The DHL Toyota Top Fuel team and Shawn Langdon were racing for their second Top Fuel win at the Norwalk Nationals this weekend. Through two days of qualifying Langdon powered to the No. 9 qualifying position at Summit Motorsports Park. Consistent times through four rounds of qualifying had the 2013 Top Fuel world champion and most recent Top Fuel finalist from the Thunder Valley Nationals confident more round wins were around the corner.
In the opening round of racing Langdon was facing Gatornationals winner and No. 8 qualifier Tripp Tatum looking to advance to the quarterfinals. Langdon took a huge starting line advantage with one of the quickest reaction times of any Top Fuel driver in the first round, .056 to .101. He was flying down the track in his DHL dragster and he was holding his own against Tatum but as the finish line closed in Tatum’s 3.732 second time was quick enough to get the win over Langdon’s 3.793 second run. Both dragsters hit the finish line at over 320 mph and the margin of victory for Langdon’s opponent was about eight feet.
“I am glad we are making consistent runs,” said Langdon. “We raced to the semifinals and finals in the past two races. We are moving in the right direction.”
The DHL Toyota Top Fuel team will recharge and regroup to take on the historic Western Swing in two weeks.
Statistics:
Qualified: Qual. 9 (3.774 sec, 325.30 mph)
Bonus points: 0
Race Details:
First Round
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
9 Shawn Langdon .056 3.793 322.65
8 Tripp Tatum .101 3.732 325.92 (W)
Kalitta Motorsports PR
