AJR Atlanta Pre-race Report
Shawn Langdon enters the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in fourth place in the NHRA Mello 
Yello Top Fuel point standings; he trails third-place Antron Brown by 31 points and leads fifth-place Doug Kalitta by 16 points. He trails points leader Tony Schumacher by 68 points.
Although Langdon is driving the Knuckle Sandwich Bass Pro Shops Toyota Top Fuel dragster again this weekend, Alan Johnson Racing is still searching for primary sponsorship after unexpectedly losing its funding a month before the 2015 season began. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Alan Johnson Racing’s longest-standing partner having first joined the team in 2001, increased its support. Thanks to Toyota’s increased backing announced March 28, the team can continue to compete while searching for primary sponsorship. Alan Johnson Racing hopes to race the entire 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season and compete for the 2015 Top Fuel championship, but it must secure long-term primary sponsorship.
Langdon and team owner Alan Johnson will attend the Coca-Cola Partnership dinner Thursday night at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta. The annual event brings executives from the Coca-Cola Company and its Mello Yello Brand, the NHRA and Mello Yello championship-winning race team drivers and owners together to celebrate the partnership between the NHRA and its long-time title sponsor.
Langdon prior to Atlanta: “The Knuckle Sandwich/ Bass Pro Shops Toyota dragster is fourth in points, and that’s not a bad place to be; we’re definitely within striking distance of first place. Even though we struggled at the last couple of races, we’re still right there in the thick of things. All we need is a good race or two, and we can jump right back into the lead.
“We had a great start to the season, but we’ve struggled a little bit in the last three races. There’s really nothing to pinpoint. We struggled with the air and the tune-up in Charlotte, and we had a problem dropping cylinders in Las Vegas. We had a good car in Houston, but I wasn’t able to capitalize on it as a driver. I missed the reaction time by a little bit, and we lost by a couple thousandths of a second. The first-round loss in Houston was very tough for me. I always pride myself on reaction time so losing on reaction time just isn’t acceptable. I’ve been doing a little bit of racing in my bracket car in these off weeks trying to get back on my game, and I’m very excited to get back on the track and hopefully get back into the winner’s circle. We’ve put the last couple of races behind us and moved on; we have a great team and a great race car, and we’re ready to win again.
“It’s been great working with Bass Pro Shops for the last couple of races. We’re working with them through the Alan Johnson Racing relationship with Toyota. Bass Pro Shops has a signature series Toyota Tundra so we are working with both Toyota and Bass Pro Shops to hopefully get something going with Bass Pro Shops for the long term.
“The sponsorship search hasn’t made things more difficult for me. It’s obviously something that weighs on my mind because we have a great team, and we definitely want to keep racing. We have a great product to offer a sponsor. We have a great group of people working hard talking to companies and trying to obtain sponsorship for the rest of 2015 and beyond. My job is to focus on driving the car so that’s what I’m trying to do. I know we’re talking to a lot of different companies, and hopefully, something will get worked out soon.
“The Coca-Cola Partnership dinner is always a great event. We’re always excited to visit their home town and the World of Coca-Cola for the champion’s dinner. It’s always fun to visit companies that support NHRA Drag Racing, and nobody does that more significantly than the Coca-Cola Company and their Mello Yello brand.”
Alan Johnson Racing is located in Brownsburg, Ind. Alan Johnson has won 11 NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel World Championships with five different drivers: Gary Scelzi, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Del Worsham and Shawn Langdon; he is a 15-time NHRA national champion. For additional information on Alan Johnson Racing and driver Shawn Langdon, please visit alanjohnsonracing.com; get Alan Johnson Racing news through its Facebook page or on Twitter: @AJRTopFuel.
