TOP FUEL WINNER: Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air Careers Dragster
Finals Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 5-8 p.m. Monday, May 4 on FS2
Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 2 qualifier at the NHRA Southern Nationals. Langdon reached 345.00 mph and made the fastest run in NHRA history during the second round of qualifying on Friday and was the provisional No. 1 qualifier. After his teammate, Doug Kalitta, made a quicker run and was No. 1, Langdon was in the last pair of cars in the final qualifying session. He made another brilliant pass, a 3.683-second effort at 344.91 mph, just .09 mph slower than Friday’s record-setting pass, but it was not good enough to pass Kalitta. Langdon took the No. 2 qualifying position and now owns the two fastest runs in NHRA history.
Eliminations: Langdon defeated Cameron Feree, Antron Brown and Clay Millican to reach an all-Team Kalitta final round; it was his 6th head-to-head final round with Doug Kalitta, and Langdon led the series 3-2. In the final, the drivers left the starting line almost together, but Kalitta dropped a cylinder early in the run, and Langdon won with a 3.808-second pass at 333.16 mph. Langdon now leads the final-round head-to-head with Kalitta 4-2. It was Langdon’s second win in the season’s first five races and the 24th of his career.
When Langdon advanced to the semifinals, he earned a spot in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at the next race. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the second round at the last race will re-run semifinals and final earning additional purse and championship bonus points.
With J.R. Todd making the Funny Car final, the NHRA Southern Nationals was the first race since 2014 that three Kalitta Motorsports cars raced in the final round. In 2014, Kalitta and Todd raced in the Top Fuel final while Alexis Dejoria raced for team Kalitta in the Funny Car final.
Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Georgia in first place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He leads his teammate, Doug Kalitta, by four points.
Langdon on South Georgia: “This (win) is very satisfying. It’s always a good weekend when you can wake up in the morning and feel like you can win,” Langdon said. “A lot of hard work went into the offseason trying to improve a lot of things with the car, and it’s paying big dividends right now. All three Kalitta cars are fantastic right now.
“You get the taste of 345 (mph in qualifying), and you have to get a little bit of an ego check and just slow it down and adapt to the changes in what the racetrack will allow. That was the thing – it was survival at that point. We had to figure out how to get the car to go down the track, and that was a big point of emphasis. Going to the final, Brian said, ‘I’m going to try to get the car to match what I think Doug will run and let you and Doug have it out.’ I didn’t particularly like that scenario because I wasn’t hitting the tree particularly well today, but we got it done and fortunately got the win.
“We love this facility – this track has a lot of its own characteristics. You can go 345 mph, but it can also throw some curve balls. Great job by the whole group at this racetrack. Connie’s (Team Owner Connie Kalitta) at home, and we miss having him here. Hats off to Brian, my whole Kalitta Air group and everybody at Mac Tools, Mobil 1, Revchem, SealMaster. It’s a big collective effort – we have two good-running Top Fuel cars, and it’s a good time to be part of Team Kalitta right now.”
Crew Chief Brian Husen on South Georgia: “It’s pretty damn cool, man, all these fans that came out here, we appreciate them all showing up. It was a rough day yesterday with all the rain, and we’re just happy to be able to put on a good show for them. Today was little trickier with the heat, but I’m just so damn proud of these Kalitta Air guys. They do a hell of a job, so it’s been a good day for Team Kalitta.”
Langdon Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
Next Race: Team Kalitta will be back in action May 15-17, 2026 at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill. For additional information, please visit www.nhra.com. For additional information on Kalitta Motorsports, please visit www.teamkalitta.com.
The post Shawn Langdon Wins All-Team Kalitta Final Round at NHRA Southern Nationals first appeared on Team Kalitta Motorsports.
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Finals Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 5-8 p.m. Monday, May 4 on FS2
Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 2 qualifier at the NHRA Southern Nationals. Langdon reached 345.00 mph and made the fastest run in NHRA history during the second round of qualifying on Friday and was the provisional No. 1 qualifier. After his teammate, Doug Kalitta, made a quicker run and was No. 1, Langdon was in the last pair of cars in the final qualifying session. He made another brilliant pass, a 3.683-second effort at 344.91 mph, just .09 mph slower than Friday’s record-setting pass, but it was not good enough to pass Kalitta. Langdon took the No. 2 qualifying position and now owns the two fastest runs in NHRA history.
Eliminations: Langdon defeated Cameron Feree, Antron Brown and Clay Millican to reach an all-Team Kalitta final round; it was his 6th head-to-head final round with Doug Kalitta, and Langdon led the series 3-2. In the final, the drivers left the starting line almost together, but Kalitta dropped a cylinder early in the run, and Langdon won with a 3.808-second pass at 333.16 mph. Langdon now leads the final-round head-to-head with Kalitta 4-2. It was Langdon’s second win in the season’s first five races and the 24th of his career.
When Langdon advanced to the semifinals, he earned a spot in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at the next race. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the second round at the last race will re-run semifinals and final earning additional purse and championship bonus points.
With J.R. Todd making the Funny Car final, the NHRA Southern Nationals was the first race since 2014 that three Kalitta Motorsports cars raced in the final round. In 2014, Kalitta and Todd raced in the Top Fuel final while Alexis Dejoria raced for team Kalitta in the Funny Car final.
Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Georgia in first place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He leads his teammate, Doug Kalitta, by four points.
Langdon on South Georgia: “This (win) is very satisfying. It’s always a good weekend when you can wake up in the morning and feel like you can win,” Langdon said. “A lot of hard work went into the offseason trying to improve a lot of things with the car, and it’s paying big dividends right now. All three Kalitta cars are fantastic right now.
“You get the taste of 345 (mph in qualifying), and you have to get a little bit of an ego check and just slow it down and adapt to the changes in what the racetrack will allow. That was the thing – it was survival at that point. We had to figure out how to get the car to go down the track, and that was a big point of emphasis. Going to the final, Brian said, ‘I’m going to try to get the car to match what I think Doug will run and let you and Doug have it out.’ I didn’t particularly like that scenario because I wasn’t hitting the tree particularly well today, but we got it done and fortunately got the win.
“We love this facility – this track has a lot of its own characteristics. You can go 345 mph, but it can also throw some curve balls. Great job by the whole group at this racetrack. Connie’s (Team Owner Connie Kalitta) at home, and we miss having him here. Hats off to Brian, my whole Kalitta Air group and everybody at Mac Tools, Mobil 1, Revchem, SealMaster. It’s a big collective effort – we have two good-running Top Fuel cars, and it’s a good time to be part of Team Kalitta right now.”
Crew Chief Brian Husen on South Georgia: “It’s pretty damn cool, man, all these fans that came out here, we appreciate them all showing up. It was a rough day yesterday with all the rain, and we’re just happy to be able to put on a good show for them. Today was little trickier with the heat, but I’m just so damn proud of these Kalitta Air guys. They do a hell of a job, so it’s been a good day for Team Kalitta.”
Langdon Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
Next Race: Team Kalitta will be back in action May 15-17, 2026 at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill. For additional information, please visit www.nhra.com. For additional information on Kalitta Motorsports, please visit www.teamkalitta.com.
The post Shawn Langdon Wins All-Team Kalitta Final Round at NHRA Southern Nationals first appeared on Team Kalitta Motorsports.
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