Shawn Langdon Leads Kalitta Motorsports Contingent
In NHRA SummerNationals Qualifying
After a full day of qualifying at the NHRA SummerNationals in Indianapolis all three Kalitta Motorsports entries are qualified in the top half and will have lane choice in the first round tomorrow. Shawn Langdon and the DHL Top Fuel dragster lead the way as the No. 3 qualifier followed by Mello Yello Top Fuel point leader Doug Kalitta who qualified No. 6. In Funny Car J.R. Todd qualified his DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car in the No. 5 position heading into eliminations which will start at 10 a.m. ET tomorrow.
In the first qualifying session Langdon powered his DHL Top Fuel dragster down the track with a solid 3.875 second at 316.30 mph run which slotted him No. 3 at the time. Just before the finish line Langdon felt his 11,000 horsepower dragster start to mix up cylinders and he lifted as he was approaching the stripe shavings off some elapsed time and speed.
Two pairs after Langdon raced his teammate and the Mello Yello Top Fuel point leader Doug Kalitta hazed the tires at the top end in the first official run behind the wheel of the Osborn Top Fuel dragster 4.258 seconds at 206.95 mph. He was in the last pair in the right lane and wound up No. 13 while Langdon will move into the second session as the No. 4 qualifier.
In Funny Car the DHL Toyota Camry driven by J.R. Todd blasted down the track with a 4.059 seconds at 313.73 mph pass to go to the top at the time and as the session came to a close Todd picked up one qualifying bonus point as the No. 3 qualifier. It was the season week in a row for Todd to come off the trailer with a strong opening session run.
“I am glad we are back racing for sure,” said Todd, after his first run. “We had a good run right off the trailer again and I feel good about where this DHL Toyota Camry is going into the final session and race day. I think we can see where the edge is on this tune-up so we can race smart on Sunday.”
In second session of the SummerNationals Kalitta stepped up with a nice smooth 3.907 second at 308.35 mph pass to grab the No. 6 qualifying position. His run was the fourth quickest of the session. As he was approaching the finish line his Osborn Top Fuel dragster once again hazed the tires but he was able to still post a much quicker elapsed time. He will face Doug Foley in the first round.
The DHL Top Fuel dragster and Langdon made the most impressive run of the second and final Top Fuel qualifying session. Langdon and his Connie Kalitta tuned dragster posted the quickest run of the session, 3.855 seconds at 314.46 mph, and picked up three qualifying bonus points. For the second weekend in a row Langdon will square off with upstart racer Justin Ashley.
“That last run was just what we needed for tomorrow,” said Langdon. “Connie and these DHL guys did a great job tuning this dragster today. We are 3.875 and then 3.855. We mixed up some cylinders and hurt the motor on the first run but we bounced back in the second session. We’ll be ready for the first round tomorrow for sure.”
The DHL Toyota Camry wrapped up Funny Car qualifying with a run that will give them valuable data for race day. Todd launched hard and was on a very quick run when his race car overpowered the track. The team will take the onboard data and set the car up for success in the first round again veteran racer Jim Campbell.
The NHRA SummerNationals will be televised on FOX national broadcast at noon ET.
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