Post-Race Report
Event 13 of 24: New England NHRA Nationals
New England Dragway
Epping, NH
July5-7, 2019
Langdon Races Global Electronic Technology Camry to Runner-Up Finish
Shawn Langdon and the Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry Funny Car made the most out of race day at the New England NHRA Nationals. The team raced to the final round and came up just a few hundredths of a second short of securing their second win of the season.
“We made some great runs today and my crew chiefs made some great calls to give me a good race car,” said Langdon. “We were able to go some rounds which is critical at this time of the year before the Countdown.”
Heading into race day Langdon was the No. 5 qualifier and took on Jim Campbell in the first round. The second year Funny Car driver never trailed in the race. His Global Electronic Technology Camry left the starting line first and nabbed the win 4.036 seconds to 4.062 seconds. The win set up a tough second round race against the Mello Yello Funny Car points leader.
“Really all the runs today were great,” said Langdon. “The race car did what they wanted it to do. We had a tough race with Robert (Hight) in the second round and we tried to step it up. The car responded and we got the win.”
The quarterfinal race was one that set Langdon up for a successful afternoon as the team stepped up on the performance side just when they needed it the most. Langdon’s 3.999 second run at 320.51 mph was more than enough to get his second win light of the day but more importantly it showed the Global Electronic Technology crew chief combo of Del Worsham and Nicky Boninfante they were on the right path with their tune-up.
Facing Tim Wilkerson in the semifinals Langdon was once again faced with a strong and consistent competitor. His race car again gave him everything he needed to get another round win and advance to his second final round of the season.
The last race of the day for Langdon he ran an elapsed time identical to his qualifying run but it wasn’t enough to get the win. The pass was a solid 4.046 second run at over 317 mph in a losing effort. The most important take away for Langdon was the performance of his race car throughout qualifying and race day showed his team is moving in the right direction.
Quotable:
Langdon on tough opponents in Epping: “We just have to keep progressing and making moves. The guys have been working really hard. We are moving in the right direction for sure.”
First Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH Shawn Langdon 5 .080 4.036 316.75 (W)
Jim Campbell 12 .097 4.062 305.98
Second Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH Shawn Langdon 5 .063 3.999 320.51 (W)
Robert Hight 4 .050 4.103 271.24
Semifinals
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH Shawn Langdon 5 .092 4.006 320.36 (W)
Tim Wilkerson 9 .056 4.053 315.56
Finals
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH Shawn Langdon 5 .055 4.046 317.49
Matt Hagan 6 .033 4.014 322.81 (W)
Semifinal Finish for Crampton and DHL Top Fuel Dragster in New England
The consistency of qualifying by the DHL Top Fuel dragster and driver Richie Crampton paid off at the New England NHRA Nationals as the team raced to a semifinal finish. After qualifying in the No. 2 position and posting top three quick runs in the final two qualifying session Crampton and his DHL team were full of confidence going into race day. That confidence showed through as Crampton saw continued success today.
“It was a good day in general for points,” said Crampton. “We qualified well and that really let us gain some headway here. We had a big race against (Steve) Torrence in the semifinals and we didn’t quite get the job done.”
In the first round that had to battle upstart racer Audrey Worm. Crampton got a sizable starting line advantage and never trailed in the race. His 3.827 second pass was just a tick off his best qualifying effort. With the first round win Crampton earned a bye to the semifinals and a match-up with the Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence.
In the semifinals Crampton gave his opponent everything he had. If Torrence would have stumbled the young Australian and his DHL Top Fuel dragster would have moved right on to their second final of the season. Unfortunately for Crampton while he made a solid run Torrence was quicker to the finish line stripe. Crampton was on a strong run but just as he approached half-track his DHL dragster overpowered the right lane.
“We were pushing a little too hard on that right lane,” explained Crampton. “It would appear the left lane was a little more favorable. It was one of those deals where we knew it was going to be a close race no matter what and I think we pushed it too hard for the track we had to work with.”
It was a solid day for Crampton who maintained his position in the Top Ten and earned valuable round wins as the regular season winds down.
Quotable:
Richie Crampton on Epping crowd: “This was an amazing weekend for the fans. They turned out in great numbers and saw a great day of racing today.”
