Langdon poised to capture NHRA Top Fuel Championship
Shawn Langdon, Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (silver):
Shawn Langdon enters the Auto Club NHRA Finals, the last of six events that comprise the Countdown to the Championship NHRA 
Playoffs, in first place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings. He leads second-place Antron Brown by 102 points entering the final race of the season. Depending on qualifying results and qualifying bonus-point acquisition, it is possible that Langdon could clinch his first-career NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel World Championship at the conclusion of qualifying on Saturday. If not, should he win his first-round matchup on Sunday, he will clinch the World Championship no matter what anybody else does.
Should Langdon win the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel World Championship this weekend, Langdon would become the fifth driver to win a Top Fuel title with Alan Johnson serving as the crew chief, team owner or team manager. The other Top Fuel champions are: Gary Scelzi, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon and Del Worsham.
Should Langdon win the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel World Championship this weekend, it would represent the 11th Top Fuel title for legendary tuner and Al-Anabi Racing team manager Alan Johnson. He won his previous 10 Top Fuel championships serving as crew chief, team owner or team manager. Including his NHRA National Championships in alcohol dragster, Johnson has 14 NHRA National Championships entering this weekend’s race in Pomona, Calif., making Langdon’s championship, should it happen, Johnson 15th NHRA national title.
Should Langdon win the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel World Championship this weekend, it would be the third in the last four years for the Al-Anabi Racing Team. Dixon won the title in 2010, and Worsham followed in 2011. In addition, Dixon missed the 2009 championship by just two points in the team’s inaugural season.
Should Langdon win the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel World Championship this weekend, it would be his fourth NHRA national championship. He won the 1997 NHRA Junior Dragster National Championship in the under 14 division, and should he clinch the championship this weekend, he would be the first alumnus of the NHRA Junior Dragster program to win a Mello Yello Championship. In addition, Langdon won the NHRA Lucas Oil Super Comp championship in 2007 and ’08.
Langdon entered the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs as the top seed. A first-round loss in Charlotte dropped him back to second place in the point standings. His runner-up finish in Dallas took him back into a tie for the points lead entering the third Countdown race, and he left St. Louis with a 33-point lead – a larger advantage than he had when the Countdown began.
Langdon prior to Pomona:
“It would mean everything to me to be able to end the year at Pomona with a Mello Yello championship because that’s where I grew up, racing junior dragsters, being a big fan of the sport and watching my idols race there. Pomona is a special place. When I look at the season, Pomona is my Indy, it’s the biggest race of the year, that’s because I grew up racing junior dragsters there, racing in the Lucas Oil Series and having a lot of friends and family out there. We start the season there and you see a lot of new things come out for the year, and then you end the season there racing for the championships. All the excitement that goes into Pomona definitely makes it one of the most exciting races of the year.
“We have a nice lead entering this weekend’s race, but there still is that pressure of having to perform. It’s what you grew up wanting to do, wanting to accomplish. When you grow up as a kid wanting to be a professional drag racer, you envision putting yourself in championship scenarios in the biggest pressure moments. To be in a Top Fuel championship scenario it is quite a bit different from Super Comp because of the media attention and publicity that’s drawn to it. There’s a lot of interviews, there’s a lot of questions and lot of people paying attention. I think it’s just a little more outside pressure. As a driver, I think you have the same amount of pressure. You obviously want to perform. What really makes or breaks a driver is being able to perform under the biggest pressure moments. I think the Al-Anabi team is in it right now.
“I think the biggest thing is to surround yourself with great people, and I think I’ve been able to do that over here with the Al-Anabi Racing Team. We have a great team. Everybody is focused. Everybody is dedicated to this team. Everybody is here because they want to win championships. Surrounding yourself with great people, having that confidence, having that belief in yourself and in your team that you can accomplish great things can carry you a long way.
“The thing in NHRA drag racing is anything can happen at any given time. We’ve seen that this year of a lot of championship-contending cars don’t qualify or go out first round. Just like last weekend, with Doug (Kalitta) and Spencer (Massey), they were both in championship contention, and they lost first round. Antron Brown and Khalid alBalooshi didn’t qualify at one of the Countdown races. Even when we won the race in Reading, we came back to the shop where guys were working all day long. There were a couple areas of the car that we felt we were able to pick up in. The guys came back, worked very hard in the two off weeks that we had. The thing about the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is if you get complacent at any point you’re going to get passed up. Even though you’re winning, you still have to continue to take that next step and look forward to the future of making yourself and your team and your car that much better.
“Obviously we want to perform in Pomona. It’s the last race of the year, and to be able to clinch a Mello Yello championship would be great. It’s always nice to have your friends and family there, but sometimes those races can become a little bit of a distraction. You’re trying to perform in front of them but also entertain, include them in on hopefully your great weekend. But I think with stuff like that you just become accustomed to it. It’s something that, as a professional athlete, it’s part of your job. You learn when you’re outside of the car to have a different mindset, but once you sit in that racecar, a lot of that stuff just goes away. You’re not worried about all of the outside distractions.
“On the other side of things, performing in front of (Al-Anabi Racing team manager) Alan Johnson can be a little bit intimidating at times just because you look at Alan, what he’s accomplished in his lifetime, the names of the drivers that have driven for him are the best in our sport. I’m a young up-and-coming driver, and I still have a lot to learn and a lot to prove. But I like that. I like the fact that I have the best in the business. When he talks to me after a run, whether it’s something that he says in a positive manner or whether he is addressing something that I might have done wrong, he just makes me better. There’s nothing negative about working for Alan Johnson. I mean, the guy is absolutely the best of the best, and I’ve learned more in these last two years, not only just being a driver, but how to handle being a driver, how to handle a lot of the outside positives or negatives just in life. He’s a great mentor. He’s a great team manager; however you want to look at it, Alan Johnson is the best in the business.”
Khalid alBalooshi, Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (gold):
Khalid alBalooshi enters the Auto Club NHRA Finals, the last of six events that comprise the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs, in eighth place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings. He trails seventh-place Clay Millican by 72 points and leads ninth-place Bob Vandergriff by 35 points.
AlBalooshi entered the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs as the No. 5 seed. He qualified fourth in the first Countdown race in Charlotte but lost in the first round and dropped two places to seventh in points. He failed to qualify in Dallas and dropped two more places to ninth. In St. Louis, he qualified fourth and advanced to the final round of eliminations.
AlBalooshi prior to Pomona:
“It has been a good season for our Al-Anabi team. We have not had the luck we wanted in the Countdown, but it has been a good step from my first year in the Top Fuel car last year. Our crew chief, Jason (McCulloch), and everyone on the team, has worked his hardest this year, and I thank them for their hard work. This week in Pomona, we want to finish the season right. We know we have one of the best cars in the show; the car is fast. This weekend, we hope we can show everyone what we can do. I thank Sheikh Khalid for giving me this opportunity, and I hope we can make him proud this week.
“We are all excited that Shawn can win the championship this weekend, and we are pulling for him. I hope he can finish the season with the championship because that will be good for Sheikh Khalid, for Qatar and for everyone on our team. We have two cars, but we are one team. We are pulling for our team this week in Pomona.”
