SONOMA, California: With team owner Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani looking on from behind the car, Qatar Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Team driver Shawn Langdon won the 26th annual Sonoma NHRA Nationals.
Langdon, who was the No. 6 qualifier for the two-time NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel World Championship team, was simply magnificent throughout the day.
In his first-round clash against Bob Vandergriff, Langdon posted a phenomenal 3.743-second pass – the quickest ever at Sonoma Raceway - setting the low elapsed time for the weekend and the track record.
From there, he mowed down the rest of his opponents, Doug Kalitta, reigning Top Fuel World Champion Antron Brown and his former team-mate Morgan Lucas in the finals – all with Skeikh Khalid looking on.
It was Langdon’s fourth win of the season, and with the win, the Al-Anabi driver extended his points lead to 102 points with three races remaining in the regular season.
“The Al-Anabi team was really strong all weekend, and we had a great day today,” Langdon said.
He added: “This is really a dream season. To get four wins on the season is pretty strong in this day and age. In the old days, you might have had a couple of guys that really dominated, but we really haven’t seen anybody dominate in the Top fuel class in the last couple of years. So to be able to get four wins at this point of the season is a testament to the hard work from the crew chiefs, all the crew guys and the brain trust we have here at Al-Anabi Racing.”
He explained: “You would think having Sheikh Khalid here this weekend would add some pressure to do well, but it really relaxed me. He shares the same dream as us, and he shares the same passion as us – we’re all here for the same reason. He’s just a really easy-going guy, and we really view a lot of things about drag racing the same so I felt like it really made it easier.”
On the gold side of the Al-Anabi team, Khalid alBalooshi was the No. 4 qualifier.
It was the 10th time in 15 races this season that the second-year driver qualified in the top-six positions.
AlBalooshi made a brilliant run in the first round eliminations to defeat Brandon Bernstein.
In the second round, he made a dazzling run, but Massey left the starting line before alBalooshi and won the round by .0282 seconds despite recording a slower elapsed time.
AlBalooshi remains sixth in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings.
“I thank my Al-Anabi team for giving me a very good car today,” alBalooshi said.
He added: “We made a very good run in the first round and beat Brandon (Bernstein). In the second round, we made another good run, but I did not leave the starting line fast enough so Spencer won the race even though we made a better run. With Sheikh Khalid here this week, we really wanted to have a good weekend, and I am sorry I did not have a better light (reaction time). I hope we can have a good race next week in Seattle.”
Action will resume from August 2-4 at the 26th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle.THE PENINSULA
