Shawn Langdon, Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (silver):
Residence: Avon, Ind.
Hometown: Mira Loma, Calif.
Date of birth: Sept. 3, 1982
Crew chief: Brian Husen
Al-Anabi Racing Team Owner: His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani
Al-Anabi Racing Team Manager: Alan Johnson
Alan Johnson Racing Owner: Alan Johnson
2013 wins/final rounds: 1/1 (1.000)
Career wins/final rounds: 2/8 (.250)
2013 No. 1 qualifiers: 0
Career No. 1 qualifiers: 6
Best points finish: 4th (2012)
Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs appearances: 4 (2009, ’10, ’11, ‘12)
First start: Pomona 1, 2009
Career-best elapsed time: 3.712 seconds (Reading, 2012)
Career-best speed: 334.15 mph (Reading, 2012)
? Shawn Langdonenters the NHRA Arizona Nationals in first place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings; it is the first time in his career that he has led the Top Fuel point standings. He leads second-place Tony Schumacher by 10 points.
? Langdon won last weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals, the first with NHRA’s new series sponsor, Mello Yello. He defeated Clay Millican, Brandon Bernstein, his teammate Khalid alBalooshi and Tony Schumacher on his way to the winner’s circle. Last year, Langdon’s first win came in the season’s 18th race.
? Langdon defeated Schumacher in the final round of eliminations with a nearly perfect 3.721-second pass. That race-winning effort is the quickest elapsed time in NHRA history at any race track other than Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa.
? With last weekend’s Winternationals win, Langdon is the first Top Fuel driver to qualify for the Traxxas Shootout. The second-year special event for eight Top Fuel teams and eight Funny Car teams set for Indianapolis during the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend. Last year, Langdon did not qualify for the event because he did not win a race prior to it nor did he advance into the race from the drawing for non-winners.
? One year ago at Firebird Raceway, Langdon captured the first of the five No. 1 qualifiers he won last season. In eliminations, he defeated Troy Buff and Morgan Lucas before losing to Antron Brown in the semifinals.
? Langdon holds the Firebird Raceway elapsed time record; during last year’s Friday evening qualifying session, Langdon set the record with an impressive 3.754-second effort. He also owns the fastest speed to 1,000 feet in NHRA history and the second-quickest elapsed time in a 1,000-foot run in NHRA history.
? Langdon recorded the fastest speed to 1,000 feet in NHRA history last fall in Reading, Pa. when he reached 334.15 mph. In addition, during the same Reading race weekend, his 3.712-second elapsed time was the national elapsed-time record until Antron Brown made a quicker pass in the same weekend. It still stands as the second-quickest 1,000-foot run in NHRA history.
? During the 2012 season, the Langdon legend of starting-line excellence was clear. Langdon led the Top Fuel class in 2012 reaction time leaving the starting line quicker than any other driver with an average reaction time of .057 of a second. He left the starting line before his opponent an astounding 72% of the time, which also led the Top Fuel class last season.
? Langdon was the No. 1 qualifier five times last season, more than any other Top Fuel driver. He led the field into eliminations during events in Phoenix, Indianapolis, the September Charlotte race, Dallas and the NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif. last November. During the 2012 season, Langdon qualified in the top five at 16 of the 23 races.
? Since December, Langdon has been serving as the Al-Anabi Racing interim general manager. When Chad Head departed the race team in December to join his father’s construction business and drive the Head Racing Funny Car, Langdon stepped in to assist the team with day-to-day operations at the race shop. He will continue in this role until Head’s replacement is hired, but during race weekends, Langdon will focus solely on driving the Al-Anabi Racing silver Top Fuel dragster.
? The Al-Anabi Racing Team won a total of two races in 2012 with Langdon and his teammate Khalid alBalooshi each reaching the winner’s circle once. The two-race win total was the lowest season total since the team was founded in 2009. That season, the team won eight times with five in Top Fuel and three in Funny Car; in 2010, Al-Anabi Racing visited the Top Fuel winner’s circle 12 times followed by 10 wins in 2011 when the team fielded two Top Fuel dragsters for the first time. Langdon claimed last season’s first Al-Anabi race win at the season’s 18th race.
