NHRA pros at Charlotte

Langdon breaks through, while Pro Stocks find track extra tricky

Words compiled by Kay Burk

Shawn Langdon raced to his first career Top Fuel victory Sunday, Sept. 16, at the rain-delayed O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at zMAX Dragway. Ron Capps (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also earned victories in their respective classes.

A sporadic drizzle and light rain throughout the morning and afternoon delayed by four hours the start of the opening event in the six-race Countdown to the Championship. But after diligent work by the NHRA Safety Safari to dry and prepare the track, racing began at 4 p.m.

Many teams had problems with the track surface, as cars lost traction in both lanes. Some drivers got the hang of it and teams adjusted their wing angles and tires for the conditions.

TOP FUEL 

(Richard Muir file photo)

Langdon defeated Tony Schumacher Sunday in 3.785 seconds at 326.71 mph in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster, holding off the hard-charging Schumacher, who finished in 3.808 at 322.27 in his U.S. Army dragster. Langdon won from the top qualifying position and beat Chris Karamesines, Bob Vandergriff and Brandon Bernstein to advance to the final round.

"I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason," Langdon said. "Eighty-seven races into it, I've always kind of wondered, 'Man, what does it feel like? Why haven't I won? Is there something I'm doing wrong?' I had a car capable of winning at times driving for the Lucas family for three years, and I came to this team that Sheikh Khalid [Al Thani, team owner] and Alan Johnson [team manager] that was built around winning. It gets to the point where it's the Countdown and it's crunch time. You couldn't have scripted it any better. It's a surreal feeling.”