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Post-Race Report
Event 6: NHRA U.S. Nationals
Indianapolis, IN
September 6, 2020 |
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| Langdon and DHL Win U.S. Nationals
Top Fuel Title |
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At a race where legends are made and historic moments are branded into NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series fans’ memories Shawn Langdon and the DHL Top Fuel dragster team made two runs for the ages. On the way to his second NHRA U.S. Nationals Top Fuel title and first Top Fuel win since St Louis in 2016 Langdon won a wild semifinal round race against rookie of the year candidate Justin Ashley before dominating the final round against Leah Pruett. The race win moved Langdon up to No. 5 in the Mello Yello point standings and was the fifteenth Top Fuel win of his career.
“With how much uncertainty there is this year, where we are racing, if we’re racing this team has really hunkered down,” said Langdon. “We have a great group of guys here at Kalitta. To win Indy is awesome. It’s kind of one of those things where you say, no matter what, if you win the U.S. Nationals, you’ve had a good year. I think right now we are free rolling for the rest of the year. We gained some valuable points that we needed to make up from the last couple of races. We went out early with some issues in dropping cylinders and we got it fixed and it shows in the results.”
For the fourth year in a row Kalitta Motorsports won at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. Langdon extended the streak started by Funny Car teammate J.R. Todd who won in 2017 and 2018. Last year Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Top Fuel team won Top Fuel at the biggest race of the year for the first time and now Langdon has collected his second Indy win and first with crew chief and drag racing icon Connie Kalitta at the helm.
“Working with Connie and the DHL team, those guys are awesome,” said Langdon. “We’ve had an awesome car all weekend long. We tested last week in trying to fix some things and in the final, when I hit the gas I knew we had it if we didn’t smoke the tires. I had a little reaction time advantage. I’m just trying to give everything I’ve got. Everything that Connie has given to this sport and everything that everyone at DHL, Kalitta Air, Toyota, Wix, NGK Spark Plugs, SealMaster and Mobil 1.”
Langdon entered race day as the No. 1 qualifier with a fast race car and the confidence of a driver who knew he was in control of his destiny. In the first round against newcomer Joey Haas Langdon ran 3.729 seconds nearly equaling his No. 1 qualifying time from Friday night.
His quarterfinal race against veteran Cory McClenathan highlighted how consistent Langdon’s race car was when he flipped on the win light with a 3.723 second pass at 319.90 mph. The back to back 3.72 second runs left Langdon ready for his semifinal race against Ashley. The race would prove to be a defining moment for both drivers.
At the hit of the throttle Langdon’s 11,000 horsepower Top Fuel dragster went into immediate tire smoke. He was able to react and save the run as he finessed his race car down the track as it billowed smoke and sashayed towards the finish line. Ashley was beside Langdon trying to control his own issues as his dragster was also battling to stay connected to the racing surface and after over six seconds Langdon saw a win light which advanced him to his second career final round at the U.S. Nationals.
“I noticed when we went to pre-stage that they were wiping something up. I thought it might just be an overflow of the fuel tank,” explained Langdon. “I saw something and they kept mopping it up, but I didn’t see any of my guys panicking. Apparently, they were behind me, but I couldn’t see anything. I wasn’t really prepared for it because the car’s been good all weekend, so it caught me off guard. I hit the gas and it struggled. I couldn’t get it to hook back up and I got sideways. A couple of times I thought I was about to wreck, but those are the races why we do this. This is Indy and I’m here to win races, so whatever it takes.”
Langdon went on to explain the run, “When I hit the gas initially, I saw his car shoot out on me and I was letting my car calm down a little bit because it was still smoking the tires. I was reaching over to grab the brake handle to help slow wheel speed down and then I saw him (Ashley) getting in trouble. At that point was when I started to get back on the gas. It was going for a second and I think it dropped a cylinder and it went back up in smoke. At that time, I was waiting for it to calm down again and I could hear him having trouble as he was still trying to get it to recover. I’m doing anything I can. Luckily, I was able to manage it someway, somehow. It was an exciting one for sure.”
Racing in the final round Langdon knew he would have to have his best effort and he did not disappoint. The 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion leapt off the starting line with a near perfect .015 reaction time and never trailed in the race. His winning time of 3.705 seconds at 326.32 mph was the second quickest run of the day.
Quotable:
Langdon on racing for NHRA legend Connie Kalitta: “When Connie hired me in 2017 to drive his car we made a couple of late-round finishes and had a couple of runner-up finishes. So when I went to Funny Car (in 2018), my only regret was I wasn’t able to get a win with Connie Kalitta as my crew chief. Going to Funny Car, I didn’t know if I’d ever get the opportunity to. I always looked up to Connie as a kid. I watched him for years and I still look up to him. He’s an awesome team owner and he’s an awesome crew chief.”
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 1 (3.728 sec., 313.22 mph)
Bonus points: +3 (Quickest of Q1)
Race Details:
First Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
Shawn Langdon 1 .053 3.729 315.71 (W)
Joey Haas 16 .125 4.032 273.77
Second Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
Shawn Langdon 1 .069 3.723 319.90 (W)
Cory McClenathan 9 .086 3.731 330.47
Semifinal Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
Shawn Langdon 1 .039 6.920 175.00 (W)
Justin Ashley 13 .001 7.237 184.90
Final Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
Shawn Langdon 1 .015 3.705 326.32 (W)
Leah Pruett 6 .091 5.141 145.75 |
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| | J.R. Todd and DHL Camry Runner-Up at U.S. Nationals |
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J.R. Todd raced to his second consecutive final round in Indianapolis today at the biggest race of the season, the NHRA U.S. Nationals. He was racing to put his DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car in the winners’ circle for the third time in four years at the U.S. Nationals but came up just a few feet short. In a close final round against Jack Beckman, Todd lit up the scoreboard with a runner-up elapsed time of 3.960 seconds which was just a shade off his best performance numbers of the day.
