Team Al-Anabi Enter Epping with Confidence after Langdon Bristol Win
Shawn Langdon, Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (silver):
Reigning NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel world champion Shawn Langdon enters the Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals in third place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings. He trails second-place Antron Brown by 31 points and leads fourth-place Spencer Massey by 99 points. He trails points leader Doug Kalitta by 151 points.
Langdon won his first race of the season and the ninth of his career last weekend in Bristol, Tenn. He defeated his teammate, Khalid alBalooshi, Terry McMillen, Bob Vandergriff, Jr. and points leader Doug Kalitta on his way to the winner’s circle.
With last weekend’s win in Bristol, Langdon has now qualified for the 2014 Traxxas Nitro Shootout in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend. Langdon is the defending champion of the special event; last year, he defeated Brittany Force, Antron Brown and Steve Torrence on his way to winning the second-year special event and its $100,000 prize. He went on to win the U.S. Nationals the next day.
Langdon has one win (Bristol), two final rounds (Charlotte and Topeka) and two semifinal appearances (Houston and Englishtown) in the last six races. After a relatively slow start to the season, recent performance suggests the team is returning to the form that powered it to the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel World Championship.
One year ago at the inaugural NHRA race at New England Dragway, Langdon was the No. 2 qualifier; he defeated Tim Boychuk, Bob Vandergriff and Terry McMillen before losing to Spencer Massey in the final round of eliminations. New England Dragway is one of just four tracks visited by the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series on which the Al-Anabi team has never won. The others are Denver, Colo., Ennis, Texas and St. Louis, Mo.
Langdon prior to Epping:
“We’re relieved to get the first win of the year for the Al-Anabi team. It always feels like you have to get over a little hump to get it, but we definitely have the monkey off our back now. I think we can start enjoying it a little more because some of the pressure is gone. There’s been a little more pressure because of the way you qualify for the Traxxas Shootout, a big race in Indy with a lot of money on the line. You have to win a race to get one of the seven automatic transfer spots. It’s nice to be able to get that last one because it allows us to defend last year’s Traxxas Shootout win.
“We’ve been keeping an eye on the Traxxas Shootout for a while now. When we lost that final round to Spencer (Spencer Massey in Topeka, Kan.), we really thought that was our chance. And then when Spencer went in, and Richie Crampton went in (at Englishtown, N.J.), there was basically one spot left before it goes to the fan vote. We just wanted to get that last spot, and fortunately, we got it done in Bristol. We were definitely thinking about it every race we went to.”
“We’re excited to get back to Epping this weekend. It’s a great track up there, and they have good air. Bristol was more of a summer race because of the hot conditions. I think Epping might be a little bit cooler and a little bit closer to what we’ve been used to racing so far this year. I think the direction we’ve been heading with our tune-up this year should work pretty well there this weekend. The Al-Anabi team had a good race there last year; I hope we can make this one a little bit better.
“The fans were great in Epping last year; it was really nice. Throughout the weekend, the fans were thanking us for coming; it was definitely nice to go to a track where the fans show support like that. It makes it a fun weekend when the fans are so into what we do. Their enthusiasm pumps you up because you know they’re excited about NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing.”
Khalid alBalooshi, Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (gold):
One year ago at the inaugural NHRA race at New England Dragway, alBalooshi was the No. 12 qualifier; he lost to race winner Spencer Massey in the first round of eliminations. New England Dragway is one of just four tracks visited by the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series on which the Al-Anabi team has never won. The others are Denver, Colo., Ennis, Texas and St. Louis, Mo.
With his season-opening win at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals in February, alBalooshi became the first Top Fuel driver to qualify for the 2014 Traxxas Nitro Shootout. The third-year special event for eight Top Fuel teams and eight Funny Car teams is set for Indianapolis during the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend. AlBalooshi also qualified for the Traxxas Nitro Shootout last year but was eliminated in the first round.
AlBalooshi prior to Epping:
“The track in Bristol was very hot. It was hard on a lot of people. A lot of the good cars in the race smoked the tires and went out of the race. The cars that were good in qualifying lost early. The cars that were not good in qualifying were good on Sunday so it was just a tough weekend for our team. Lane choice was very big, and we did not have it. Everybody on the Al-Anabi team understands what’s going on. But we left Bristol with a trophy for the team when Shawn (Langdon) won the race, and I think it was a great week for our team and our teammate and Sheikh Khalid.
“I hope next race, everything will be good, and we can keep going. In New Hampshire, we need to forget what went on in Bristol and hope for better things this week. I think the air will be good, and the track will be good for our car. I think our Al-Anabi car will be one of the top cars in the show again. We need to keep making our car better and stronger. I hope this week will be a much better week for the gold team.”
