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Langdon Tops Kalitta in All-Kalitta NHRA FinalIcon Sportswire - Getty Images
Kalitta Motorsports owned the Top Fuel category throughout the weekend in the NHRA Southern Nationals, so it was only fitting for the final round to come down to Kalitta teammates Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon.
On the first day of qualifying at South Georgia Motorsports Park, Langdon made the fastest ever Top Fuel run at 345 mph. A day later, Kalitta secured the No. 1 position with a 3.657 e.t. So, when they met in the final round, each racer knew his competitor well. In fact, Langdon’s crew chief Brian Husen told his driver he would try to get the car to match what he thought Kalitta would run, and then he would let them “have it out.”
“I didn’t particularly like that scenario because I wasn’t really hitting the tree well today (Sunday),” Langdon said after claiming his second victory this year and the 24th of his career.
Langdon got the jump on Kalitta with a .070-second reaction time to Kalitta’s .074, and he never trailed his teammate, taking the victory with a 3.808 e.t., 333.16 mph. Kalitta’s e.t. was 3.954, 314.61 mph.
After running 345 mph in Friday’s second qualifying session, Langdon admitted it was difficult to back it down for Sunday’s eliminations.
“You get the little taste of the 345 and… you gotta kind of get a little ego check where you just slow it down a little bit and understand you have to make changes and adapt to what the race track’s gonna be able to give you and provide,” Langdon said.
Problems existed in the left lane after rain hit the area for most of Saturday and Langdon knew it was important to focus on getting the car to go down the track. He noted the left lane had to be run a little differently than the right.
“There were some things we found out about the track throughout the weekend,” Langdon said. “Certain little areas that we had to tiptoe. It was kind of like a tiptoe haul ass. It was just a little bit tricky.”
Landon noted that doing one’s homework and digging deep into their notes was critical for the team’s success in the NHRA’s inaugural event at the facility.
“I really feel like this is one of the best teams I’ve ever driven for from top to bottom,” commented Langdon, who has been with Kalitta Motorsports for nearly a decade. “All three teams are really working well together.
“I really feel like Brian and Alan (Johnson, Kalitta’s crew chief) feed off of each other. They’re always pushing each other. They’re always… making their cars better and when one outruns the other, then the other one comes back stronger. The best feeling is your teammate is your biggest competition.”
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