TOP FUEL

For the second time in as many races, Shawn Langdon and the Red Fuel Powered by Schumacher/Sandvik Coromant Top Fuel team ended the day relieved - and in the winner's circle.

Langdon, who has been racing most of his life beginning with the NHRA Jr. Dragster youth program where he was a champion in 1997, knows that racing involves a little bit of luck and that's what the Red Fuel/Sandvik Coromant team received in the opening round of Sunday's 10th annual Summit Racing NHRA Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio.

Langdon's 10,000-horespower dragster hazed the tires shortly after he hit the throttle at the starting line but his first-round opponent Troy Buff fouled out for leaving the starting line before getting the green light.

"We're starting to see a little bit of luck come our way," Langdon said. "We're fortunate that Troy Buff redlit in the first round.  We just went back to what we did in qualifying with the hot weather tune-up on Saturday and we were able to put together three very good runs. We had a strong car today."

Langdon and the team led by crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler never looked back as they eliminated Don Schumacher Racing teammate Antron Brown in the second round, John Force Racing's Brittany Force in the semifinal before knocking off Kalitta Racing's J.R. Todd in the final round with runs between 3.80 and 3.84 seconds.

"It's unbelievable, "Langdon said of winning his second straight event and 13th Top Fuel title of his career. "From where we started at the beginning of the year with this team and all the changes that we made through the first couple of races - all the test sessions - this is what we worked for. We kind of had to take a step back.  We started to see progress and had a better car, but we just weren't getting the luck on Sunday.” 

The Red Fuel Powered by Schumacher/Sandvik Coromant team opened the 2016 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season with five straight first round losses. In the past six Mello Yello events, Langdon has a 14-4 winning record. He has climbed from 11th in Top Fuel points standings to sixth.

"Two straight wins gives us confidence," he said "When you have a good car like we do right now, it puts a little more pressure on the other teams. They have to start pushing their cars. So rather than seeing a good race at the finish line, we're starting to see teams smoke some tires and take some chances against us. It's a good feeling and I'm just happy to be a part of this team and it's a good way to end this four-race swing."