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Post-Race Report
NHRA Mile High Nationals
Race 11 of 22 national events
Bandimere Speedway
Denver, CO
July 17, 2022
Langdon Races DHL To Runner-Up Finish at Mile High Nationals
Shawn Langdon raced to a runner-up finish today at the NHRA Mile High Nationals driving the DHL Toyota Top Fuel dragster. It was the second final round in three races for the 2013 Top Fuel world champion. Langdon started the day as the No. 12 qualifier and outran Greg Carrillo, Mike Salinas and Josh Hart before exiting the final round against Leah Pruett.In the first round Langdon made his quickest run of the weekend against Carrillo grabbing the win light with a strong 3.891 second pass at 312.57 mph. Both drivers launched side-by-side, but Carrillo smoked the tires in the left lane while Langdon pulled away from him for the win.
The quarterfinals featured Langdon blasting to the finish line behind the wheel of the DHL Toyota Top Fuel dragster with an even quicker pass, 3.871 seconds, to get the win over Salinas. Langdon grabbed the lead shortly after he cleared the tree and never trailed in the race outrunning Salinas’ 3.901 second run. The beck-to-back quick runs continued a strong string of race day runs for Langdon and the DHL team.
After Langdon dispatched the Top Fuel pointe leader in the previous round, he was faced with No. 9 qualifier Hart. The race matched up two drivers recognized as the best leavers in the category when it comes to reaction time advantage. Langdon was first off, the line with a .063 reaction time and never trailed in the race. His winning time of 3.900 seconds was enough to trailer Hart’s 3.935 seconds in one of the closest races of the day.
Langdon and the DHL Toyota team were confident heading into the final round against Pruett. He had a 13-5-win record against Pruett and was 1-0 against her in final rounds. Both dragsters rolled to the starting line and executed their pre-race burnouts. As Langdon was rolling back NHRA officials noticed a leak underneath the DHL dragster and Langdon was forced to shut off and hand his opponent a bye run for the event win.
“That was a very frustrating end to a great day for this DHL Toyota team,” said Langdon. “My guys worked so hard all day and delivered a great car. We made some great runs. In the final, we are still diagnosing exactly what happened, but it is a major bummer to get up there and not have a shot at it. It’s tough to think big picture right now, but again, I’m proud of the effort of my team.”
“We have now gone to two of the last three final rounds. If we keep delivering this consistency, I know we will get back into winner’s circle soon. Thank you to all of our partners, DHL, CMR, Revchem, Toyota – everybody that allows to do what we love to do. We will get back after it in Sonoma,” added Langdon.
J.R. Todd Takes DHL Toyota GR Supra to Quarterfinals in Denver
The DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car team and driver J.R. Todd were looking for their first win at Bandimere Speedway today starting from the No. 6 position. Through two days of qualifying Todd had established the DHL Funny Car as one of the quickest cars on the property and a threat for the title.
In the opening round against Cruz Pedregon Todd took a great starting line advantage with a reaction time of .060 to .088 and never trailed in the drag race. His winning time of 4.014 seconds advanced Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra to the quarterfinals and another match up with 16-time world champion John Force.
In the quarterfinals Todd got the jump on Force and they were side by side going down track. Todd was pulling away but he started to overpower the track and Force pulled around him. At the finish line Force lit up the scoreboard with a 4.065 second pass just in front of Todd’s 4.273 second pass.
“I am really proud of this DHL Toyota team,” said Todd, who leaves Denver sitting seventh in Funny Car points. “We had two tough competitors today. We are going to head to Sonoma and keep the pressure on all the other teams.”
Mac Tools and Doug Kalitta Leave Denver in Top Ten Focused on Sonoma Success
The Mac Tools team and Doug Kalitta were looking for their second Mile High Nationals title today at Bandimere Speedway. Through four rounds of qualifying Kalitta and his Mac Tools Toyota team made consistent runs and entered race day as the No. 8 qualifier with a 3.827 second pass.In the opening round the 49-time Top Fuel national event winner was facing second-year driver Josh Hart. The two 11,0000 horsepower dragsters launched almost simultaneously and Kalitta was pulling away from Hart’s Top Fuel dragster at half-track. As the finish line closed in Kalitta’s Goodyear tires began to haze at about 600 feet and the loss of momentum was just enough for Kalitta to lose his lead. At the finish line it was getting the win with a 3.999 second pass in front of Kalitta’s 4.003 handing him a victory by seven thousandths of a second at over 310 miles per hour.
“We were pulling away and then we just overpowered the track,” said Kalitta. “That was a disappointing race because I really felt like we had a race car that could have on this race. I have had a lot of success here and another win would have been great for this Mac Tools team. We will head to Sonoma and get after it starting on Friday.”
Kalitta will hold onto his position in the Top Fuel top ten with five races before the end of the regular season. The Mac Tools team will head to Sonoma Raceway in five days to tackle the second race of the Western Swing.
About Kalitta Motorsports:
Based in Ypsilanti, Mich., Kalitta Motorsports is a Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racing team in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Camping World Drag Racing Series. The team was founded and is owned by drag racing icon Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. Celebrating over 60 years of Kalitta Motorsports, Connie has been involved in the sport as a driver, tuner, and an owner. Kalitta Motorsports is one of the most successful teams in the history of auto racing with seven world championships and over 100 national event titles in five different professional drag racing sanctioning bodies since it was established by Connie in 1959.
