The chance for a repeat title for reigning Top Fuel world champion Shawn Langdon is very slim and will be totally negated if series leader Tony Schumacher qualifies for eliminations at the 50th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals next weekend.
But Langdon, who is fourth in the standings and trails the seven-time champ by 134 points, can still finish the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season strong by racing to a victory at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, which is about as good of a finish that Langdon could ask for. Things haven’t always gone as planned in Langdon’s attempt at a title defense, but the driver of the 10,000-horsepower Al-Anabi Racing dragster knows the importance of finishing strong.
“In every sense you want to end the season on a good note,” Langdon said. “At this point we simply want to get our racecar back and finish strong. We’ve struggled a little bit to get a handle on the car and you really want to finish up and end the season with a positive. We really just need to get the car back to where it was running a year ago, where it was consistent and it was consistently fast.”
Langdon (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Rickie Jones (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners of the tradition-rich season-ending race that will once again be televised nationally on ESPN2.
The Auto Club NHRA Finals is one of drag racing’s most revered events and the win last year to finish off Langdon’s championship season stands out as a major accomplishment in his banner 2013 season. Things haven’t fallen into place quite the same way this season, and especially during the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs, but a good deal of those struggles could be erased with a strong performance at Pomona.
The race has always held a significant amount of prestige and this year’s 50th anniversary celebration during the race weekend will add to that. Racing at Auto Club Raceway also holds extra importance to Langdon, a Southern California native whose first passes in drag racing came at the historic track.
“I love Pomona and every time I go there I get butterflies,” Langdon said. “To me, it’s the biggest event of the year. All my friends and family will be there and it’s always special for me to race there. I grew up watching the Top Fuel cars go down the track there and it’s where I started my career. Pomona is where it all began and that makes it special every time we race there.”
A second straight Auto Club NHRA Finals victory would provide a big boost to a team that has just one victory a year after Langdon racked up seven wins en route to the series crown. In addition to his lone win in 2014, he also posted five runner-up finishes and three No. 1 qualifying positions. All good stats, but pretty normal compared to his team’s frenetic pace last year.
“Our car has gone through a lot of changes,” Langdon said. “Ending on a good note is always good, but I know the Al-Anabi team is going to put in an A-plus effort at all times. We’re trying to progress the car and the tune-up and it’s been tough at times this year. We’ve run into bumps and have some struggles, but it’s all for the sake of progress and there’s no denying the effort the team has put in the entire season.”
The perfect example of the up and down season came at the last three events in the Countdown. Langdon, who has nine career victories, advanced to the final round in St. Louis to jump to second in points and put the possibility of a repeat title within view.
But Langdon stumbled to a first-round loss in Reading, dropping the Al-Anabi Racing driver to fourth and 148 points behind the surging Schumacher. He was presented with a chance to get back in the title mix in Las Vegas when Schumacher was upset in the opening round, but ultimately couldn’t take advantage and fell to Spencer Massey in the second round.
“We had a chance; it was a great feeling to know that with Tony (Schumacher) and Doug (Kalitta) going out in the first round, we had a chance to make up a lot of ground in the point standings, but we couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity,” Langdon said. “We’ve had one of those years. It’s been tough fighting through the tune-up bugs this season, but we continue to just try to get our car running well again.”
Schumacher is 109 points ahead of second place Massey and J.R. Todd made a late rally in his Optima Batteries dragster to move to third in points. Kalitta and Steve Torrence are fifth and sixth in the standings, and like Langdon, also still mathematically alive for the championship.
Several other Top Fuel drivers will be in the hunt for a race win, despite being out of the Countdown title race. Two-time Finals winner Antron Brown heads that list, and is followed by Winternationals winner and Langdon’s Al-Anabi teammate Khalid alBalooshi, four-time season runner-up Brittany Force and Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals winner and Auto Club Road to the Future award candidate Richie Crampton.
In Funny Car, Hagan took home the Auto Club NHRA Finals victory last season, but was disappointed his win didn’t include a world championship trophy as well. Following his recent win in Pennsylvania and semifinal finish in Las Vegas, Hagan enters the last race with a 21-point lead over John Force. Force earned his 16th world championship title last season and this year his Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang has been one of the quickest and fastest cars on the circuit. However, he’s going to need to be on his game with new crew chief John Medlen if he’s to record a 17th world championship.
