Team Al-Anabi headed to Bristol with High Hopes
Shawn Langdon, Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (silver):
Reigning NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel world champion Shawn Langdon enters the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in third place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings; it is his highest points position of the season. He trails second-place Antron Brown by 68 points and leads fourth-place Spencer Massey by 40 points.
Langdon has two final rounds (Charlotte and Topeka) and two semifinal appearances (Houston and Englishtown) in the last five races. Langdon has not yet reached the winner’s circle this season, but recent performance suggests the team has returned to the form it used in claiming the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel World Championship.
Langdon has been an excellent qualifier this season; he has qualified in the top-four positions at seven of the nine races. He has two No. 1 qualifiers this season and 15 in his career. Langdon’s average qualifying position in 2014 is 3.56. He was also an excellent qualifier last year when his average qualifying position was 3.75.
One year ago in Bristol, Langdon was the No. 7 qualifier; he defeated Bob Vandergriff before losing to Steve Torrence in the quarterfinals. The Al-Anabi Racing Team has two wins at Thunder Valley; Del Worsham won in Funny Car during the team’s inaugural season in 2009, and Larry Dixon took the Top Fuel title in 2011.
Langdon prior to Bristol:
“We are excited about the race this weekend. Bristol is probably my favorite track on the Mello Yello tour. I always enjoy going there because it’s a great race track at a great facility – I just enjoy racing there in the mountains. The Al-Anabi car is turning the corner; we have a lot better race car than we had at the beginning of the season. We’re qualifying well and starting to see a little bit better results on Sunday. With the tune-up on the car, we’ve reached the point where we feel we have a car that can win on any given Sunday. We have a manageable race car and a manageable tune-up. So it’s up to us as a team to make the right calls on Sunday and try to get that first win of the season.
“Every time we pull into the race track, we know we have a great car. In the beginning of the year, the Al-Anabi car would run well, but it wasn’t really manageable. We felt like we were making the right calls, but the car wasn’t responding to our changes. Now the Al-Anabi car is responding to what we’re doing, but after some of the Sunday runs in hindsight, we might have missed the call by a fraction or two. We’re getting in sync with the car, the driver is getting in sync with everything; it’s just a matter of putting it all together on race day. We’ve been really close. At the last couple of races, one little tweak here or there, and we would have had it.
“We all want to get our first win of the season really badly, and now there’s only one more automatic spot in the Traxxas Shootout before it goes to a fan vote so we really want to win and get that last spot. It’s for $100,000, and it’s a big race especially since we won it last year. We really want to get back in it and have an opportunity. We just need a shot; that’s all we need. It might add a little more pressure on us because we really need to get that win ASAP to clinch that final spot before it goes to the fan vote. And I can’t think of a better place to do it than Bristol.”
Khalid alBalooshi, Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (gold):
Third-year Top Fuel driver Khalid alBalooshi enters the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in sixth place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings. He trails fifth-place Steve Torrence by 77 points and leads seventh-place Tony Schumacher by eight points.
AlBalooshi has a win, a runner-up finish and a semifinal appearance in the first nine races of the season; he is off to the best start of his three-season Top Fuel career. One race ago at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., alBalooshi was the No. 6 qualifier, but Bob Vandergriff upset him in the first round of eliminations when both cars smoked the tires and Vandergriff got the win.
One year ago at Bristol Dragway, alBalooshi was the No. 6 qualifier, but Doug Kalitta upset him in the first round of eliminations. The Al-Anabi Racing Team has two wins at Thunder Valley; Del Worsham won in Funny Car during the team’s inaugural season in 2009, and Larry Dixon took the Top Fuel title in 2011.
AlBalooshi prior to Bristol:
“Our Al-Anabi car was very good last race in Englishtown. We had a problem on Sunday and lost in the first round. When it is not your day, anything can happen, but I think our car has been very close to where we want it. Our team and our Al-Anabi car – they are both getting better. Everything has been fine – we just need some race day luck, but it is what it is. This week, when we go to Bristol, I need to forget what happened last race and focus on what we can do this week. We have a very good hot rod, and I think this week will be a good week for us.”