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 2 (3.825 sec., 319.07 mph)
Bonus points: +3 (2nd quickest of Q2 and 3rd quickest of Q3)
Race Details:
First Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH Richie Crampton 2 .090 3.827 320.20 (W)
Audrey Worm 13 .118 4.020 296.11
Second Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH Richie Crampton 2 .086 4.176 219.10 (W)
Bye
Semifinals
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH Richie Crampton 2 .076 4.062 292.20
Steve Torrence 9 .064 3.832 323.35 (W)
J.R. Todd Drives DHL Camry to the Quarterfinals
For the second time this season J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota Camry were the best of the Funny Car category heading into race day as the No. 1 qualifier. A month ago Todd was No. 1 in Topeka and this weekend Todd was the quickest Funny Car at the New England NHRA Nationals.
Friday night Todd blasted to the top of the field with a strong 4.022 second pass in conditions that saw the track temperature soar over 130 degrees. As the No. 1 qualifier Todd earned a bye run on Sunday morning since there were only fifteen Funny Cars at New England Dragway.
With no one in the lane beside him Todd and the DHL team had nothing to lose and they took advantage of their chance to get a handle on the dramatically different track conditions. The DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car launched hard and began to overpower the track as Todd closed in on the finish line. His first round elapsed time of 4.540 seconds left considerable room for improvement in the second round.
Pulling up beside veteran racer Tim Wilkerson in the quarterfinals Todd was confident his DHL teammates had given him a strong race car. Both drivers were aggressive off the starting line with strong reaction times and as they accelerated down the New England Dragway track both race cars were side by side. As the finish line rapidly approved Todd his Funny Car began drifting to the centerline while Wilkerson began to move towards the wall. Both drivers stayed on the throttle with Wilkerson lifting just before the finish line and a near brush with the guard wall. He was ahead by just enough to get the win 4.242 seconds to Todd’s 4.274 seconds.
After the run Todd and his team knew that they had issues again with their race car.
“We spun the tires down track again. It was a tough day for sure but we have a lot of smart guys over here,” said Todd. “We think something broke on the car. We still don’t know what yet. We are trying to diagnosis it and get it straightened out before Denver.”
Quotable:
J.R. Todd on his goals for the upcoming Western Swing: “We are going to go out there and try and win all three of those races.”
First Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH J.R. Todd 1 .095 4.540 188.10 (W)
Bye
Second Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH J.R. Todd 1 .054 4.274 229.12
Tim Wilkerson 9 .058 4.242 233.88 (W)
Kalitta Leaves Epping Focused on Success on Western Swing
Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster’s day was cut short on Sunday with a first round upset loss to veteran Terry McMillen. Through two days of qualifying in sweltering heat at New England Dragway Kalitta made consistent runs quick enough to qualify him No. 3 and post top three runs in two qualifying sessions. A storm system blew through New England yesterday afternoon, dramatically lowering temperatures and sending all the NHRA crew chiefs back to the drawing board for the first round of eliminations.
With track temperatures over twenty degrees cooler the first round was a toss-up for many teams. Kalitta and his Mac Tools teammates felt they had a strong tune-up for race day. When Kalitta took off from the starting line he knew immediately his day was not going to advance beyond the first round. His 10,000 hp Top Fuel dragster drove into tire smoke and the veteran driver lifted so as to not damage his engine further.
“The guys had a lot of data. Usually switching around from day to day is manageable,” said Kalitta in his pits after the run. “We just missed it a little today. We have been experimenting with out clutch package and I think we have gotten all we can out of that set up. I think we will get together and see if we need to go back to what was working more consistently. That is what bit us more than anything.”
Quotable:
Doug Kalitta on missing a chance to go more rounds on race day: “It just makes you hungrier. That is one of those deals that pisses everyone off so we dig in even deeper and try and make it happen starting with the Western Swing.”
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 3 (3.844 sec., 321.73 mph)
Bonus points: +3 (2nd quickest of Q1 and 3rd quickest of Q2)
Race Details:
First Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH Doug Kalitta 3 .073 7.563 104.88
Terry McMillen 12 .068 3.867 322.50 (W)
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