LAS VEGAS: Everyone associated with a two-car drag racing team understands the possibility of the cars having to race each other always exists. When it happens, the hope is that the head-to-head matchup happens late in the day – best case, in the final round of eliminations. That was not the case for the Qatar Al Anabi Racing Top Fuel Team, the three-time and defending World Championship team owned by Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani, in Las Vegas yesterday. Drivers Khalid alBalooshi and 2013 World Champion Shawn Langdon met in the first round of the 15th annual NHRA Nationals yesterday, the fourth of 24 races that make up America’s 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season.
Langdon, the No. 8 qualifier, and alBalooshi, the No. 9 qualifier met in the first round of eliminations. Both teams made brilliant passes, but Langdon’s 3.796-second pass was just a tick better than alBalooshi’s 3.810-second effort. Langdon’s margin of victory in the side-by-side battle was .0225 seconds. It was the second head-to-head race between the two drivers this season with each driver winning once.
With the first-round loss, alBalooshi dropped two spots to sixth place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings. He trails fifth-place Spencer Massey by seven points and leads his teammate, Shawn Langdon, by six points.
“Our team made some very good runs this weekend,” alBalooshi said. “We raced Shawn in the first round. It was our best run of the weekend, but Shawn’s team made a very good run and beat us. I am sorry we lost the race, but I know everyone on our team is working his hardest. We still have a very good hot rod, and everything will be OK. I thank everyone on our team for his hard work, and I thank Sheikh Khalid for giving me this opportunity.”
The news was only slightly better on the silver side of the Al-Anabi pit area. After Langdon defeated alBalooshi in the opening round, he raced No. 1 qualifier Antron Brown in the quarterfinals; the two cars were side-by-side until about half track when the engine in the Al-Anabi car had problems allowing Brown to pull away from Langdon and win the round.
With the quarterfinal loss, Langdon dropped one spot to seventh place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings. He trails his teammate, alBalooshi, by six points and leads eighth-place Brittany Force by 32 points.
The Al-Anabi Racing team will be back in action from April 13-15, 2014 at the fifth annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, NC.
The Peninsula
