Shawn Langdon and the Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry team will be rolling into Las Vegas looking to pick up their second win in the Countdown. Four different Funny Car drivers have stood in the winner’s circle during the 2019 Countdown and Langdon is looking to become the first repeat winner of the playoffs. A strong start in qualifying will go a long way in positioning the second year Funny Car racer for a first time win at The Strip.
“We have made good runs in qualifying during the Countdown but we haven’t dominated a full two days of qualifying,” said Langdon. “I think if we can come out strong on Friday and get some bonus points in both sessions we can really make some headway. No matter where you qualify you are going to get a tough first round match-up. We won St. Louis from the bottom half of the ladder.”
The win in St Louis was Langdon’s second of the season and gave the young Funny Car driver a huge boost in the points. Since that race the Global Electronic Technology team has raced to a quarterfinal finish two weeks ago in Dallas. With two races remaining Langdon knows it will take nearly perfect racing to add a Funny Car championship to his 2013 Top Fuel title.
“We need some of the guys in front of us to make some mistakes and we need to get every point available to make a move on this championship,” said Langdon. “We haven’t had a lot of success at Las Vegas but that doesn’t matter in my opinion. I am going into this race with the mindset of doing my job and trusting my team. I am not doing anything differently. All we can do is take care of our business and race as hard as we can. It is Vegas so anything can happen.”
Langdon will also be racing for a number of causes this weekend. His Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry has turned pink for breast cancer awareness month and the entire Kalitta Motorsports team has joined forces with Ytel and Langdon’s primary sponsor to support the Never Forgotten Foundation. Fans can text “NFF” to 411-411 and they will receive information and instructions for the Race 2 Fight Hunger. For every $5 donated fans receive an entry into a raffle for racing themed prizes including race tickets and autographed merchandise.
“We are very excited to be supporting Never Forgotten Foundation again this year,” added Langdon. “We want to give the fans a chance to donate and also give them a chance to win a nice prize for their support. The Brysons are very generous people and I think what they have been doing for so many families across Southern California and around the world for over a decade is pretty amazing.”
The foundation supports those in need all over the country. NFF is ready to help ensure that no one becomes a statistic or becomes forgotten. Over the years the NFF has provided hundreds of thousands of meals to the Long Beach and Orange County Rescue Missions in addition to truckloads of non-perishable personal items for those in need.
2018 NHRA Vegas Nationals Highlights: Qualified No. 10; Beat Robert Hight; Lost to J.R. Todd
Last Event Recap (2019 NHRA FallNationals): Qual. No. 10; Beat Tim Wilkerson; Lost to Robert Hight
Quotable: Langdon on heading to Las Vegas: “We have two races left and this Global Electronic Technology team is going to try to win them both. We are going to try and make every run count. We can control our destiny and try and chase down some of the teams in front of us. There are eight rounds left in the season and we want to make the most of them.”
Career Stats: 254 events, 251 starts, 286 round wins, 16 wins, 33 finals, 18 No. 1 qualifiers; in Funny Car: 46 events, 46 starts, 36 round wins, 2 wins, 3 finals, 0 No. 1 qualifiers
2019 Season:
Winternationals: Qual. No. 6; Beat Jim Campbell; Lost to Tommy Johnson Jr.
Arizona Nationals: Qual. No. 7; Beat Cruz Pedregon; Lost to Matt Hagan
Gatornationals: Qual. No. 10; Lost to Cruz Pedregon
Las Vegas1: Qual. No. 8; Lost to Tim Wilkeron and Jeff Diehl
Houston: Qual. No. 10; Beat Cruz Pedregon; Lost to Ron Capps
Charlotte1: Qual. No. 5; WINNER; Beat Jeff Diehl and Terry Haddock; Beat J.R. Todd and Tommy Johnson Jr; Beat Robert Hight, John Force and Matt Hagan
Atlanta: Qual. No. 6; Lost to Ron Capps
Richmond: Qual. No. 5; Beat Tim Wilkerson; Lost to J.R. Todd
Chicago: Qual. No. 4; Lost to Jeff Arend
Topeka: Qual. No. 8; Lost to Robert Hight
Bristol: Qual. No. 2; Beat Jeff Diehl; Lost to Ron Capps
Norwalk: Qual. No. 12; Beat Blake Alexander; Lost to Jack Beckman
Epping: Qual. No. 5; RUNNER-UP; Beat Jim Campbell, Robert Hight, Tim Wilkerson; Lost to Matt Hagan
Denver: Qual. No. 9; Beat Tim Wilkerson; Lost to Robert Hight
Sonoma: Qual. No. 2; Beat Terry Haddock; Lost to John Force
Seattle: Qual. No. 6; Beat Cruz Pedregon; Lost to Matt Hagan
Brainerd: Qual. No. 6; Beat Paul Lee, Bob Bode; Lost to Ron Capps
Indianapolis: Qual. No. 7; Beat Tommy Johnson Jr.; Lost to Matt Hagan
Reading: Qual. No. 8; Lost to Matt Hagan
St. Louis: Qual. No. 10; WINNER; Beat Tommy Johnson Jr., Jim Campbell, Bob Tasca III and J.R. Todd
Charlotte2:Qual. No. 10; Lost to Tim Wilkerson
Dallas: Qual. No. 10; Beat Tim Wilkerson; Lost to Robert Hight
Kalitta Motorsports PR
