Shawn Langdon Looking to Take Win in Vegas for CMR Construction and Roofing

Las Vegas – This weekend Shawn Langdon will step away from his familiar yellow and red DHL Top Fuel dragster and slide into an 11,000-horsepower race car adorned with the logo and colors of new sponsor CMR Construction and Roofing.  The one race appearance caps a wildly successful rookie season for the Kalitta Motorsports sponsor that saw them expand their initial associate sponsorship to include presented by sponsorship of the Kalitta Motorsports Sponsor Summit in Charlotte and primary sponsorship for the Las Vegas Nationals this weekend. The enhanced branding also includes Langdon’s firesuit, team uniforms and special collectible hero cards for this event only.

“I am looking forward to representing CMR Construction and Roofing at the Las Vegas Nationals this weekend and I want to thank Steve and Chandra Soule for all the support,” said Shawn Langdon. “CMR has been very active with all our sponsors and at events since the summer. They love everything about the NHRA and we are enjoying hosting their customers and employees.”

The CMR Construction and Roofing Top Fuel dragster will make its debut on Friday night during the first qualifying session and will have two more qualifying runs on Saturday before final eliminations get underway on Sunday morning. A sizeable field of race cars will be vying for one of the 16 coveted starting spots. Langdon knows that a strong start on Friday night will set his team up for success all weekend.

“When you only get three qualifying runs the Friday run really sets the tone for the weekend,” said Langdon. “If you get a strong run on Friday you have try a few things on Saturday and be a little more aggressive. If you miss you are a little behind the eight ball the rest of the weekend. I have a lot of confidence in this team, and we are really focused on a strong finish to the season.”

The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is one of the few tracks where Langdon has not made at least one final round appearance. In 2013, the season of his Top Fuel world championship, Langdon was No. 1 qualifier but did not advance beyond the semifinals that year.

This season Langdon opened the year with a runner-up finish to rookie of the year front-runner Josh Hart at the historic Gatornationals. He has recorded three additional semifinal finishes and wowed the NHRA fans with a Connie Kalitta tribute Top Fuel dragster at the U.S. Nationals and the Reading Nationals to open the Countdown.

“It was great to run the Connie Kalitta Bounty Hunter tribute dragster at Indy and to start the Countdown,” said Langdon. “The fans really loved it and I know it put a smile on Connie’s face when we surprised him with the race car in the pits at Indy. Getting to drive a car tuned by Connie is a great honor and we will also me working to get another win together.”

In 2020 Langdon parked his DHL Top Fuel dragster in the winner’s circle at the prestigious U.S. Nationals with the elder Kalitta as his crew chief. This year they narrowly missed another win to start the season. The capabilities of the CMR Construction and Roofing Top Fuel dragster have never been in doubt throughout the season. This weekend the team will be looking to add more win lights to a Top Ten season.

“We have all the pieces to win this race,” said Langdon. “The key will be getting a good start in qualifying and then just doing our best on Sunday. I am looking forward to showing off this CMR Top Fuel dragster and hopefully having a long race day on Sunday.”

2020 NHRA Las Vegas Nationals Highlights: Qual. No. 5; Lost to Clay Miilican

Last Event Recap (2021 Thunder Valley Nationals): Qual. No. 10; Lost to Justin Ashley

Career Stats: 285 events, 282 starts, 310 round wins, 17 wins, 35 finals, 19 No. 1 qualifiers; in Top Fuel: 237 events, 234 starts, 15 wins, 32 finals, 271 round wins, 19 No. 1 qualifiers

2021 Season:
Gatornationals: RUNNER-UP; Qual. No. 6; Beat Doug Foley, Leah Pruett, Antron Brown; Lost to Josh Hart
Las Vegas1: Qual. No. 6; Beat Troy Buff and Rob Passey; Lost to Doug Kalitta and Steve Torrence
Atlanta: Qual. No. 11; Beat Leah Pruett, Mike Salinas; Lost to Steve Torrence
Charlotte1: Qual. No. 11; Lost to Antron Brown and Krista Baldwin
Houston: Qual. No. 7; Beat Josh Hart, Justin Ashley; Lost to Doug Kalitta
Epping: Qual. No. 8; Lost to Doug Kalitta
Norwalk: Qual. No. 16; Lost to Steve Torrence
Denver: Qual. No. 8; Lost to Clay Millican
Sonoma: Qual. No. 9; Beat Clay Millican; Lost to Antron Brown
Pomona1: Qual. No. 5; Beat Jim Maroney; Lost to Antron Brown
Topeka: Qual. No. 7; Beat Antron Brown, Billy Torrence; Lost to Clay Millican
Brainerd: Qual. No. 7; Lost to Antron Brown
Indianapolis: Qual. No. 16; Lost to Brittany Force
Reading: Qual. No. 11; Beat Mike Salinas; Lost to Billy Torrence
Charlotte2: Qual. No. 14; Lost to Clay Millican
St. Louis: Qual. No. 14; Lost to Steve Torrence
Dallas: Qual. No. 9; Lost to Clay Millican
Bristol: Qual. No. 10; Lost to Justin Ashley