? Langdon qualified for the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs in each of his four previous seasons driving a Top Fuel car. He finished fourth in the final NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings last season after finishing ninth in 2011, fifth in 2010, and ninth in 2009, his rookie season.
? Langdon joined the Al-Anabi Racing team prior to the 2012 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. He won the 2007 and ’08 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Super Comp championships and the 1997 NHRA Junior Dragster championship in the 14-under division making him a three-time NHRA national series champion.
Langdon prior to Phoenix:
“Winning the first race of the year at Pomona was the perfect way to start our season. To win there with so many of my family and friends there was really special, and it’s something I’ll always remember. The Al-Anabi car ran really well all day on Sunday, and it was consistent. Now we have to go to Phoenix and then onto Gainesville and the rest of the season and do our best to keep that consistency so we can put ourselves in position to win more races. It is definitely nice to know we’ve already equaled our win total from last year, and we still have 23 races left in the season.
“It’s great to lead the Top Fuel point standings; I’ve never been in this position before, but it definitely feels good to be here. I know it’s very early in the season and that we have 23 more races, but it’s a great way to start the season. Sheikh Khalid (team owner His Excellency Sheikh Khalid Al Thani) and Alan (team manager Alan Johnson) built this race team to win races and championships, and their record was pretty impressive before I started with the team last year. We’ve started the season with both Al-Anabi cars running well, and I think we are starting to get a little taste of the fruits of our labors from last season and during the off season. If we can keep improving our Al-Anabi car through the season, I think we’ll have a chance to lead the points after our next race at Pomona.
“Looking at the long-range weather forecast for Phoenix, it looks like we are going to have some cool, clear conditions, so that’s really good for the teams and the fans. As long as the track is prepared properly, we could have a repeat of some of the great performances we had last weekend because a lot of the teams started the season running really well. I’m definitely looking forward to racing this weekend in Phoenix.”
Khalid alBalooshi, Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (gold):
Residence: Los Angeles, Calif.
Hometown: Dubai, UAE
Date of Birth: July 27, 1979
Crew Chief: Jason McCulloch
Al-Anabi Racing Team Owner: His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani
Al-Anabi Racing Team Manager: Alan Johnson
Alan Johnson Racing Owner: Alan Johnson
2012 wins/final rounds: 1/1 (1.000)
Career wins/final rounds: 1/1 (1.000)
2012 No. 1 Qualifiers: 0
Career No. 1 qualifiers: 0
Career-best points finish: 11th (2012)
Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs appearances: None
First professional start: Pomona1, 2012
Career-best elapsed time: 3.735 seconds (Reading 2012)
Career-best speed: 328.46 mph (Reading, 2012)
? Khalid alBalooshi enters the NHRA Arizona Nationals in a career-best third place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings. He trails second-place Tony Schumacher by 32 points and leads fourth-place Antron Brown by seven points.
? AlBalooshi had an excellent race last weekend in Pomona, Calif. He was the No. 6 qualifier, and three of his four qualifying attempts were excellent passes. In eliminations, he defeated Bob Vandergriff and Doug Kalitta to advance to the semifinals where he faced his teammate, Shawn Langdon. AlBalooshi won the last semifinal meeting between the two Al-Anabi cars in Reading, Pa. last October and went onto win the race. On Sunday, Langdon took the win light to end alBalooshi’s day and went on to win the race, but alBalooshi has now won at least one eliminations round at each of the last 10 races.
? AlBalooshi made many excellent runs last weekend showing how far the gold Al-Anabi team has progressed since last season. AlBalooshi recorded elapsed times of 3.802 seconds, 3.798 seconds, 3.777 seconds in qualifying. In the first two rounds of eliminations, alBalooshi recorded elapsed times of 3.769 seconds and 3.782 seconds. One year ago, this rookie driver from Dubai was trying to figure out how to drive a Top Fuel car; now he is making excellent passes and enters the season’s second race third in points.
