LANGDON: “SO YOU’RE TELLING ME THERE’S A CHANCE”

YPSILANTI, MI – For 51 drivers competing in the four professional classes of NHRA Camping World Drag Racing, it’s playoff time. The top-10 finishers from each class and the drivers who competed at every regular-season event make the cut – Shawn Langdon and his Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team have a chance to turn around a challenging season. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend with race one of the six-race Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs, the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Sept. 15-17 in Reading, Pa.

Like Jim Carey said in the 1994 movie, “Dumb and Dumber,” “so you’re telling me there’s a chance.” While the regular season definitely did not go as planned, the Kalitta Air Careers team now has clean slate…and a chance. Following the points reset after the regular season, Langdon and team trail points leader Justin Ashley by 129 points, but the time for action is now.

“I love this part of the season – every reaction time means more, every run is more important, and a race win, especially this weekend and especially for us, can give you a huge jump in points,” Langdon said. “After all we’ve been through this season, the Countdown resets the points so even though we’re 11th, we’re only 129 points out of first place – that’s a lot, but it’s doable. We have to do our jobs this weekend and take advantage of the opportunity. This weekend isn’t a must-win race, but it’s pretty close. We need to go deep in eliminations to make a move up the ladder to put Kalitta Air, Revchem, Toyota and Future Energy Solutions in position for a run at the title.”

That all sounds great, but challenges don’t just disappear because of a new stage of the season or a points reset. The season-long body of work shows bright spots sprinkled throughout, but this weekend, the team needs multiple bright spots.

“It’s trying to be patient, blocking out the negative and focusing on doing my job,” the 2013 Top Fuel champion added. “I’m going to give 100 percent every time I sit in the car because, at some point, the car will turn around, and I don’t want to be the weak link so I just try to treat it as, ‘I’m going to be ready when the car decides to turn around, and we’ll keep working at it until that happens.’ It’s kind of like I told the guys; ‘we haven’t won a race, we’ve struggled a lot, but all you have to do is win the last six races, and you’re a champion.’ That’s our focus.”

Race Information:

Pep Boys NHRA Nationals

Maple Grove Raceway; Mohnton, Pa.

TV Schedule:

Qualifying Show No. 1: 10:30 p.m.–Midnight eastern Friday, Sept. 15, 2023 on FS1.
Qualifying Show No. 2: 12:30-2 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023 on FS1.
Finals: 2-4 p.m. or 4:30-6:30 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023 on FOX.Note: NFL-adjacent broadcast; please check local listings.

2022 Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Recap: Qualified 12th; lost to Steve Torrence in the first round.

Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 324 events, 343 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

Pomona: Qualified No. 7; defeated Tony Schumacher, lost to Brittany Force.

Las Vegas: Qualified No. 6; defeated Krista Baldwin and Clay Millican before losing to Steve Torrence and

Josh Hart in the semifinals.

Charlotte: Qualified 11th, lost to Leah Pritchett and Pat Dakin in the first round.

Chicago: Qualified No. 6; lost to Clay Millican in the first round.

Epping: Qualified No. 2; lost to Tony Schumacher in the first round.

Bristol: Qualified 14th; lost to Steve Torrence.

Norwalk: Qualified 14th; lost to Brittany Force.

Denver: Qualified No. 9; defeated Greg Carrillo and Rob Passey before losing to Clay Millican in the

semifinals.

Seattle: Qualified No. 8; defeated Antron Brown and Mike Salinas before losing to Steve Torrence by .0609 seconds in the semifinals.

Sonoma: Qualified No. 5; defeated Leah Pruett before losing to Josh Hart in the second round.

Topeka: Qualified No. 9; lost to Brittany Force in the first round.

Brainerd: Qualified No. 9; lost to Antron Brown in the first round.

Indianapolis: Qualified No. 9; defeated Josh Hart before losing to Steve Torrence in the second round.

Point Standings: Langdon enters Reading in 11th place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. After the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs points reset and the addition of points earned through the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, he first-place Justin Ashley by 129 points, trails 10th place Josh Hart by eight points and leads 12th place Tony Schumacher by 10 points.