Shawn Langdon Captures Top Fuel Prize

Shawn Langdon, dragged his Red Fuel-sponsored dragster to back-to-back wins on the Mello Yellow Drag Racing circuit. He’s a DSR teammate to Ron Capps, who took home the victory in the Funny Car Division. The two-time winner also outraced J.R. Todd in the final round to claim his second top podium performance. He ripped off a winning run of 3.846 seconds at a blazing 319.75 miles per hour. Todd sprinted his Seal Master dragster to a 3.937 second run miles per hour.

Shawn Langdon brought in his 13th career Mello Yellow Drag Racing Series Top Fuel triumph. Langdon out-dueled fellow racers Troy Buff, Antron Brown, Brittany Force to reach the finals against Todd. The eventual winner had a little luck in his favor. Buff red-lighted his hot-rod off the start in the first round giving Shawn Langdon the immediate win. It was fortunate timing, because DSR drive lost traction out of the gate, and would have lost the race if not for Buff’s mistake.

“I think we are starting to see a little luck go our way. We really should have been out first round,” Shawn Langdon stated. “We were just fortunate Troy Buff red-lit, and we went back and looked at everything and couldn’t find out why it did what it did. We went back to what we did in qualifying on Saturday with a hot-weather tune-up. We were able to put together three good straight runs and felt like we had a very strong car today.”

Shawn Langdon's teammate Ron Capps. — Shawn Langdon’s teammate Ron Capps.

Ron Capps showed his dominance yet again at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals on Sunday. It was his fourth Funny Car division title of 2016. The crafty veteran raced his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T to a successful run of 3.956 seconds at 317.49 miles per hour over Courtney Force. Force charged her Monster Energy machine a slower 4.010 second pass at 314.17 miles per hour.

Furthermore, the win was Capp’s third out of the last four contests and has built lofty a 130 point bulge over Force. She currently is in second place with half a season to go. The winner gave all the progress and success to his Don Schumacher Racing crew.

“What Rahn Tobler [crew chief] is doing right now is hard work,” Capps said. “This guy has been working his tail off. It is big picture to him. He is not just a good crew chief; he is a good racer, and I love that. When he is pointing at me in the windshield before a run, it gives me all the confidence in the world. He was my hero growing up,” Capps continued. “These wins happen, and you are told you have tied someone you are completely enamored with growing up, so when you are mentioned like that, it blows me away. It doesn’t seem possible, to be mentioned with someone like ‘Snake’ is crazy.”

Jason Line took home his impressive seventh win of the Mello Yellow Drag Racing series in the Summit National this weekend. The current points leader faced his his partner in crime in the final. Greg Anderson, who had the fastest qualifying time, brought his Summit Racing Chevy Camaro to the party.

Line took advantage of Anderson right out of the gate and held him off to cross the finish line in first. The Summit Racing sponsored driver had a blistering run of 6.678 seconds at 208.42 miles per hour. Anderson recorded a slower pass of 6.717 seconds at 208.36 miles per hour. The eventual winner defeated Curt Steinbach, Erica Enders, and Vincent Nobile to reach the final round showdown.

“It was a hard today; it was very hot out there,” said Line. “We didn’t run as well as we would have liked today, and there were cars that were very close to us. They are getting closer, and to win at the Summit race in a Summit Car at a Summit track is a huge deal. Greg and I have been very fortunate to make that happen a bunch of times. It’s fun.”

NHRA Melo Yellow Drag Racing Point Standings:

TOP FUEL
Place	Driver	Points
1.	Doug Kalitta, Ypsilanti, Mich., Mac Tools dragster (3)	1,009
2.	Antron Brown, Indianapolis, Matco Tools dragster (2)	940
3.	Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contactors dragster (2)	846
4.	Brittany Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Monster Energy dragster (2)	832
5.	Tony Schumacher, Austin, Texas, U.S. Army dragster	729
6.	Shawn Langdon, Indianapolis, Red Fuel/Sandvik dragster (2)	711
7.	J.R. Todd, Indianapolis, SealMaster dragster	645
8.	Clay Millican, Drummonds, Tenn., Denso/Great Clips dragster	572
9.	Richie Crampton, Indianapolis, Lucas Oil dragster	570
10.	Leah Pritchett, Danville, Ind., Nitro Ninja dragster (1)	463

FUNNY CAR
1.	Ron Capps, Carlsbad, Calif., NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger (4)	966
2.	Courtney Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Traxxas Chevy Camaro (1)	836
3.	Jack Beckman, Norco, Calif., Infinite Hero Dodge Charger	823
4.	Del Worsham, Villa Park, Calif., DHL Toyota Camry	762
5.	Tommy Johnson Jr., Avon, Ind., Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger (1)	750
6.	Matt Hagan, Christiansburg, Va., Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger (2)	747
7.	Tim Wilkerson, Springfield, Ill., Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang (2)	723
8.	Robert Hight, Yorba Linda, Calif., Auto Club Chevy Camaro (1)	722
9.	John Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Peak Chevy Camaro	668
10.	Alexis DeJoria, Austin, Texas, Tequila Patron Toyota Camry (1)	640

PRO STOCK
1.	Jason Line, Mooresville, N.C., Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro (7) *	1,389
2.	Greg Anderson, Mooresville, N.C., Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro (5) *	1,274
3.	Bo Butner, Floyds Knobs, Ind., Jim Butner Auto Chevy Camaro	796
4.	Allen Johnson, Greeneville, Tenn., Marathon Petroleum Dodge Dart	719
5.	Drew Skillman, Bargersville, Ind., Ray Skillman Chevy Chevy Camaro	683
6.	Vincent Nobile, Dix Hills, N.Y., Mountain View Tire Chevy Camaro	613
7.	Chris McGaha, Odessa, Texas, Harlow Sammons of Odessa Chevy Camaro	557
8.	Shane Gray, Mooresville, N.C., Valvoline/Nova Services Chevy Camaro	532
9.	Jeg Coughlin Jr., Delaware, Ohio, Magneti Marelli/JEGS Dodge Dart	528
10.	Alex Laughlin, Granbury, Texas, Gas Monkey Garage/360 Wraps Chevy Camaro	498

Shawn Langdon Captures Top Fuel Prize

Written by Erik the Hun

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