THREE TIME TOP FUEL WINNER:
Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air Careers Dragster
Finals Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, March 25 on FS2
Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 1 qualifier at the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals. It was his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 23rd of his career. Langdon’s best qualifying attempt came in the Friday morning session when the Kalitta Air Careers dragster reached the finish line in 3.783 seconds at 331.36 mph. Due to record head with temperatures above 100 degrees, qualifying began at 10 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Eliminations: Under scorching summer-like temperatures and a track temperature approaching 150 degrees in the afternoon, Langdon had a bye in the first round and then defeated Tony Schumacher and Maddi Gordon to reach the final round against Leah Pruett. Langdon was off the starting line first and never trailed posting a 3.877 second pass at 325.45 mph to take his third-straight win at Firebird Motorsports Park. Langdon and the Kalitta Air Careers team have won 12-consecutive rounds of racing at the suburban Phoenix track. The Langdon-Brian Husen driver-crew chief combination is undefeated at this track.
When Langdon advanced to the semifinals, he earned a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at the next race in Pomona, Calif. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the semifinals in Phoenix will re-run the semifinals and final earning additional purse and championship bonus points.
Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Phoenix in third place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails second-place Josh Hart by four points and leads fourth-place Leah Pruett by 12 points.
Langdon on Phoenix: “It’s all about the team and surrounding yourself with good people. Connie (Team Owner Connie Kalitta) isn’t here this weekend, but I’m sure he was watching. It’s great to win here again. I’m so proud of our team being able to do what they did with some of the hottest conditions we’ve ever seen, Brian (Crew Chief Brian Husen) was able to make the adjustments. With the heat, it wasn’t ideal, but we all dealt with it, and the track did fairly well with the temperatures we had. It wasn’t fast racing, but it was good racing.
“We have a pretty good run going here in Phoenix, so we might need to talk to NHRA about putting on a second race here, but to win three straight here is a credit to my team. Brian and the guys have done such a great job over the last three years. It’s cool to be able to have a track like that where you have a lot of confidence. It’s all Brian. I just I hold the steering wheel straight. It’s Brian’s work ethic, his determination, and his passion for the sport. He’s made everybody better; all the crew guys; me as a driver, and it’s just every little thing. For him, it’s always in the details, like he always says. I just try to leave on time and hold the steering wheel straight and just let Brian’s talent speak for itself.
“Luckily, the driver gets to go into the air conditioning and put a towel over his head, but the crew guys don’t get that luxury. This one is definitely for them, They battled the heat, did a great job with it, and the car was great all day today.
“Some little issues with the car popped up throughout the day, and the cool thing about being a part of this team is that even though you won the race, they’re still looking at the finer details. Brian demands perfection. If the car’s not perfect, we’re gonna make it perfect so we’re staying to test tomorrow, even though we won the race, to try to make the car better for Pomona.”
Crew Chief Brian Husen on Phoenix: “Man, it’s been a really tough weekend for everybody out here trying to race (in the heat). We just kind of kept picking away and picking away and picking away at it, and finally on a hot racetrack, we kind of got it all put together in the right way, and made a pretty solid run. I’m pretty happy with that. These Kalitta Air Careers crew guys that work on this car, all of my guys, they’re so good at what they do, and they never make mistakes. They drag their stuff up here, and it always runs what we think it should run, even if it smokes the tires, so all the credit goes to those guys. I couldn’t be more happy for Connie and Shawn and the whole Kalitta Motorsports gang.”
Langdon Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
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Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air Careers Dragster
Finals Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, March 25 on FS2
Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 1 qualifier at the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals. It was his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 23rd of his career. Langdon’s best qualifying attempt came in the Friday morning session when the Kalitta Air Careers dragster reached the finish line in 3.783 seconds at 331.36 mph. Due to record head with temperatures above 100 degrees, qualifying began at 10 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Eliminations: Under scorching summer-like temperatures and a track temperature approaching 150 degrees in the afternoon, Langdon had a bye in the first round and then defeated Tony Schumacher and Maddi Gordon to reach the final round against Leah Pruett. Langdon was off the starting line first and never trailed posting a 3.877 second pass at 325.45 mph to take his third-straight win at Firebird Motorsports Park. Langdon and the Kalitta Air Careers team have won 12-consecutive rounds of racing at the suburban Phoenix track. The Langdon-Brian Husen driver-crew chief combination is undefeated at this track.
When Langdon advanced to the semifinals, he earned a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at the next race in Pomona, Calif. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the semifinals in Phoenix will re-run the semifinals and final earning additional purse and championship bonus points.
Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Phoenix in third place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails second-place Josh Hart by four points and leads fourth-place Leah Pruett by 12 points.
Langdon on Phoenix: “It’s all about the team and surrounding yourself with good people. Connie (Team Owner Connie Kalitta) isn’t here this weekend, but I’m sure he was watching. It’s great to win here again. I’m so proud of our team being able to do what they did with some of the hottest conditions we’ve ever seen, Brian (Crew Chief Brian Husen) was able to make the adjustments. With the heat, it wasn’t ideal, but we all dealt with it, and the track did fairly well with the temperatures we had. It wasn’t fast racing, but it was good racing.
“We have a pretty good run going here in Phoenix, so we might need to talk to NHRA about putting on a second race here, but to win three straight here is a credit to my team. Brian and the guys have done such a great job over the last three years. It’s cool to be able to have a track like that where you have a lot of confidence. It’s all Brian. I just I hold the steering wheel straight. It’s Brian’s work ethic, his determination, and his passion for the sport. He’s made everybody better; all the crew guys; me as a driver, and it’s just every little thing. For him, it’s always in the details, like he always says. I just try to leave on time and hold the steering wheel straight and just let Brian’s talent speak for itself.
“Luckily, the driver gets to go into the air conditioning and put a towel over his head, but the crew guys don’t get that luxury. This one is definitely for them, They battled the heat, did a great job with it, and the car was great all day today.
“Some little issues with the car popped up throughout the day, and the cool thing about being a part of this team is that even though you won the race, they’re still looking at the finer details. Brian demands perfection. If the car’s not perfect, we’re gonna make it perfect so we’re staying to test tomorrow, even though we won the race, to try to make the car better for Pomona.”
Crew Chief Brian Husen on Phoenix: “Man, it’s been a really tough weekend for everybody out here trying to race (in the heat). We just kind of kept picking away and picking away and picking away at it, and finally on a hot racetrack, we kind of got it all put together in the right way, and made a pretty solid run. I’m pretty happy with that. These Kalitta Air Careers crew guys that work on this car, all of my guys, they’re so good at what they do, and they never make mistakes. They drag their stuff up here, and it always runs what we think it should run, even if it smokes the tires, so all the credit goes to those guys. I couldn’t be more happy for Connie and Shawn and the whole Kalitta Motorsports gang.”
Langdon Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
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