Post-Race #BrainerdNats

Langdon Races to Quarterfinals in Brainerd

After two days of qualifying in cool temperatures Shawn Langdon and the CMR Construction and Roofing Top Fuel dragster team were ready to make moves up the point standings. Their quickest time of 3.737 seconds positioned the team as the No. 11 qualifier going into race day at the Brainerd Nationals.
 
Langdon was facing a first round mismatch based on qualifying results, but the 2013 Top Fuel world champion knew today was a brand-new opportunity for success. He was first off the starting line with a .045 to .099 reaction time advantage and the CMR Construction and Roofing Toyota Top Fuel dragster never trailed in the race. Langdon tool the win 3.760 seconds to 3.822 seconds to advance to the quarterfinals against No. 3 qualifier Justin Ashley.
 
Langdon once again was strong off the starting line leaping out in front of Ashley with an impressive reaction time of .049 to his opponent’s .064. Both dragsters were flying down the track and just past half track Ashley got the nose of his 11,000 horsepower Toyota dragster in front of Langdon’s CMR dragster. It was the quickest side-by-side race of the quarterfinal round with Ashley posting the quickest ET and Langdon ringing up the second quickest time in a losing effort. At the finish line it was 3.726 seconds to 3.807 at over 320 mph.
 
“We are holding our own in the points and we lost a close race in the second round,” said Langdon. “We have one race left in the regular season in two weeks at the U.S. Nationals and we can make a move to get up to fifth place heading into the Countdown. Our focus now is winning Indy again and then taking some momentum into the playoffs.”
 
Langdon will leave Brainerd in a tie for sixth place in the Top Fuel point standings just 36 points out of fifth place. The 2020 U.S. Nationals Top Fuel winner will be back on track at the biggest race of the season in two weeks over Labor Day weekend.
 
Statistics:
Qualified: Qual. 11 (3.737 sec, 323.58 mph) 
Bonus points: 0

Race Details:
 
First Round
Qual    Driver                                                  RT        ET        MPH
11        Shawn Langdon                                  .045     3.760   329.34 (W)
6          Leah Pruett                                         .099     3.822   279.85
 
Second Round
Qual    Driver                                                  RT        ET        MPH
11        Shawn Langdon                                  .049     3.807   324.44                         
3          Justin Ashley                                       .064     3.726   330.63 (W)

Todd and DHL Wrap up Brainerd Nationals with Quarterfinal Finish

The Brainerd Nationals once again proved to be a performance playground for Top Fuel and Funny Car teams with weekend temperatures cooling off allowing for near record setting elapsed times and speeds. Following one of the hottest Western Swings followed by last weekend’s sweltering Topeka Nationals J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra team were ready to light up the scoreboard at the fan friendly racetrack. Through two days of qualifying Todd posted one of his quickest runs of the season landing in the No. 7 spot on the qualifying sheet with a solid 3.897 second run at 332.43 mph.
 
In the opening session on race day Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra made the third quickest run of the first round to take the win over No. 10 qualifier Jim Campbell. Todd was the first off the line and never trailed in the race. His winning elapsed time, 3.898 seconds, was just one thousandth of a second off his best qualifying effort.
 
“That first round run felt great and we went right down the groove,” said Todd. “We are in a tight battle with a lot of Funny Car teams trying to hold our position so getting that first round win was big. Todd and Jon O did a great job setting up this DHL Toyota GR Super Funny Car.”
 
Prior to the quarterfinals track temperatures began to rise and all the crews worked to make the necessary performance adjustments. Throughout the second round of Top Fuel and Funny Car many of the teams and drivers had their hands full with tricky track conditions. Facing the No. 2 qualifier Todd knew his team would need to thread the needle of an aggressive but not overpowering tune-up.
 
Both Funny Car jumped off the starting line with Robert Hight holding a slight lead but Todd and his DHL Funny Car flew past him by half-track. As Todd is trying to pull away his racecar started to overpower the track and as Todd pedaled his Funny Car his engine lets go robbing him of momentum, but he was still momentarily in the lead. Hight also loses traction and he pedaled his racecar and generates enough power to move past Todd as he also experiences an engine failure right at the finish line.
 
The quarterfinal finish for Todd will hold him steady in sixth place in Funny Car points with one more regular season race remaining.
 
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 7 (3.897 sec, 332.43 mph)
Bonus points: 0

Race Details:
 
First Round
Qual    Driver                                                  RT        ET        MPH
7          J.R. Todd                                             .079     3.898   327.90 (W)
10        Jim Campbell                                      .096     4.637   181.57
 
Second Round
Qual    Driver                                                  RT        ET        MPH
7          J.R. Todd                                             .105     4.451   221.16
2          Robert Hight                                       .079     4.356   284.27 (W)
 

Doug Kalitta and Mac Tools Leave Brainerd with Focus on U.S. Nationals

Racing for his third Brainerd Nationals title today Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Toyota team rolled into race day as the No. 10 qualifier. On Friday afternoon the team came off the hauler and posted the third quickest elapsed time of the first session earning a qualifying bonus point and setting the team up for the next three rounds. Kalitta is the second winningest Top Fuel driver at Brainerd International Raceway and as qualifying concluded he was paired up with Tony Schumacher, the winningest Top Fuel driver at BIR, in a massive first round battle.
 
In the opening round Kalitta was first off of the line against Schumacher thanks to a .056 to .069 reaction time advantage. As both drivers approached half track Kalitta fell back slightly but he could see Schumacher having engine issues. Kalitta was beginning to haze his tires and pedaled, getting off the throttle and back on, his Mac Tools dragster trying to chase down his opponent, but he suffered a sizable engine detonation just before the finish line. He dropped a close race and will head to the U. S. Nationals in two weeks sitting in ninth place in the Top Fuel point standings.
 
“I got a great jump off the starting line and then I had to give it a quick pedal,” said Kalitta. “We have one more race in the regular season and it is the biggest race of the year, the U.S. Nationals. We can head into the playoffs with a lot of momentum if we get that Indy win in two weeks.”
 
The U.S. Nationals will feature points and a half in eliminations as well as increased qualifying and bonus points affording Kalitta and the Mac Tools team more opportunities to move up in the standings during the final regular season race. Points will reset heading into the six race Countdown playoff stretch.
 
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 10 (3.732 sec, 329.83 mph) 
Bonus points: +1 (3^rd quickest of Q1)

Race Details:
 
First Round
Qual    Driver                                                  RT        ET        MPH
10        Doug Kalitta                                       .056     5.349   118.13
7          Tony Schumacher                               .069     3.940   292.27 (W)