In first round Todd and the DHL Camry took the win over win over Blake Alexander with a dominant run and monster speed, 331.28 mph, which stood throughout the day as top speed of race. In the second round the two-time U.S. Nationals winner took out first round upset winner and No. 16 qualifier Dale Creasy Jr. It was a close race with Todd’s 3.919 second run getting the win and lane choice in the semifinals over Matt Hagan.
The turnaround from the second round to the semifinals was as tight as the NHRA allows due to a rain shower that moved through the area following two on-track incidents in the Pro Mod category. There were no injuries but the delay for clean-up along with the showers left the teams idle for almost four hours. Once the teams were back on track the focus returned especially against Hagan in the semifinals.
Both Funny Cars launched together and J.R. Todd pulled away from a tire smoking Hagan to advance to his second final round of the season. The race for the championship against Beckman would be a clash between two of the top multi-car teams on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
Todd took a starting line advantage and was charging down the track before Beckman snuck around him just before the finish line. Coming so close to victory did not sit well with the 18-time national event winner but he was appreciative of his DHL Toyota team’s effort all weekend.
“I am not going to lie that stings to go to the final round at the biggest race of the year and come up short,” said Todd. “I am really proud of my guys. Ever since we have come back from the break we have run really strong here at Indy. Ever since I have been in this DHL car it has performed. It goes to show you that Todd Smith, Jon O(Oberhofer) and the Yella Fellas have a good grasp on this place and keep really good notes. The crew guys are the best.”
Quotable:
J.R. Todd on his DHL crew and crew chiefs: “They dig down and work hard and never complain. (Crew chief) Todd and Jon (Oberhofer) are making last second changes up until the last minute. The crew guys dig deep and get it done. I didn’t drive all that great today. I was living right until the final round. I am just bummed we didn’t pull it off.”
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 8 (3.976 sec., 323.27 mph)
Bonus points: +2 (2nd quickest of Q2)
Race Details:
First Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
J.R. Todd 8 .072 3.916 331.28 (W)
Blake Alexander 9 .094 3.996 319.52
Second Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
J.R. Todd 8 .071 3.919 328.14 (W)
Dale Creasy Jr. 16 .076 4.000 315.78
Semifinal Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
J.R. Todd 8 .076 3.946 327.03 (W)
Matt Hagan 5 .057 4.132 273.05
Final Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
J.R. Todd 8 .054 3.960 324.28
Jack Beckman 7 .069 3.908 327.35 (W) |
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| | Doug Kalitta and Mac Tools Team Head To Gatornationals With Points Lead |
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Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster team will leave the NHRA U.S. Nationals with the Mello Yello Top Fuel point lead and momentum heading to the NHRA Gatornationals. The No. 5 qualifier raced to the quarterfinals before being ousted by eventual race runner-up Justin Ashley. Kalitta was looking for a repeat win at the biggest race of the season but he will settle for knowing he has one of the quickest race cars on the tour with five races left in the season.
In the first round Kalitta squared off with veteran driver Pat Dakin and took the win with a stout 3.707 second run at 329.67 mph. Dakin kept the Mac Tools team honest posting a 3.773 second pass.
Kalitta had lane choice in the quarterfinals against rookie of the year front-runner Ashley who last night picked up a win for the rain postponed NHRA Summernationals. Both drivers are regarded as excellent drivers off the starting line and in a very close race it was Ashley’s slight reaction time advantage that spelled doom for a quicker Mac Tools dragster.
“We had a good running car today,” said Kalitta. “We weren’t tearing up any parts, so it was something we could really work with. We hate getting beat like we did, but we’re in the hunt for sure and we plan to stay there. We are taking it one race at a time and one round at a time because they are all really important. I’m really excited to get to Gainesville. It’s a place I’ve always liked going to, there’s a lot of history there. We should be good.”
Quotable:
Doug Kalitta on racing for a second U.S. Nationals title: “We were giving it our all to get that second U.S. Nationals win. My guys gave me a great race car all weekend. Last year was a career highlight and we will keep racing hard and chasing that championship.”
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 5 (3.734 sec., 328.06 mph)
Bonus points: +2 (Second quickest of Q2)
Race Details:
First Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
Doug Kalitta 5 .072 3.707 329.67 (W)
Pat Dakin 12 .073 3.773 314.09
Second Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
Doug Kalitta 5 .060 3.755 329.67
Justin Ashley 13 .039 3.774 294.50 (W)
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For further requests on Kalitta Motorsports, please contact:
Luke Fath and Elon Werner
[email protected] or [email protected]
Photos are courtesy of Gary Nastase Photography. |
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Unofficial NHRA Mello Yello Championship Standings:
Top Fuel
| 1 | Doug Kalitta | 492 | | 2 | Leah Pruett | 442 | | 3 | Steve Torrence | 432 | | 4 | Justin Ashley | 370 | | 5 | Billy Torrence | 331 | | 6 | Shawn Langdon | 330 | | 7 | Antron Brown | 316 | | 8 | Terry McMillen | 305 | | 9 | Clay Millican | 279 | | 10 | TJ Zizzo | 179 |
Funny Car
| 1 | Jack Beckman | 517 | | 2 | Matt Hagan | 482 | | 3 | Tommy Johnson Jr | 460 | | 4 | J.R. Todd | 387 | | 5 | Ron Capps | 376 | | 6 | Bob Tasca III | 355 | | 7 | Tim Wilkerson | 348 | | 8 | Alexis DeJoria | 241 | | 9 | Cruz Pedregon | 234 | | 10 | Paul Lee | 225 |
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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) Mello Yello 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. |
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