Shawn Langdon Wins Arizona Nationals

Finals Broadcast Replay: 8-11 p.m. Wednesday, April 10 on FS2

Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 5 qualifier at the NHRA Arizona Nationals. His best qualifying attempt came during the final qualifying round Saturday afternoon when he posted a 3.750-second elapsed time at 327.74 mph.

Eliminations: Langdon defeated Josh Hart, Antron Brown, Steve Torrence and Justin Ashley on the way to his second winner’s circle celebration in the season’s first three races. Langdon was off the starting line first in the final and never looked back racing to the win light with a 3.760-second run at 318.69 mph to Ashley’s 3.849-second effort. It was Langdon’s 19^th-career victory in a rematch of the Phoenix final-round matchup, which Ashley won, last season.

When Langdon advanced to the quarterfinals, he earned a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at next week’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the quarterfinals in Phoenix will re-run the quarterfinals in the 4-Wide format with the four winners advancing to the “finals” earning additional purse and championship bonus points.

Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Phoenix in first place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He leads second-place Justin Ashley by 36 points.

Langdon on Phoenix: “You know, it really was a picture-perfect day. This whole Kalitta Air team, from Connie (Team Owner Connie Kalitta), Chad Head (Kalitta Motorsports General Manager), to Brian Husen (crew-chief) coming over this year. Brian’s done such a fantastic job making some crew changes and the crew has been absolutely flawless. They’ve given me a picture-perfect car all year long. There were a lot of variables out there today; the track was tricky on that transfer spot onto the asphalt. The guys gave me a flawless car, and Brian did an excellent job.

“First round, we had a little bit of a weird hiccup but the rest of the runs went a lot smoother. I knew in the final, Justin (Ashley) and that whole SCAG group over there with Tommy (DeLago, crew chief) and Mike Green (co-crew chief), they’re a tough bunch. I was thinking in my head, ‘I just got to leave with Justin and let Brian do his work.’ When I hit the gas, I said, ‘well, we got a shot.’ So, congrats to Brian, the whole Kalitta Air team, everyone at Toyota, DHL, Revchem and Mac Tools. Two out of three is not bad, but we’re ready for more.”