DHL and Shawn Landgon Head to Indy Focused and Ready for Victory
A four month layoff from NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing has not kept DHL Top Fuel driver Shawn Langdon from staying on track and sharp 
for the return this weekend to racing action. Since the Arizona Nationals Langdon logged time in his iRacing simulator during the months of March and April and as race tracks began holding sportsman bracket races Langdon was one of the first to hand over a tech card. By his account he has raced 24 days and made 132 passes in his sportsman dragster all with an eye on keeping his competitive edge on the starting line when he straps back into his 11,000 horsepower DHL Top Fuel dragster.
“I think the bracket racing helps,” said Langdon. “It isn’t the same of course but you do get into a racing mindset and I think just having seat time is important. The biggest difference is I am doing everything myself at these bracket races usually. I think that will be a big plus once we get back to racing. I have been pretty hard on myself at some of these past races but I am ready to get back to the track for sure.”
While Langdon has been racing his team has been preparing so they can come out swinging. All the Kalitta Motorsports teams will be testing for two days leading up the NHRA Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway Park on July 11-12. The races will be televised on FS1 on Saturday and Fox national broadcast on Sunday. The added national exposure to get the season restarted also has Langdon excited.
“I think it is cool we will be on big FOX on Sunday,” said Langdon. “Motorsports has been the only major sport on TV lately and you have seen good ratings. I am hoping a lot of people will tune in to FS1 and then FOX on Sunday to see this DHL Top Fuel dragster go some rounds. It will be interesting to see how we stack up against everyone else after this layoff.”
A full field of Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars will be on the property and with only two qualifying sessions on Saturday every run will count for positioning as well as qualifying bonus points. Two races into the season Langdon is sitting in eighth place in the Mello Yello point standings. He knows that a strong showing this weekend will help him close the gap on Top Fuel point leader and teammate Doug Kalitta.
“There isn’t a Countdown anymore so we need to start closing the gap on Doug this weekend so we can have both Kalitta Top Fuel dragsters at the top as we move into the season. These two Indy races are important. We want to get some round wins and hopefully wind up racing that Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster in the final,” added Langdon.
The season will be a gauntlet of back-to-back races as the teams move beyond Indy. Langdon knows throughout the layoff having the support of all the Kalitta Motorsports sponsors has been and will be a key to the championship run.
“We know we have a race car and team that can win races this season,” said Langdon. “The support we get from sponsors like DHL, Toyota, Mobil1, Fifth Third Bank and Sealmaster makes all the difference. We brought on some new partners before Pomona including Ozium and RevChem Composites too that will be great contributors to our success. We used to say the season is a marathon not a sprint but I think we will a sense of urgency for sure starting this weekend.”
Last Event Recap (2020 NHRA Arizona Nationals): Qual. No. 7; Beat Clay Millican; Lost to Steve Torrence
Quotable: Langdon on getting season re-started: “I tried to stay as sharp as possible with iRacing and then bracket racing. I have made a lot of passes lately and I am hoping that gives me a little bit of an advantage. I think once we fire up the DHL Top Fuel dragster and make a couple runs we will be in great shape.”
Career Stats: 258 events, 255 starts, 288 round wins, 16 wins, 33 finals, 18 No. 1 qualifiers; in Top Fuel 210 events, 207 starts, 14 wins, 30 finals, 249 round wins, 18 No. 1 qualifiers
2020 Season:
Winternationals: Qual. No. 4; Lost to Justin Ashley
Arizona Nationals: Qual. No. 7; Beat Clay Millican; Lost to Steve Torrence
