because you want to SEE it

FOUR-TIME POMONA WINNER SHAWN LANGDON LOOKS TO BUILD ON PHOENIX FINAL ROUND

YPSILANTI, MI – DHL Top Fuel driver Shawn Langdon has more race wins at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip than any other race track, and with the DHL Toyota team’s final round appearance last weekend in Phoenix, team and driver hope to turn on one more win light Sunday and return Kalitta Motorsports to the winner’s circle. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Season resumes March 31-April 2, 2023 at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif.

Langdon’s DHL Toyota team missed winning last weekend’s race by .0574 seconds when the DHL dragster slowed approaching the finish line. That final round appearance moved Langdon up to sixth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. With Langdon’s four wins in seven Pomona final rounds, he could easily be considered a favorite to win this weekend.

“The DHL team’s done a fabulous job getting the car prepared properly and giving Jake (co-crew chief Jason McCulloch), Kurt (co-crew chief Kurt Elliott), Ronnie (assistant crew chief Ronnie Thompson) and Connie (team owner Connie Kalitta) a good race car,” the 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion said. “They’re making good calls and running big speeds. We have a good-running car right now so we just have to take advantage of it and make the best of it. We want to continue what we were doing in Phoenix. A win’s around the corner for this team.”


And the next stop around that corner is a place at which Langdon is not only comfortable but confident.

“I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of success at Pomona; it’s my home track, and I always look forward to racing there” Langdon said. “We traditionally start the season there, but this year, it’s the third race on the schedule so it’ll be a little bit different atmosphere, but it’ll still be the same Pomona so I’m excited to get there. It will be a big race for me with a lot of friends and family there so that’s always fun. The weather will be cold next week so we’ll have to kind of wait and see how the track handles the temperatures. Should be fast though.”

When Langdon advanced to the semifinals on Sunday, he earned a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge this weekend. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions in Pomona, the drivers who reached the semifinals in Phoenix will re-run the semifinals and final earning additional purse and championship bonus points.

“We are definitely looking forward to being a part of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge,” Langdon said. “It’s a great opportunity to run a race within a race, and it makes the Saturday qualifying rounds a little more interesting for the fans. I feel blessed to be a part of it, and having a company like Mission Foods make an investment like this in our sport is very positive for everyone.

“This DHL Toyota team is feeling really optimistic about what we’re doing now and what we all think we’ll be doing as the season goes on. I wish we’d gotten the win in Phoenix, but all is good right now. We have a really, really good group of guys this year, and I feel very excited about that. The guys we have this year work very well together; they have great team chemistry, and I think it’s gonna be a fun year.”

Race Information:
Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals
In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, Pomona, Calif.
TV Schedule:

Qualifying 1: 7-8:30:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1 on FS1
Qualifying 2: 12:30-2 p.m. Sunday, April 2 on FS1
Finals: 7-10 p.m. Sunday, April 2 on FS1
2022 Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals Recap: Qualified eighth and lost to Josh Hart in the first round.

Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 311 events, 335 round wins, 17 wins, 38 final rounds, 19 No. 1 qualifiers

2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Results To Date:
Gainesville: Qualified 11th and lost to Antron Brown by two 10 thousandths of a second.
Phoenix: Qualified No. 8; defeated Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta and Leah Pruett; lost to Justin Ashley

Current Point Standings: Langdon enters Pomona in sixth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails his teammate, fifth-place Doug Kalitta, by 12 points and leads seventh-place Brittany Force by six points.

Share
  • MBE Button 290x
Team/Series News
Follow Us On Facebook
Facebook Pagelike Widget