Shawn Langdon sat atop the Top Fuel speed charts following Friday’s qualifying at Gateway Motorsports Park. Photo courtesy NHRA Media
Shawn Langdon raced to the qualifying lead in the ultra-competitive Top Fuel category Friday at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis.
Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Michael Ray (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were qualifying leaders at the third of six playoff races in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.
Langdon powered his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to the top spot on the final run of the day with a performance of 3.761 seconds at 326.40 mph and regained sole possession of the series points lead after entering the race tied with Dallas winner Doug Kalitta. Langdon, who received six bonus points for leading both qualifying sessions, is now six points ahead of both Kalitta and Spencer Massey, who are tied for second place.
“Right now we are just focusing on racing smart,” Langdon said. “Those qualifying bonus points are huge and we’re trying to get that lead back. We were able to accomplish that in both sessions and maintain the No. 1 qualifying position. We were able to make two strong runs and get those little qualifying bonus points and everything adds up in the end.”
Seven-time world champ Tony Schumacher was second in his U.S. Army dragster with a 3.782 at a track record speed of 327.74, while Clay Millican was third with a 3.786 at 322.27 in his Parts-Plus dragster. Kalitta sits 14th overall after his Mac Tools dragster team struggled on their two runs, posting a best of 4.447 at 180.14.
Funny Car points leader Hagan set both ends of the track record with a 4.001 at 320.20 in his Magneti Marelli/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger to take the qualifying lead in his category. Like Langdon, he also claimed six bonus points for leading both sessions.
“That’s six points for us that we picked up there in qualifying so far, and we need to try and pick up six more tomorrow and just keep running smart and running hard and being methodical is what (crew chief) Dickie Venables has been this whole season,” Hagan said. “I’m just in there having fun. I’m just grinning from ear to ear. It’s just a lot of fun for me.”
Robert Hight was second with a 4.022 at 315.64 in his Auto Club Ford Mustang and was followed by Dallas runner-up John Force, who qualified third with a 4.023 at 311.92 in his Castrol GTX Mustang.
In Pro Stock, defending series world champ Johnson drove his Team Mopar Dodge Avenger to the qualifying lead with a performance of 6.512 at 212.29. Johnson is hoping to reverse his start to the Countdown, which has included a pair of second round losses, and get back on track to defending his series crown.
“We’ve been missing the little (qualifying) points lately, but we hit on something last weekend and I think that for the rest of the Countdown our combination is going to be bad to the bone,” Johnson said.
“We’re not a dark horse,” he continued. “We are three rounds back and things can turn around quickly. Win two or three in a row and we’re going to be in good shape. I think you’re going to see all three of our (team cars) in the mix. There is going to be five or six of us in the mix for the championship.”
Dodge Avengers claimed the top three spots. V Gaines was second in his Kendall Oil Avenger with a 6.526 at 211.96 while Jeg Coughlin was third with a 6.527 at 211.20 in his JEGS.com/Mopar Avenger. Series leader Jason Line qualified 10th in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro with a performance of 6.555 at 211.83.
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Ray, a two-time winner this season who is fifth in points, rode his Sovereign-Star Racing Buell to a 6.844 at 195.79 to lead the Pro Stock Motorcycle category.
“The conditions were similar to what we had in New Hampshire earlier this year so we just put in the Q3 map from that race and it worked,” Ray said. “We figured that we’d see some 6.8s so when I ran 6.84, we knew that was a good baseline and we could hold our heads high.”
Hector Arana Sr. was second with a 6.845 at 195.87 on his Lucas Oil Buell and was followed by No. 2 in the points standings, Matt Smith, who sits third on his Viper Motorcycle Company Buell with a 6.850 at 195.96. Series leader Hector Arana Jr. is fourth on his Lucas Oil Buell with a 6.873 at 193.52.
Qualifying continues Saturday with sessions at 11:45 am and 2:15 pm. Sunday’s eliminations start at 11 am.
