Langdon takes Top Fuel Victory at Sonoma

Race Winner: Shawn Langdon, Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (silver)

Qualifying:   Shawn Langdon was the No. 6 qualifier at the Sonoma NHRA Nationals.  During the first round of qualifying on Friday, Langdon recorded a 3.979-second pass at 321.90 mph.

Eliminations: Langdon defeated Bob Vandergriff, Doug Kalitta, Antron Brown and Morgan Lucas on the way to the winner’s circle. It was Langdon’s fourth win in seven final-round appearances this season.  It was the first time Langdon won a race with team owner His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani in attendance.

Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon remains first in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings.  He leads second-place Spencer Massey by 102 points.

Langdon on Sonoma: “The Al-Anabi car was really strong all weekend, and we had a great day today.  This is really a dream season.  To get four wins on the season is pretty strong in this day and age.  In the old days, you might have had a couple of guys that really dominated, but we really haven’t seen anybody dominate in the fuel classes in the last couple of years.  So to be able to get four wins at this point of the season is a testament to the hard work from the crew chiefs, all the crew guys and the brain trust we have at Al-Anabi Racing.

“You would think having Sheikh Khalid here this weekend would add some pressure to do well, but it really relaxed me.  He shares the same dream as us, and he shares the same passion as us – we’re all here for the same reason.  He’s just a really easy-going guy, and we really view a lot of things about drag racing the same so I felt like it really made it easier.”

Khalid alBalooshi – Al- Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (gold)

Qualifying:   Khalid alBalooshi was the No. 4 qualifier in Sonoma.  During the Friday evening qualifying session, alBalooshi recorded a 3.789-second pass at 322.96 mph.  He has qualified in the top-six positions at 10 of the 15 races this season.

Eliminations: AlBalooshi defeated Brandon Bernstein in the first round before losing to Spencer Massey by .0282 seconds in the quarterfinals. AlBalooshi has the quicker elapsed time, but Massey left the starting line first and took the round win.

Unofficial Point Standings: AlBalooshi remains sixth in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings.  He trails fifth-place Antron Brown by 39 points and leads seventh-place Clay Millican by 96 points.

AlBalooshi on Sonoma: “I thank my Al-Anabi team for giving me a very good car today.  We made a very good run in the first round and beat Brandon (Bernstein).  In the second round, we made another good run, but I did not leave the starting line fast enough so Spencer won the race even though we made a better run. With Sheikh Khalid here this week, we really wanted to have a good weekend, and I am sorry I did not have a better light (reaction time).  I hope we can have a good race next week in Seattle.”