YPSILANTI, Mich. (Sept. 10, 2024) – Following a two-win season with six final-round appearances, Shawn Langdon enters the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs as the No. 3 seed. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs begin Sept. 13-15, 2024 at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals in Mohnton, Pa.
The Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team enjoyed a turnaround season in 2024 with a return to form attributed significantly to first year Crew Chief Brian Husen who took over in the off season. Husen and Langdon proved an excellent team achieving chemistry and consistency at most races allowing them to qualifying mostly in the top half of the field and win rounds on race day – the goal of any NHRA team. For a large part of the season, Langdon lurked at second in points behind his teammate, Doug Kalitta, accomplishing a stated goal of the Team Kalitta dragsters running one-two in points. With the page turning from successful regular season to NHRA Playoff mode, Langdon simply hopes for more of the same.
“We definitely have a lot of confidence heading into the Countdown, and we’re excited for it,” the 2013 NHRA Top Fuel Champion said. “We just have to keep doing what we’re doing – keep going rounds. That’s the big thing. With six races in the Countdown, you don’t want to get behind early. Obviously, Doug had a great race at Reading last year so we’ll try to build off that momentum, try to get off on the right foot and win the first Countdown race.”
The Kalitta Air Careers team can “build off that momentum” as the Kalitta teams often run similar setups allowing the two to combine for five wins in the regular season. In fact, a Team Kalitta dragster raced in in the final round at 17 of the 20 regular-season races. That level of consistency is difficult at best, yet it’s exactly what Team Kalitta had in mind at the start of the season.
“Between the two cars, we share all the data and information, but you have to run the cars a little bit differently,” Langdon said. “We tested well after Indy, and we feel good with our Kalitta Air Careers car. We came into Indy one-two in points, had probably our worst weekend of the year and came out one and three in points. We didn’t have a whole lot of damage, and that sets us up for the Countdown.”
The Team Kalitta cars are, indeed, first and third in points entering the NHRA Playoffs, but after the points reset and addition of Mission Foods NHRA Challenge championship bonus points, the top-10 teams in the Top Fuel field are separated by just 109 points. With six races and 24 elimination rounds of playoff racing remaining, it’s literally anybody’s championship.
“I always just like the playoffs,” Langdon said. “I like the playoffs in baseball, basketball, football and hockey. I pay attention, and I watch a lot during the playoffs. I would like to see it (The Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs) structured a little bit differently, but at the end of the day, it keeps the playing field tight for the last couple of races. I like being in high-pressure scenarios where it can come down to one run, and this format kinda helps that happen. You don’t have runaway champions so people don’t lose interest. There’s good and bad in the format, but the only one that really doesn’t like it is someone who finishes the regular season with a big lead but loses it when the points reset. I like that you get in the last couple of races and know every run’s going to count.”
Race Information:
Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Maple Grove Raceway; Mohnton, Pa.
TV Schedule (All times eastern):
2023 Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 6; defeated Dan Mercier; lost to Doug Kalitta.
Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 344 events, 19 wins, 25 runner-up, 369 round wins, 21 No. 1 qualifiers.
2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results to Date (wins in italics):
The post THIRD SEED SHAWN LANGDON SEEKS SECOND TITLE IN TIGHT TOP FUEL FIELD first appeared on Team Kalitta Motorsports.
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The Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team enjoyed a turnaround season in 2024 with a return to form attributed significantly to first year Crew Chief Brian Husen who took over in the off season. Husen and Langdon proved an excellent team achieving chemistry and consistency at most races allowing them to qualifying mostly in the top half of the field and win rounds on race day – the goal of any NHRA team. For a large part of the season, Langdon lurked at second in points behind his teammate, Doug Kalitta, accomplishing a stated goal of the Team Kalitta dragsters running one-two in points. With the page turning from successful regular season to NHRA Playoff mode, Langdon simply hopes for more of the same.
