Post-Race Report
NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
Race 9 of 22 national events
Bristol Dragway
Bristol, Tenn.
June 19, 2022
Shawn Langdon Runner-up at Thunder Valley Nationals
Shawn Langdon and the CMR Construction and Roofing Top Fuel team continued to improve on their 2022 season performance as they raced to the final round of the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. The 2013 Top Fuel world champion started race day as the No. 9 qualifier and at the end of the day was one of the last two Top Fuel drivers standing.
In a great first round win over the No. 8 qualifier the CMR Toyota Top Fuel dragster showed that they would be a tough customer all day. Langdon made the second quickest run of first round with a blistering 3.809 second pass at 322.50 mph to advance to the quarterfinals. It was the team’s best run of weekend for the CMR Construction and Roofing Top Fuel dragster and set them up with data and confidence heading into the second round against No. 1 qualifier Mike Salinas.
“There is no pressure, this is what we do,” said Langdon, after first round win. “I feel like if you think this is pressure you don’t know what you are doing. We have a lot of the CMR Construction and Roofing group out here this weekend. We are trying to put on a good show for them along with DHL, Toyota, Mac Tools, Revchem and all the people that support us. Going rounds this time of year is important.”
The on-track performance improvement from Saturday to Sunday was the result of hard work by Langdon’s team of crew chiefs including legend Connie Kalitta, Kurt Elliott and Jason McCulloch. Following the opening round win Elliott explained how they used some of their qualifying runs to make race day decisions.
“We really needed that second run yesterday and we just tuned off our first run on Saturday. I felt like we hit it right where we wanted to,” said Elliott.
In the quarterfinals Langdon dominated the starting line, visibly jumped ahead of Salinas and never trailing in the drag race. Langdon’s .057 second reaction put his out in front and his 3.853 second pass got to the finish line stripe in front of Salinas’ 3.816 second run for a hole shot win. The win moved Langdon to his second consecutive semifinal round of the season.
Facing three-time world champions Antron Brown Langdon knew he would need to keep his string of solid starting line reaction times intact. This round was one of his closest of the day with Langdon narrowly getting a starting line advantage but once again his CMR Construction and Roofing crew gave him a stellar race car in the heat of the day and his 3.847 second pass was more than enough to get his third win light over Brown’s 3.896 second run.
The final round was a rematch of the New England Nationals semifinals from two weeks ago as two Toyota Top Fuel drivers, Langdon and Justin Ashley, battled it out. Just before Langdon headed to the Top Fuel final round he secured a win in the highly competitive Super Comp category and the multi-class world champion was looking for his first “double-up” win at an NHRA national event.
Both Top Fuel pilots hit the Christmas Tree hard and launched together. They were side-by-side flying down the historic race surface at Bristol Dragway and at the finish line stripe Ashley was able to get the win with a 3.813 second pass in front of Langdon’s 3.841 second effort. Through four rounds of race Langdon posted times of 3.809, 3.853, 3.847 and 3.841 seconds which is the kind of consistency that will win races this season. At the end of the day Langdon looked back at a missed opportunity but also the positives from the race.
“It’s so hard to not be mad about today and I’m not mad. I’m bummed,” said Langdon. “I wanted that double up so bad. Haven’t doubled up at a national event before and to have the opportunity and just lucky to have the opportunity, but when you have the opportunity there, you don’t want to give it away. All in all, great weekend to have the CMR group on board. We’ve had the last two races where the car has been running good so no complaints there. It’s only looking up from here.”
Thunder Valley Victory Eludes J.R. Todd and DHL Funny Car
The DHL Toyota GR Supra team and driver J.R. Todd were looking to chase down one more win light on race day on the heels of their runner-up finish in 2021. Last year in the fall Todd lost a close race to Toyota teammate Alexis DeJoria and this weekend the 2018 Funny Car world champion was looking to secure four win lights. Two tough days of qualifying on a tricky track had the DHL Toyota Funny Car team headed into race day as the No. 11 qualifier.In the opening round Todd faced multi-time champion Cruz Pedregon in a tough first round match-up. In one of the closest races in the first round of Funny Car Todd dropped a close race with his quickest run of the weekend. Todd and his DHL Toyota team stepped up and posted a 4.168 second pass but it wasn’t enough for Pedregon’s slightly quicker 4.148 second run.
“We just got a little behind the eight ball in qualifying,” said Todd. “That first round run was solid and we just lost a close drag race. There were a lot of close races today and I am looking forward to getting to Norwalk. I know that first round pass is something we can build on.”
Two weeks ago Todd raced to the semifinals and his solid run in the first round gives the 10-time Funny Car national event winner confidence going into the summer races.
“We are just past the halfway point of the regular season and we are sixth in the points I think. The guys in front of us are within a few rounds. We can get on a roll in Norwalk and the Western Swing and we in a great spot.”
The Norwalk Nationals will get underway on Friday, June 24, with two qualifying sessions at Summit Motorsports Park.
Fourth Win at Bristol Dragway Not in Cards for Doug Kalitta and Mac Tools
Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster team were racing for their fourth national event win at one of the most historic and picturesque NHRA tracks on the tour. Through two days of qualifying at Bristol Dragway Kalitta was able to make the 16-car field but uncharacteristically the perennial championship contender was starting his race day from the bottom half of the field as the No. 12 qualifier. His quickest run of qualifying was a 3.877 second pass at 321.12 mph.The veteran driver faced a tough first round opponent in points leader Brittany Force, the No. 5 qualifier. Kalitta took a huge starting line advantage with a solid .057 second reaction time and was pulling away when his Goodyear slicks lost traction as he passed half-track. The veteran driver attempted to regain his momentum, but Force was on a smooth pass in the right lane and advanced to the quarterfinals.
“This Mac Tools Toyota team is battling out here every weekend,” said Kalitta. “We are getting some good data and we are making good runs. This was a tricky track and we will take the positives from this weekend and head to Norwalk in a couple days. It was cool to race on Father’s Day again here in Bristol.”
In just five days the Mac Tools team will unload in Norwalk, Ohio and begin to chase their second Top Fuel win at the racetrack located just outside of Cleveland.
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.