? AlBalooshi captured the first Top Fuel win of his career during his rookie season last year. On a cold, rainy weekend during which national performance records were being set with impressive regularity, alBalooshi defeated Spencer Massey, Ike Maier, his teammate Shawn Langdon and eventual 2012 champion Anton Brown in the final round of the Auto Parts Nationals in Reading, Pa.
? AlBalooshi’s rookie year was a story of two very different half seasons. In the first half of the season, alBalooshi was defeated in the first round of eliminations at all 12 races. However, after getting his first Top Fuel round win at Denver in July, alBalooshi advanced to at least the second round of eliminations at10 of the last 11 races of the season including each of the last nine. He had a win and a semifinal in the last three races, and before he lost in the Las Vegas semifinals at the second-to-last race of the year, he had won six consecutive rounds of racing.
? One year ago at this event, alBalooshi was the No. 9 qualifier; he lost to Morgan Lucas in the first round of eliminations.
? AlBalooshi chose the No. 99 for the Al-Anabi Racing gold dragster as a tribute to Al-Anabi Racing team owner His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani because nine is Sheikh Khalid’s favorite number.
? AlBalooshi joined the Al-Anabi Racing Team as a Pro Mod driver when it was formed in 2009 racing in both Arabian Drag Racing League and American Drag Racing League competition. He is the 2011 NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod champion. Prior to joining the Top Fuel portion of the Al-Anabi Racing Team in 2012, he had 158 career race wins in various classes of competition.
AlBalooshi prior to Phoenix:
“What we did and the way our Al-Anabi team raced on Sunday in California is what I thought we would do, and everybody on our team feels the same way. It was not a surprise. Our team is much better than it was last year, and I think we will have a very good year. Being third in points feels good; I know that last week was only one race, but I am feeling good about our crew chief, every person who works on our team and our season. We are all looking forward to racing in Phoenix, and we hope we can make Sheikh Khalid proud of us again this weekend.”
From: Rob Goodman
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Residence: Avon, Ind.
Hometown: Mira Loma, Calif.
Date of birth: Sept. 3, 1982
Crew chief: Brian Husen
Al-Anabi Racing Team Owner: His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani
Al-Anabi Racing Team Manager: Alan Johnson
Alan Johnson Racing Owner: Alan Johnson
2013 wins/final rounds: 1/1 (1.000)
Career wins/final rounds: 2/8 (.250)
2013 No. 1 qualifiers: 0
Career No. 1 qualifiers: 6
Best points finish: 4th (2012)
Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs appearances: 4 (2009, ’10, ’11, ‘12)
First start: Pomona 1, 2009
Career-best elapsed time: 3.712 seconds (Reading, 2012)
Career-best speed: 334.15 mph (Reading, 2012)
? Shawn Langdonenters the NHRA Arizona Nationals in first place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings; it is the first time in his career that he has led the Top Fuel point standings. He leads second-place Tony Schumacher by 10 points.
? Langdon won last weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals, the first with NHRA’s new series sponsor, Mello Yello. He defeated Clay Millican, Brandon Bernstein, his teammate Khalid alBalooshi and Tony Schumacher on his way to the winner’s circle. Last year, Langdon’s first win came in the season’s 18th race.
? Langdon defeated Schumacher in the final round of eliminations with a nearly perfect 3.721-second pass. That race-winning effort is the quickest elapsed time in NHRA history at any race track other than Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa.
? With last weekend’s Winternationals win, Langdon is the first Top Fuel driver to qualify for the Traxxas Shootout. The second-year special event for eight Top Fuel teams and eight Funny Car teams set for Indianapolis during the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend. Last year, Langdon did not qualify for the event because he did not win a race prior to it nor did he advance into the race from the drawing for non-winners.
? One year ago at Firebird Raceway, Langdon captured the first of the five No. 1 qualifiers he won last season. In eliminations, he defeated Troy Buff and Morgan Lucas before losing to Antron Brown in the semifinals.