“We definitely have a lot of confidence heading into the Countdown, and we’re excited for it,” the 2013 NHRA Top Fuel Champion said. “We just have to keep doing what we’re doing – keep going rounds. That’s the big thing. With six races in the Countdown, you don’t want to get behind early. Obviously, Doug had a great race at Reading last year so we’ll try to build off that momentum, try to get off on the right foot and win the first Countdown race.”
The Kalitta Air Careers team can “build off that momentum” as the Kalitta teams often run similar setups allowing the two to combine for five wins in the regular season. In fact, a Team Kalitta dragster raced in in the final round at 17 of the 20 regular-season races. That level of consistency is difficult at best, yet it’s exactly what Team Kalitta had in mind at the start of the season.
“Between the two cars, we share all the data and information, but you have to run the cars a little bit differently,” Langdon said. “We tested well after Indy, and we feel good with our Kalitta Air Careers car. We came into Indy one-two in points, had probably our worst weekend of the year and came out one and three in points. We didn’t have a whole lot of damage, and that sets us up for the Countdown.”
The Team Kalitta cars are, indeed, first and third in points entering the NHRA Playoffs, but after the points reset and addition of Mission Foods NHRA Challenge championship bonus points, the top-10 teams in the Top Fuel field are separated by just 109 points. With six races and 24 elimination rounds of playoff racing remaining, it’s literally anybody’s championship.
“I always just like the playoffs,” Langdon said. “I like the playoffs in baseball, basketball, football and hockey. I pay attention, and I watch a lot during the playoffs. I would like to see it (The Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs) structured a little bit differently, but at the end of the day, it keeps the playing field tight for the last couple of races. I like being in high-pressure scenarios where it can come down to one run, and this format kinda helps that happen. You don’t have runaway champions so people don’t lose interest. There’s good and bad in the format, but the only one that really doesn’t like it is someone who finishes the regular season with a big lead but loses it when the points reset. I like that you get in the last couple of races and know every run’s going to count.”
Race Information:
Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Maple Grove Raceway; Mohnton, Pa.
TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- Qualifying Show 1: 7-8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13 on FS1
- Qualifying Show 2: 12:30-2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15 on FS1
- Finals: 2-4 p.m. or 4:30-6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15 on FOX (NFL game dependent; check local listings)
2023 Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 6; defeated Dan Mercier; lost to Doug Kalitta.
Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 344 events, 19 wins, 25 runner-up, 369 round wins, 21 No. 1 qualifiers.
2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results to Date (wins in italics):
- Gainesville: Qualified No. 1; defeated Cody Krohn, Justin Ashley, Antron Brown and Billy Torrence.
- Pomona: Qualified No. 7; defeated Krista Baldwin; lost to Tony Schumacher.
- Phoenix: Qualified No. 5; defeated Josh Hart, Antron Brown, Steve Torrence and Justin Ashley.
- Las Vegas 4W: Qualified No. 8; lost to Doug Kalitta and Steve Torrence in the first round.
- Charlotte 4W: Qualified No. 7; lost to Antron Brown and Brittany Force in the first round.
- Chicago: Qualified No. 4; defeated Cody Krohn, Shawn Reed and Dan Mercier before losing to Antron Brown.
- Epping: Qualified No. 4; defeated Shawn Reed and Billy Torrence before losing to Doug Kalitta.
- Bristol: Qualified No. 4; defeated Shawn Reed; lost to Tony Schumacher.
- Richmond: Qualified No. 1; defeated Lex Joon, Steve Torrence & Antron Brown before losing to Doug Kalitta.
- Norwalk: Qualified No. 6; lost to Clay Millican.
- Seattle: Qualified No. 13; defeated Justin Ashley, Josh Hart and Clay Millican; lost to Steve Torrence.
- Sonoma: Qualified No. 4; lost to Tony Stewart in the first round.
- Brainerd: Qualified No. 5; defeated Shawn Reed, Doug Kalitta and Ida Zetterstrom; lost to Justin Ashley.
- Indianapolis: Qualified No. 16; lost to Brittany Force.
The post THIRD SEED SHAWN LANGDON SEEKS SECOND TITLE IN TIGHT TOP FUEL FIELD first appeared on Team Kalitta Motorsports.
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