YPSILANTI, Mich. (Oct. 28, 2025) – Shawn Langdon knows exactly what he needs to do to have a shot at the Top Fuel title, and it’s a tall task. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs continue with the fifth of six playoff races Oct. 31-Nov. 2 at the Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals in Las Vegas.
Langdon enters Las Vegas in third place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails second-place Justin Ashley by 18 points but trails the points leader, his teammate Doug Kalitta, by 159 points with two races remaining in the season. He needs to win the last two races and get some help from Kalitta.
“For us to have a shot, Doug will have to kind of fall pretty badly at the last couple of races, but at the end of the day, we’re definitely not wishing anything bad on Doug,” the 2013 Top Fuel champion said. “We’re just gonna go to Las Vegas to do the best we can and try to have an opportunity in Pomona.
“If we’re not gonna win the championship, we want Doug to win. It’s a little bit out of our control at this point because Doug has a pretty good lead. Ideally, we want to have a shot at the championship. If we don’t have that, then finishing one-two is the next-best thing. That would be a really good feat for the team, but at this point, we just go out there and do what we do, and it’s gonna fall the way it falls.”
Langdon has three wins in five final rounds this season. One of his wins was the 1,000th Top Fuel race in NHRA history making one of his 22-career wins a piece of NHRA history. That said, the season goal is always winning the championship, and Langdon understands the difficult task ahead of his Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary Toyota team.
“For us, we have to win the last two races,” Langdon said. “Doug’s been on a pretty good run; when Doug and AJ (Kalitta Crew Chief Alan Johnson) get in the zone, they’re very tough to beat. Justin (Ashley) is a great driver, and when his team gets their car going down the track, they’re very tough to beat. We just need to win. We’ll go to Las Vegas, and we have to keep going rounds and hopefully get a couple wins.
“I always seem to drive better when my back’s up against the wall, I feel like I have something to prove, and I’m chasing someone down and driving aggressively. I seem like I’m more in my element when I’m out there driving aggressively and knowing exactly what I have to do to win. I feel like sometimes, when I got in the lead in the past, I got a little bit conservative and more of ‘don’t want to make mistakes and just keep status quo.’ I drive better when I drive with intent and aggression.”
Exactly what the Kalitta Air team needs this weekend.
Race Information:
Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
TV Schedule (All times eastern):
2024 Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 2; defeated Jasmine Salinas and Justin Ashley, lost to Doug Kalitta.
Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 368 events, 22 wins, 28 runners-up, 411 round wins, 22 No. 1 qualifiers.
2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results to Date (Wins in Italics):
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Langdon enters Las Vegas in third place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails second-place Justin Ashley by 18 points but trails the points leader, his teammate Doug Kalitta, by 159 points with two races remaining in the season. He needs to win the last two races and get some help from Kalitta.
“For us to have a shot, Doug will have to kind of fall pretty badly at the last couple of races, but at the end of the day, we’re definitely not wishing anything bad on Doug,” the 2013 Top Fuel champion said. “We’re just gonna go to Las Vegas to do the best we can and try to have an opportunity in Pomona.
“If we’re not gonna win the championship, we want Doug to win. It’s a little bit out of our control at this point because Doug has a pretty good lead. Ideally, we want to have a shot at the championship. If we don’t have that, then finishing one-two is the next-best thing. That would be a really good feat for the team, but at this point, we just go out there and do what we do, and it’s gonna fall the way it falls.”
Langdon has three wins in five final rounds this season. One of his wins was the 1,000th Top Fuel race in NHRA history making one of his 22-career wins a piece of NHRA history. That said, the season goal is always winning the championship, and Langdon understands the difficult task ahead of his Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary Toyota team.
“For us, we have to win the last two races,” Langdon said. “Doug’s been on a pretty good run; when Doug and AJ (Kalitta Crew Chief Alan Johnson) get in the zone, they’re very tough to beat. Justin (Ashley) is a great driver, and when his team gets their car going down the track, they’re very tough to beat. We just need to win. We’ll go to Las Vegas, and we have to keep going rounds and hopefully get a couple wins.
“I always seem to drive better when my back’s up against the wall, I feel like I have something to prove, and I’m chasing someone down and driving aggressively. I seem like I’m more in my element when I’m out there driving aggressively and knowing exactly what I have to do to win. I feel like sometimes, when I got in the lead in the past, I got a little bit conservative and more of ‘don’t want to make mistakes and just keep status quo.’ I drive better when I drive with intent and aggression.”
Exactly what the Kalitta Air team needs this weekend.
Race Information:
Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- Qualifying Show: 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2 on FS1
- Finals: 5-8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2 on FS1
2024 Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 2; defeated Jasmine Salinas and Justin Ashley, lost to Doug Kalitta.
Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 368 events, 22 wins, 28 runners-up, 411 round wins, 22 No. 1 qualifiers.
2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results to Date (Wins in Italics):
- Gainesville: Qualified No. 11; defeated Justin Ashley, Tony Stewart and Jasmine Salinas; lost to Antron Brown.
- Phoenix: Qualified No. 3; defeated Scott Palmer, Justin Ashley, Brittany Force and Doug Kalitta.
- Pomona: Qualified No. 3; defeated Ida Zetterstrom and Josh Hart; lost to Tony Stewart.
- Las Vegas: Qualified No. 11: lost to Antron Brown, Mike Salinas.
- Charlotte: Qualified No. 2; defeated Ida Zetterstrom and Scott Farley, Brittany Force and Josh Hart, Justin Ashley, Tony Stewart and Antron Brown.
- Chicago: Qualified No. 3; defeated Kyle Wurtzel, lost to Steve Torrence.
- Epping: Qualified No. 6; lost to Dan Mercier.
- Bristol: Qualified No. 3; defeated Cody Krohn and Josh Hart; lost to Justin Ashley.
- Richmond: Qualified No. 5; defeated Cameron Ferre, Dan Mercier and Tony Stewart; lost to Justin Ashley.
- Norwalk: Qualified No. 5; defeated Doug Foley and Brittany Force; Lost to Justin Ashley.
- Seattle: Qualified No. 2; defeated Cameron Ferre, Tony Stewart, Bye, Brittany Force.
- Sonoma: Qualified No. 10; defeated Brittany Force, Bye; lost to Antron Brown.
- Brainerd: Qualified No. 8; defeated Antron Brown; lost to Brittany Force.
- Indianapolis: Qualified No. 6; lost to Clay Millican.
- Reading: Qualified No. 5; defeated Doug Foley; lost to Shawn Reed.
- Charlotte: Qualified No. 4; defeated Tony Schumacher & Doug Foley, Tony Stewart & Brittany Force; lost to
- Justin Ashley & Doug Kalitta.
- St. Louis: Qualified No. 13; defeated Shawn Reed; lost to Justin Ashley.
- Dallas: Qualified No. 1; defeated Mitch King, Clay Millican; lost to Doug Kalitta.
The post SHAWN LANGDON FACES A TALL TASK first appeared on Team Kalitta Motorsports.
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