? Langdon holds the Firebird Raceway elapsed time record; during last year’s Friday evening qualifying session, Langdon set the record with an impressive 3.754-second effort. He also owns the fastest speed to 1,000 feet in NHRA history and the second-quickest elapsed time in a 1,000-foot run in NHRA history.
? Langdon recorded the fastest speed to 1,000 feet in NHRA history last fall in Reading, Pa. when he reached 334.15 mph. In addition, during the same Reading race weekend, his 3.712-second elapsed time was the national elapsed-time record until Antron Brown made a quicker pass in the same weekend. It still stands as the second-quickest 1,000-foot run in NHRA history.
? During the 2012 season, the Langdon legend of starting-line excellence was clear. Langdon led the Top Fuel class in 2012 reaction time leaving the starting line quicker than any other driver with an average reaction time of .057 of a second. He left the starting line before his opponent an astounding 72% of the time, which also led the Top Fuel class last season.
? Langdon was the No. 1 qualifier five times last season, more than any other Top Fuel driver. He led the field into eliminations during events in Phoenix, Indianapolis, the September Charlotte race, Dallas and the NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif. last November. During the 2012 season, Langdon qualified in the top five at 16 of the 23 races.
? Since December, Langdon has been serving as the Al-Anabi Racing interim general manager. When Chad Head departed the race team in December to join his father’s construction business and drive the Head Racing Funny Car, Langdon stepped in to assist the team with day-to-day operations at the race shop. He will continue in this role until Head’s replacement is hired, but during race weekends, Langdon will focus solely on driving the Al-Anabi Racing silver Top Fuel dragster.
? The Al-Anabi Racing Team won a total of two races in 2012 with Langdon and his teammate Khalid alBalooshi each reaching the winner’s circle once. The two-race win total was the lowest season total since the team was founded in 2009. That season, the team won eight times with five in Top Fuel and three in Funny Car; in 2010, Al-Anabi Racing visited the Top Fuel winner’s circle 12 times followed by 10 wins in 2011 when the team fielded two Top Fuel dragsters for the first time. Langdon claimed last season’s first Al-Anabi race win at the season’s 18th race.
? Langdon qualified for the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs in each of his four previous seasons driving a Top Fuel car. He finished fourth in the final NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings last season after finishing ninth in 2011, fifth in 2010, and ninth in 2009, his rookie season.
? Langdon joined the Al-Anabi Racing team prior to the 2012 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. He won the 2007 and ’08 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Super Comp championships and the 1997 NHRA Junior Dragster championship in the 14-under division making him a three-time NHRA national series champion.
Langdon prior to Phoenix:
“Winning the first race of the year at Pomona was the perfect way to start our season. To win there with so many of my family and friends there was really special, and it’s something I’ll always remember. The Al-Anabi car ran really well all day on Sunday, and it was consistent. Now we have to go to Phoenix and then onto Gainesville and the rest of the season and do our best to keep that consistency so we can put ourselves in position to win more races. It is definitely nice to know we’ve already equaled our win total from last year, and we still have 23 races left in the season.
“It’s great to lead the Top Fuel point standings; I’ve never been in this position before, but it definitely feels good to be here. I know it’s very early in the season and that we have 23 more races, but it’s a great way to start the season. Sheikh Khalid (team owner His Excellency Sheikh Khalid Al Thani) and Alan (team manager Alan Johnson) built this race team to win races and championships, and their record was pretty impressive before I started with the team last year. We’ve started the season with both Al-Anabi cars running well, and I think we are starting to get a little taste of the fruits of our labors from last season and during the off season. If we can keep improving our Al-Anabi car through the season, I think we’ll have a chance to lead the points after our next race at Pomona.
“Looking at the long-range weather forecast for Phoenix, it looks like we are going to have some cool, clear conditions, so that’s really good for the teams and the fans. As long as the track is prepared properly, we could have a repeat of some of the great performances we had last weekend because a lot of the teams started the season running really well. I’m definitely looking forward to racing this weekend in Phoenix.”
