Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air Careers Dragster
Finals Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 4-7 p.m. Monday, April 27 on FS2
Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 1 qualifier at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals. It was his second No. 1 qualifier in the season’s first four races and the 24th of his career. Langdon made excellent runs in three of the four qualifying attempts, but during the Friday night session, he reached the finish line in 3.674 seconds at 339.19 mph.
Eliminations: Langdon defeated Jasmine Salinas and Dan Mercier in the opening round and Billy Torrence and Spencer Massey in the second. Prior to the second round, the heim joint that connects the steering arm to the right tire broke when Langdon was pulling into the lane to make his second-round run. NHRA gave the team a few minutes to make a last-minute repair on the starting line, and Langdon was able to make the run and advance to the final round. In the final round, Langdon made an excellent run, a 3.727-second pass at 338.51 mph, but he lost to his teammate, Doug Kalitta, by .0146 seconds and finished second in the quad defeating Leah Pruett and Tony Stewart.
When Langdon advanced to the final quadrant, he earned a spot in next week’s Mission Foods Challenge. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the final quadrant today will re-run the semifinals and final in separate pairs earning additional purse and championship bonus points.
Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Charlotte in second place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails his teammate, first-place Doug Kalitta, by 15 points and leads third-place Leah Pruett by 60 points.
Langdon on Charlotte: “We didn’t get the win, but it was a good day for the Kalitta Air Careers team; the car is making great runs. We just lost a great race to our teammate in the final. I was able to get a hole shot win over Leah (Pruett) to get runner up so that was good, but all in all, we had a great weekend and a good car. Brian (Crew Chief Brian Husen) continues to do a great job for everyone at Kalitta Air, Revchem, SoundGear and Dayco. We have a good car this weekend – we just came up a little bit short.”
The Round-Two Repair: “We broke the heim joint that connects the steering arm to the right tire,” Husen said. “Fortunately, we have some of the best crew guys out here. They hustled into motion really quick, and all the competitors waited for us for a few minutes. We appreciate that very much; we were able to make a pretty solid run and move onto the final.”
“Thank you to NHRA, thank you to all the competitors for waiting to give us a chance right there,” Langdon said. “Great job to the Kalitta Air team, man. That’s why I’ve always said, ‘these guys are bad to the bone’ and I’m glad to be a part of the team.”
Langdon Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
Next Race: Team Kalitta will be back in action May 1-3, 2026 at the NHRA Southern Nationals in Adel, Ga. For additional information, please visit www.nhra.com. For additional information on Kalitta Motorsports, please visit www.teamkalitta.com.
The post Shawn Langdon Just Misses Repeating at NHRA 4-Wide Nationals first appeared on Team Kalitta Motorsports.
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Finals Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 4-7 p.m. Monday, April 27 on FS2
Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 1 qualifier at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals. It was his second No. 1 qualifier in the season’s first four races and the 24th of his career. Langdon made excellent runs in three of the four qualifying attempts, but during the Friday night session, he reached the finish line in 3.674 seconds at 339.19 mph.
Eliminations: Langdon defeated Jasmine Salinas and Dan Mercier in the opening round and Billy Torrence and Spencer Massey in the second. Prior to the second round, the heim joint that connects the steering arm to the right tire broke when Langdon was pulling into the lane to make his second-round run. NHRA gave the team a few minutes to make a last-minute repair on the starting line, and Langdon was able to make the run and advance to the final round. In the final round, Langdon made an excellent run, a 3.727-second pass at 338.51 mph, but he lost to his teammate, Doug Kalitta, by .0146 seconds and finished second in the quad defeating Leah Pruett and Tony Stewart.
When Langdon advanced to the final quadrant, he earned a spot in next week’s Mission Foods Challenge. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the final quadrant today will re-run the semifinals and final in separate pairs earning additional purse and championship bonus points.
Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Charlotte in second place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails his teammate, first-place Doug Kalitta, by 15 points and leads third-place Leah Pruett by 60 points.
Langdon on Charlotte: “We didn’t get the win, but it was a good day for the Kalitta Air Careers team; the car is making great runs. We just lost a great race to our teammate in the final. I was able to get a hole shot win over Leah (Pruett) to get runner up so that was good, but all in all, we had a great weekend and a good car. Brian (Crew Chief Brian Husen) continues to do a great job for everyone at Kalitta Air, Revchem, SoundGear and Dayco. We have a good car this weekend – we just came up a little bit short.”
The Round-Two Repair: “We broke the heim joint that connects the steering arm to the right tire,” Husen said. “Fortunately, we have some of the best crew guys out here. They hustled into motion really quick, and all the competitors waited for us for a few minutes. We appreciate that very much; we were able to make a pretty solid run and move onto the final.”
“Thank you to NHRA, thank you to all the competitors for waiting to give us a chance right there,” Langdon said. “Great job to the Kalitta Air team, man. That’s why I’ve always said, ‘these guys are bad to the bone’ and I’m glad to be a part of the team.”
Langdon Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
Next Race: Team Kalitta will be back in action May 1-3, 2026 at the NHRA Southern Nationals in Adel, Ga. For additional information, please visit www.nhra.com. For additional information on Kalitta Motorsports, please visit www.teamkalitta.com.
The post Shawn Langdon Just Misses Repeating at NHRA 4-Wide Nationals first appeared on Team Kalitta Motorsports.
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