alBalooshi Takes Out #1 Qualifier for Top Fuel Title at Summit Racing Equipment Nationals
RACE WINNER: Khalid alBalooshi – Al- Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (gold)
Qualifying: Khalid alBalooshi was the No. 10 qualifier at Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. During the Friday evening qualifying session, alBalooshi recorded a 3.820-second pass at 321.50 mph. Interestingly, during the first round of qualifying on Saturday in the heat of the day, alBalooshi recorded the exact same elapsed time and speed as he did Friday night.
Eliminations: AlBalooshi won his first race of the season and the second of his Top Fuel career today in Norwalk. He defeated Antron Brown, Chris Karamesines, Clay Millican and No. 1 qualifier Doug Kalitta on his way to the winner’s circle. With the win, alBalooshi claimed the last automatic qualifier spot for the Traxxas Nitro Shootout in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend. AlBalooshi’s win is the third in the last four years for the Al-Anabi Racing Team at Summit Motorsports Park.
Unofficial Point Standings: AlBalooshi remains sixth in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings. He trails fifth-place Antron Brown by 28 points and leads seventh-place Clay Millican by 71 points. He is just 36 points out of fourth place.
Special Guest: The Al-Anabi team played host to a young guest this weekend in nine-year-old Jacob Delling a big drag racing fan from Clio, Mich., who has lost sight in both eyes. The Al-Anabi Pro-Mod team befriended Delling at a race in Michigan last week and then went on to victory there. Delling attended the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk this weekend and had a chance to climb into alBalooshi’s car earlier in the weekend. After alBalooshi won the race, Delling also held and waved alBalooshi’s “Wally” in the Winner’s Circle.
AlBalooshi on Norwalk: “I felt our car was going to do something special this weekend; our crew has been doing a very good job, and this is a very good win for our Al-Anabi team. I am happy to win for Sheik Khalid, everybody on the Al-Anabi team, everybody in Qatar and everybody who helps us with our car.
“After we lost here a year ago (12th first-round loss in a row), we were really down – all the luck seemed to be against us, but after we got that first round win the next race (Denver, 2012) everything changed. Things just seemed to come together for us. My crew chief, Jason McCulloch, has done a great job. We had a good car today and the luck seemed to be with us. Once I saw Jacob in the car, I knew I had to try to do something special this weekend.”
Shawn Langdon, Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (silver)
Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 5 qualifier at Norwalk. During the Friday evening qualifying session, Langdon recorded a 3.802-second pass at 315.64 mph to claim the No. 5 position.
Eliminations: Langdon defeated J.R. Todd and Bob Vandergriff before losing to Doug Kalitta in the semifinals. Langdon’s elapsed time was quicker, but Kalitta left the starting before Langdon and advanced to the final round of eliminations. Langdon recorded the track record elapsed time during the first round when he needed just 3.752 seconds to reach the finish line.
Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon moved up one spot to first place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings. He leads second-place Tony Schumacher by one point. It is the sixth time in as many races that an event has ended with either Langdon or Schumacher in the points lead.
Langdon on Norwalk: “Today was definitely a great day for the Al-Anabi team with alBalooshi getting the win. It’s always good to get a win for team Al-Anabi, for Sheikh Khalid and everybody in Qatar. Our silver Al-Anabi car was a good-running car all weekend; it was great to get that track record in the first round. In the semifinals, we just came out on the wrong end of a great drag race with Doug Kalitta when he was really fast off the starting line. We got the points lead back from Tony (Schumacher), alBalooshi won the race so we have both cars in the Traxxas Shootout and Balooshi is moving up in points so overall, it was just a great weekend for the Al-Anabi team.”