Khalid alBalooshi, Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster (gold):
Residence: Los Angeles, Calif.
Hometown: Dubai, UAE
Date of Birth: July 27, 1979
Crew Chief: Jason McCulloch
Al-Anabi Racing Team Owner: His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani
Al-Anabi Racing Team Manager: Alan Johnson
Alan Johnson Racing Owner: Alan Johnson
2012 wins/final rounds: 1/1 (1.000)
Career wins/final rounds: 1/1 (1.000)
2012 No. 1 Qualifiers: 0
Career No. 1 qualifiers: 0
Career-best points finish: 11th (2012)
Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs appearances: None
First professional start: Pomona1, 2012
Career-best elapsed time: 3.735 seconds (Reading 2012)
Career-best speed: 328.46 mph (Reading, 2012)
? Khalid alBalooshi enters the NHRA Arizona Nationals in a career-best third place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings. He trails second-place Tony Schumacher by 32 points and leads fourth-place Antron Brown by seven points.
? AlBalooshi had an excellent race last weekend in Pomona, Calif. He was the No. 6 qualifier, and three of his four qualifying attempts were excellent passes. In eliminations, he defeated Bob Vandergriff and Doug Kalitta to advance to the semifinals where he faced his teammate, Shawn Langdon. AlBalooshi won the last semifinal meeting between the two Al-Anabi cars in Reading, Pa. last October and went onto win the race. On Sunday, Langdon took the win light to end alBalooshi’s day and went on to win the race, but alBalooshi has now won at least one eliminations round at each of the last 10 races.
? AlBalooshi made many excellent runs last weekend showing how far the gold Al-Anabi team has progressed since last season. AlBalooshi recorded elapsed times of 3.802 seconds, 3.798 seconds, 3.777 seconds in qualifying. In the first two rounds of eliminations, alBalooshi recorded elapsed times of 3.769 seconds and 3.782 seconds. One year ago, this rookie driver from Dubai was trying to figure out how to drive a Top Fuel car; now he is making excellent passes and enters the season’s second race third in points.
? AlBalooshi captured the first Top Fuel win of his career during his rookie season last year. On a cold, rainy weekend during which national performance records were being set with impressive regularity, alBalooshi defeated Spencer Massey, Ike Maier, his teammate Shawn Langdon and eventual 2012 champion Anton Brown in the final round of the Auto Parts Nationals in Reading, Pa.
? AlBalooshi’s rookie year was a story of two very different half seasons. In the first half of the season, alBalooshi was defeated in the first round of eliminations at all 12 races. However, after getting his first Top Fuel round win at Denver in July, alBalooshi advanced to at least the second round of eliminations at10 of the last 11 races of the season including each of the last nine. He had a win and a semifinal in the last three races, and before he lost in the Las Vegas semifinals at the second-to-last race of the year, he had won six consecutive rounds of racing.
? One year ago at this event, alBalooshi was the No. 9 qualifier; he lost to Morgan Lucas in the first round of eliminations.
? AlBalooshi chose the No. 99 for the Al-Anabi Racing gold dragster as a tribute to Al-Anabi Racing team owner His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani because nine is Sheikh Khalid’s favorite number.
? AlBalooshi joined the Al-Anabi Racing Team as a Pro Mod driver when it was formed in 2009 racing in both Arabian Drag Racing League and American Drag Racing League competition. He is the 2011 NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod champion. Prior to joining the Top Fuel portion of the Al-Anabi Racing Team in 2012, he had 158 career race wins in various classes of competition.
AlBalooshi prior to Phoenix:
“What we did and the way our Al-Anabi team raced on Sunday in California is what I thought we would do, and everybody on our team feels the same way. It was not a surprise. Our team is much better than it was last year, and I think we will have a very good year. Being third in points feels good; I know that last week was only one race, but I am feeling good about our crew chief, every person who works on our team and our season. We are all looking forward to racing in Phoenix, and we hope we can make Sheikh Khalid proud of us again this weekend.”
From: Rob Goodman
More...