Force’s daughter Courtney earned back-to-back playoff victories at Dallas and St. Louis and sits third in points at the controls of her Traxxas Mustang, however 121 points back, she is a longshot for the title. She still has had a great season, becoming the first female to post four wins in a season in Funny Car and the first woman to win back-to-back races in Funny Car. The 26-year-old racer also earned the 100th win by a female driver in the Mello Yello Series and passed her sister Ashley as NHRA’s winningest female Funny Car driver.
In addition to the trio of championship challengers, the list of potential event winners in Funny Car is deep, and includes three-time season winner Alexis DeJoria, Bristol winner Tommy Johnson Jr., five-time season winner Robert Hight, Ron Capps, Tim Wilkerson, Del Worsham and Cruz Pedregon.
In Pro Stock, one of the most intense playoff battles could be settled at Pomona. History-chaser Erica Enders-Stevens leads the pack in her Elite Motorsports Chevy Camaro. A five-time winner this season, she is trying to become the first female to win an NHRA world championship title in Pro Stock. Hot on her heels is two-time world champ Jason Line, driver of the Summit Racing Camaro, who trails by 17 points. Dave Connolly is 84 points back in third place and still in contention for the title.
The 2014 world championship in Pro Stock Motorcycle is coming down to Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammates Andrew Hines and Krawiec, the winner of this event last season. Hines currently holds the points lead over Krawiec, but the pair have gone back and forth during the season. Hines pulled ahead by 92 points following his recent victory in Las Vegas and seems poised to add a fourth championship title to his resume.
As part of the 50th anniversary celebration, NHRA will feature many of the sport’s greatest legends and those drivers will share some of their favorite memories from 50 years of the Auto Club NHRA Finals. “The King of Speed” Kenny Bernstein, “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, “TV” Tommy Ivo, Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen, Ed “The Ace” McCulloch, Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney and Don “The Snake” Prudhomme will be featured during the event and participate in a series of special NHRA Legends Chats and a special autograph session on Saturday afternoon in the popular Hot Rod Junction.
The NHRA Legends Chats will run from 10 a.m. until noon on Saturday and the special legends autograph session will take place between Saturday’s pro qualifying sessions. Fans can attend the Legends Chats and autograph session by obtaining a special commemorative 50th Anniversary NHRA Legends Card, which will be available on a first come, first served basis at the Hot Rod Junction.
NHRA fans also will play an important role in the 50th anniversary celebration as they will help decide the most iconic moments in the history of the Auto Club NHRA Finals. Fans will vote for their favorite moments from the event via interactive pages set up on NHRA.com and NHRA’s Facebook page.
Special celebrations throughout the weekend are scheduled to highlight this significant milestone event. In addition to the NHRA Legends Chats and special autograph session featuring the legends, there will be several NHRA-exclusive Cacklefests showcasing the vintage dragsters of the sport’s early days, a special car corral in the Hot Rod Junction featuring a wide variety of vintage dragsters and classic race cars and The SealMaster Track Walk, where fans can walk on the famed Auto Club Raceway at Pomona track prior to Sunday’s final eliminations. The SealMaster Track Walk also will feature several of the sports legends.
As always, fans will have the opportunity to interact with their favorite drivers as they’re granted an exclusive pit pass to the most powerful and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet. This unique opportunity in motorsports gives fans direct access to the teams, allowing them to see firsthand the highly-skilled mechanics service their hot rods between rounds, and enjoy some cherished face time and get autographs from their favorite NHRA drivers.
Fans also will want to visit NHRA’s popular Nitro Alley and Manufacturers Midway, where sponsors and race vendors create a carnival atmosphere, with interactive displays, simulated competitions, merchandise, food and fun for the entire family.
The event also will feature thrilling competition and world championship finishes in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.
Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying begins Friday, Nov. 14, with sessions at 11:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. The final two qualifying sessions will take place Saturday, Nov. 15, at 11:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 16.
To purchase general-admission or reserved seats, call (800) 884-NHRA (6472) or visit www.NHRAtix.com.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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