. There are no easy rounds and you have to have a total package to get a win every single round. I have a lot of confidence in my DHL guys that we will be able to do that week in and week out.”

Statistics:
Qualified: No. 3 (3.855 sec., 314.46 mph)
Bonus points: +3 (Quickest of Q2)

Race Details:

First Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH
Shawn Langdon         3          .050     3.891   305.91
Justin Ashley                14        .062     3.829   321.27 (W)