Shawn Langdon and DHL Race to Semis at FallNationals

Ennis, TX – A semifinal finish today for Shawn Langdon and the DHL Kalitta Air team was a bittersweet start to the two weeks of racing in Texas. The 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion moved up into the Top Five in the Camping World Drag Racing point standings but the team was unable to stop eventual winner Steve Torrence in the process.

After a solid two sessions of qualifying that saw Langdon net a valuable qualifying bonus point for running the third quickest pass of the second session the team entered race day as the No. 4 qualifier. In the first round he took out journeyman racer Kebin Kinsley with a dominant run. Langdon took a starting line advantage and never trailed in the race. His 3.742 second run was not only quick enough for the win but also gave him lane choice in the quarterfinals.

The quarterfinal race was a pivotal match-up against another driver trying to get into the championship discussion. It was Langdon who closed the door with a hard fought win as both Top Fuel dragsters had issues on their respective passes. Langdon lost a cylinder at the hit of the throttle while his opponent Leah Pruett was losing multiple cylinders on her run. Langdon was able to keep her at bay with a starting line advantage and a masterful job of keeping his DHL dragster in the middle of the groove.

The DHL dragster made a solid run in the semifinals against the point leader and eventual winner Steve Torrence but it wasn’t enough. Langdon jumped off the line first but as the dragsters reached half-track he was losing ground. The DHL dragster got to the finish line stripe in 3.780 seconds but that wasn’t enough for Torrence’s 3.720 second run.

“We weren’t as successful as we wanted to be this weekend,” said Langdon. “We were quick in qualifying and we made some good runs today. I would have liked to have gotten that win in the semifinals for our DHL team and also to help Doug (Kalitta). There are two more races we will be racing to win both of them.”

Quotable:
Langdon on racing at Texas Motorplex: “This was the first of two races in Texas. It is good to get to some new tracks. There were a lot of fans here who were excited to see the DHL dragster. I just like getting out here and racing. I am looking forward to getting to Houston next weekend.”

Statistics:
Qualified: No. 4 (3.727 sec., 317.49 mph)
Bonus points: +1 (3rd quickest of Q2)

Race Details:

First Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH
Shawn Langdon         4          .052     3.742   307.44 (W)
Kebin Kinsley               11        .077     4.217   231.40

Second Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH
Shawn Langdon         4          .056     3.825   311.77 (W)
Leah Pruett                 5          .084     3.863   293.86

Semifinal Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH
Shawn Langdon         4          .050     3.780   318.62
Steve Torrence            1          .070     3.720   326.79 (W)