ENNIS, Texas (Oct. 17, 2026) – – It has become a familiar refrain in 2026. For the eighth time this season, Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon is the No. 1 qualifier for tomorrow’s Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. Sunday’s race broadcast is scheduled for 4-7 p.m. eastern time on FS1.
Langdon made his best run of the weekend in the Friday night qualifying session when the Kalitta Air Careers team made a 3.648-second pass at 340.39 mph. It was his career best elapsed time and NHRA’s lowest of the season.
With slightly warmer conditions Saturday afternoon, Langdon’s Friday night run held up through the remaining qualifying sessions. The Kalitta Air Careers team was the quickest car in each of the first three qualifying sessions but was a bit too aggressive in the final session, and the car smoked the tires. It was Langdon’s eighth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 30th of his career. The 2013 Top Fuel champion carries a four-race win streak and 16-round eliminations win streak into Sunday’s race. Langdon has four wins from the No. 1 qualifier position this season.
“It’s really good to be a part of Team Kalitta,” Langdon said. “What these Kalitta Air guys have done this year is pretty incredible. As close as we’re getting to the end of the year, there’s still a long way to go. We still have three races left, and this race tomorrow is definitely an important one. There’s a lot of good running cars out here; the air’s great, and the track is good. We were trying to see what we could get away with in the final (qualifying) round. It didn’t work, but we still have three good runs to go off of for tomorrow. At the end of the day, we just need to do the best job we can, and the results are going to be what they’re going to be. We’re going to put 100 percent effort into it and see if we can get this deal done.
“We’ve had a good car all weekend so we kind of know where we are. It’ll be a little bit warmer tomorrow, but with similar conditions, so we feel very confident with what we have for sure. At the end of the day, we’re just trying to keep it as simple as possible and keep doing what we’re doing. Our goal is to win the race; if that’s the case, some good results will follow, but we’re not trying to look too far ahead. It’ll be good racing tomorrow.”
Langdon will race No. 16 qualifier Jake Sanders in the first round. His teammate, Doug Kalitta, is the No. 3 qualifier and will race No. 14 qualifier Tony Schumacher. In Funny Car, J.R. Todd qualified fifth for the fourth-straight race and will race No. 12 qualifier Spencer Hyde in the first round.
Photos Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
The post Shawn Langdon Claims No. 1 Qualifier for Texas NHRA FallNationals first appeared on Team Kalitta Motorsports.
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Langdon made his best run of the weekend in the Friday night qualifying session when the Kalitta Air Careers team made a 3.648-second pass at 340.39 mph. It was his career best elapsed time and NHRA’s lowest of the season.
With slightly warmer conditions Saturday afternoon, Langdon’s Friday night run held up through the remaining qualifying sessions. The Kalitta Air Careers team was the quickest car in each of the first three qualifying sessions but was a bit too aggressive in the final session, and the car smoked the tires. It was Langdon’s eighth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 30th of his career. The 2013 Top Fuel champion carries a four-race win streak and 16-round eliminations win streak into Sunday’s race. Langdon has four wins from the No. 1 qualifier position this season.
“It’s really good to be a part of Team Kalitta,” Langdon said. “What these Kalitta Air guys have done this year is pretty incredible. As close as we’re getting to the end of the year, there’s still a long way to go. We still have three races left, and this race tomorrow is definitely an important one. There’s a lot of good running cars out here; the air’s great, and the track is good. We were trying to see what we could get away with in the final (qualifying) round. It didn’t work, but we still have three good runs to go off of for tomorrow. At the end of the day, we just need to do the best job we can, and the results are going to be what they’re going to be. We’re going to put 100 percent effort into it and see if we can get this deal done.
“We’ve had a good car all weekend so we kind of know where we are. It’ll be a little bit warmer tomorrow, but with similar conditions, so we feel very confident with what we have for sure. At the end of the day, we’re just trying to keep it as simple as possible and keep doing what we’re doing. Our goal is to win the race; if that’s the case, some good results will follow, but we’re not trying to look too far ahead. It’ll be good racing tomorrow.”
Langdon will race No. 16 qualifier Jake Sanders in the first round. His teammate, Doug Kalitta, is the No. 3 qualifier and will race No. 14 qualifier Tony Schumacher. In Funny Car, J.R. Todd qualified fifth for the fourth-straight race and will race No. 12 qualifier Spencer Hyde in the first round.
Photos Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
The post Shawn Langdon Claims No. 1 Qualifier for Texas NHRA FallNationals first appeared on Team Kalitta Motorsports.
Continue reading...
