SHAWN LANGDON, ALAN JOHNSON RACING TAKE NO. 1 QUALIFIER AT NHRA GATORNATIONALS

GAINESVILLE, FL – Shawn Langdon, driver of the Knuckle Sandwich/AJPE Toyota Top Fuel dragster, is the No. 1 qualifier for tomorrow’s 46th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. Langdon, currently the Top Fuel points leader, was also the No. 1 qualifier at this event last year.

Alan Johnson Racing is competing without a primary sponsor after announcing Jan. 5 that it unexpectedly lost its funding. After beginning a sponsor search in January, well after corporate marketing budgets were set, the team planned to compete in the season’s first two races while searching for sponsorship. On Monday, the team announced that it would race in Gainesville to give its sponsor search more time, but the team must find sponsorship to compete in additional events.

Langdon, the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel World Champion, posted a 3.765-second effort at 325.45 mph during this afternoon’s third qualifying session. Langdon has two No. 1 qualifiers in the three NHRA races this season. Last month in Pomona, Calif., Langdon was the No. 1 qualifier and won the season-opening Circle K NHRA Winternationals. Two weeks ago in Phoenix, Langdon advanced to the semifinals and maintained the points lead he earned in California.

“We really wanted to come out and make a strong run in that early session knowing that it was going to heat up for the later session today,” Langdon said. “We really felt that was the time to go after it, and luckily, it held. That’s basically where we were trying to run. We feel very confident going into tomorrow. We’ve had a good start to the season.

“We’re doing the best job we can. All we can do show is what our team is capable of; we have a great product with the Knuckle Sandwich/AJPE Toyota car so we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing. Obviously, we want to contend for the championship at the end of the year. We’ll just do the best job that we can, go out there and win races and hopefully catch the eye of somebody that wants to sponsor a Top Fuel car.”

Alan Johnson Racing, located in Brownsburg, Ind., won NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel world championships in 1997, ’98, 2000, ‘10, ’11 and ’13. Alan Johnson has won 11 NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel World Championships with five different drivers: Gary Scelzi, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Del Worsham and Shawn Langdon; he is a 15-time NHRA national champion. For additional information on Alan Johnson Racing and driver Shawn Langdon, please visit alanjohnsonracing.com; get Alan Johnson Racing news through its Facebook page or on Twitter: @AJRTopFuel.