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
Gateway Motorsports Park – Madison, IL
NHRA Midwest Nationals – Sept. 27, 2013
Friday Qualifying Results
Top Fuel — 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.761 seconds, 326.40 mph; 2. Tony Schumacher, 3.782, 327.74; 3. Clay Millican, 3.786, 322.27; 4. Khalid alBalooshi, 3.794, 322.81; 5. Brittany Force, 3.795, 308.92; 6. Antron Brown, 3.796, 318.24; 7. David Grubnic, 3.818, 323.58; 8. Billy Torrence, 3.839, 315.34; 9. Brandon Bernstein, 3.840, 318.92; 10. Bob Vandergriff, 3.843, 320.36; 11. Spencer Massey, 3.853, 319.37; 12. Morgan Lucas, 3.875, 309.70. Not Qualified: 13. Chris Karamesines, 4.137, 221.85; 14. Doug Kalitta, 4.447, 180.14; 15. Luigi Novelli, 4.473, 182.21; 16. Tim Cullinan, 4.698, 165.21; 17. Pat Dakin, 4.789, 153.79; 18. Terry McMillen, 4.963, 146.26; 19. Scott Palmer, 5.022, 143.86; 20. Steve Torrence, 6.065, 103.26; 21. Troy Buff, 6.685, 86.84; 22. Cory McClenathan, 7.326, 88.54.
Funny Car — 1. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.001, 320.20; 2. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.022, 315.64; 3. John Force, Mustang, 4.023, 311.92; 4. Del Worsham, Toyota Camry, 4.041, 314.46; 5. Courtney Force, Mustang, 4.062, 312.86; 6. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 4.076, 308.00; 7. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 4.077, 307.37; 8. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.094, 306.40; 9. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.104, 306.05; 10. Tony Pedregon, Camry, 4.112, 304.60; 11. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.113, 310.41; 12. Chad Head, Camry, 4.115, 275.17. Not Qualified: 13. Ron Capps, 4.144, 303.84; 14. Daniel Wilkerson, 4.336, 287.47; 15. Johnny Gray, 4.475, 201.73; 16. Jeff Arend, 6.236, 106.40; 17. Dale Creasy Jr., 6.868, 103.27.
Pro Stock — 1. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.512, 212.29; 2. V. Gaines, Avenger, 6.526, 211.96; 3. Jeg Coughlin, Avenger, 6.527, 211.20; 4. Erica Enders-Stevens, Chevy Camaro, 6.528, 211.36; 5. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.531, 211.26; 6. Vincent Nobile, Avenger, 6.535, 211.46; 7. Mike Edwards, Camaro, 6.538, 211.79; 8. Buddy Perkinson, Camaro, 6.545, 211.96; 9. Rickie Jones, Camaro, 6.552, 212.16; 10. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.555, 211.83; 11. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.568, 210.80; 12. Steve Kent, Camaro, 6.571, 210.18. Not Qualified: 13. Greg Stanfield, 6.577, 209.82; 14. Kurt Johnson, 6.599, 210.31; 15. Larry Morgan, 6.599, 209.36; 16. Matt Hartford, 6.600, 209.52; 17. Deric Kramer, 6.608, 207.82; 18. Rodger Brogdon, 6.631, 209.98; 19. Mark Hogan, 6.749, 203.43; 20. Dave River, 6.798, 204.79.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Michael Ray, Buell, 6.844, 195.79; 2. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.845, 195.87; 3. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.850, 195.96; 4. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.873, 193.52; 5. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.873, 193.02; 6. Adam Arana, Buell, 6.876, 195.25; 7. Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 6.881, 194.58; 8. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.888, 192.71; 9. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.899, 194.38; 10. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.904, 193.90; 11. John Hall, Buell, 6.921, 192.49; 12. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.933, 192.71. Not Qualified: 13. Shawn Gann, 6.952, 192.22; 14. Jim Underdahl, 6.959, 194.55; 15. Mike Berry, 7.018, 184.83; 16. Joe DeSantis, 7.045, 186.85; 17. Wesley Wells, 7.046, 189.58; 18. Michael Phillips, 7.101, 169.59.
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