Al-Anabi Racing heads for the West Coast for race 2 of the Western Swing
AlBalooshi prior to Sonoma:
“Our Al-Anabi car was one of the best of the show last week in Denver; we made some very good runs including when we lost in the first round, but I am excited to get to Sonoma this week so we can start finding our luck again. I feel that things are very good for us this season; our bad luck from last year is gone. This year, the crew guys know me, and I know them. I know what my crew chief is doing, and he knows what I am doing in the car. Everybody knows each other now; we are good together.
“Before a run, I know 95 percent what the car is going to do; I trust my crew chief, and I know exactly how he is thinking and how he puts the power in the car. I ask Jason (crew chief Jason McCulloch), “What do you think?” “What do you want to do on this run?” He tells me exactly what he wants the car to do. He tells me to do this so the car will do that, and the car does exactly what he tells me every time. That makes me feel confident in Jason and our crew. The car is going to the finish line – let’s go do it.”
Langdon prior to Sonoma:
“It will be good to get back to Sonoma this weekend; Sonoma Raceway is one of the nicest facilities we go to, and it’s always nice to be up there in wine country. I always enjoy racing there because I grew up racing Super Comp at Sonoma, and I always have a lot of friends and family there. If the weather is nice, hopefully we can get back to racing in the 3.70s and over 320 mph; that will be fun for everyone.
“The Al-Anabi car continues to run well, and we’re going rounds. That’s the biggest thing. The car makes very quick runs in qualifying so we are getting the little qualifying bonus points. We’re qualifying towards the top of the field most of the time, and going rounds so we are earning points consistently. That’s what we need to keep doing.
“Now that we have clinched our spot in the Countdown, our main focus is to stay in first place so we can get as many points going into the Countdown as possible. That top seed is really important, and it’s something everybody wants. We know it won’t be easy, but going into the Countdown as the No. 1 seed is our No. 1 goal for the next few races. As long as we keep earning points like we are now, everything should work out in the end.
“We have four races and the Indy test before we start the Countdown. At this point, your tune-up is your tune-up. So now it’s a matter of using these last four races to fine-tune things so that when the Countdown begins, every little area is good. We started with a new chassis last weekend in Denver so we have a fresh car, and we have a few races to get it tuned up for the rest of the season and the Countdown.”
Al-Anabi Racing by the numbers
Shawn Langdon, Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (silver):
Shawn Langdon enters the Sonoma NHRA Nationals in first place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings. He leads second-place Tony Schumacher by 19 points.
Langdon was the first Top Fuel driver to clinch his spot in the 2013 Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs. When he defeated Anton Brown in the first round last weekend in Denver, he clinched the playoff berth.
Langdon was the No. 5 qualifier in Denver last weekend. He defeated Antron Brown and Brandon Bernstein before losing to race winner Spencer Massey in the semifinals.
Langdon has advanced to at least the semifinals at eight of the last 10 races. He has advanced to the final round of eliminations six times and has three wins in his six final-round appearances. He visited the winner’s circle at the season-opening NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif. in February, Topeka, Kan. in May and at Englishtown, N.J. in June. He has four-career Top Fuel wins.
Langdon has been a solid qualifier this season; his average qualifying position is 4.07. He has three No. 1 qualifiers this season taking top-qualifier honors at Charlotte, Atlanta Dragway and Topeka, and he has qualified in the top-five positions at 10 of the 14 events this year. Langdon has nine career No. 1 qualifiers.
One year ago at Sonoma, Langdon was the No. 5 qualifier; he beat his teammate, Khalid alBalooshi in the first round before losing to Spencer Massey in the quarterfinals.
With Langdon’s win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals in Pomona, Calif. in February, he qualified for the Traxxas Shootout. The second-year special event for eight Top Fuel teams and eight Funny Car teams is set for Indianapolis during the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend. Last year, Langdon did not qualify for the event because he did not win a race prior to it nor did he advance into the race from the drawing for non-winners.
Langdon recorded the fastest speed to 1,000 feet in NHRA history last fall in Reading, Pa. when he reached 334.15 mph. In addition, during the same Reading race weekend, his 3.712-second elapsed time was the national elapsed-time record until Antron Brown made a quicker pass in the same weekend. It still stands as the second-quickest 1,000-foot run in NHRA history.
Since December, Langdon has been serving as the Al-Anabi Racing interim general manager. When Chad Head departed the race team in December to join his father’s construction business and drive the Head Racing Funny Car, Langdon stepped in to assist the team with day-to-day operations at the race shop. He will continue in this role until Head’s replacement is hired, but during race weekends, Langdon will focus solely on driving the Al-Anabi Racing silver Top Fuel dragster.
Khalid alBalooshi, Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (gold):
Khalid alBalooshi enters the Sonoma NHRA Nationals in sixth place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings. He trails fifth-place Antron Brown by 22 points and leads seventh-place Clay Millican by 74 points.
AlBalooshi won the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio earlier this month. It was his first win of the season and the second of his Top Fuel career. Last weekend in Denver, alBalooshi was the No. 4 qualifier but lost to Brandon Bernstein by 11 thousandths of a second in the first round of eliminations.
AlBalooshi has one win, two final rounds and two semifinals in 14 races this season. The Dubai native has 16 round wins in the season’s first 14 races. Last year, alBalooshi won a total of 14 rounds of racing over the entire season. His sophomore season is going much better than his rookie season in 2012.
AlBalooshi has been a solid qualifier this season; he qualified second, his career best, at both Houston Raceway Park and Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J. AlBalooshi has qualified in the top six at nine of the season’s 14 races.
With alBalooshi’s win in the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, he qualified for the Traxxas Shootout. The second-year special event for eight Top Fuel teams and eight Funny Car teams is set for Indianapolis during the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend. Last year, alBalooshi did not qualify for the event because he did not win a race prior to it nor did he advance into the race from the drawing for non-winners.
AlBalooshi captured the first Top Fuel win of his career during his rookie season last year. On a cold, rainy weekend during which national performance records were being set with impressive regularity, alBalooshi defeated Spencer Massey, Ike Maier, his teammate Shawn Langdon and eventual 2012 Top Fuel champion Anton Brown in the final round of the Auto Parts Nationals in Reading, Pa.
AlBalooshi’s rookie year was a story of two very different half seasons. In the first half of the season, alBalooshi was defeated in the first round of eliminations at all 12 races. However, after getting his first Top Fuel round win at Denver in July, alBalooshi advanced to at least the second round of eliminations at10 of the last 11 races of the season including each of the last nine. He had a win and a semifinal in the last three races, and before he lost in the Las Vegas semifinals at the second-to-last race of the year, he had won six consecutive rounds of racing.
