NHRA: Langdon long on humility, big on winning
NHRA: Langdon long on humility, big on winning, The Al-Anabi dragster driver is the current
Top Fuel points leader with a 147-point advantage heading into the 32nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Aug. 16-18 at Brainerd International Raceway.
Langdon entered the 2013 season, his fifth in Top Fuel, with a quality resume already highlighted by four Countdown appearances,
including last year’s fifth-place finish in the final points standing.
This season, however, Langdon broke out from the start, winning the season-opening Pomona I over Tony Schumacher. After losing the points lead the second week, Langdon regained it with back-to-back wins at Topeka and Englishtown and has been No. 1 or 2 since.
He added a win in Sonoma to go with a No. 1 qualifying and a semifinal appearance at Seattle — the last NHRA race before BIR.
“To me, I’m lucky and fortunate to be able to do what I do,” said Langdon. “Whether I’m in first or last place at the end of the day, I’m very excited and happy to be able to race a car for a living. Of course I have that competitive side of me and we’re out here for a reason and that’s to win, but it’s very exciting.
“This is the first year that I’ve been able to be in first place and have the opportunity to win as many races as we’ve won this year. It’s kind of weird for me a little bit. Just from growing up and being a big fan and now I’m leading the points standing.”
If Langdon has a lot of bruises, it’s not from a crash, it’s from pinching himself so often. He still can’t believe what he and his team have accomplished so far.
In 16 events, he has four wins, two other finals appearances and five semifinal appearances. He has four No. 1 qualifiers and owns a 34-12 round record to improve his career round record to 118-100.
He’s one of just three Top Fuel drivers already qualified for the playoffs and will likely qualify No. 1 and earn a 30-point advantage in the Countdown. The Indiana native doesn’t care. He wants to win.
He’ll have to improve upon his showing at last year’s event. After qualifying fifth, Langdon was eliminated in the opening round by Cory McClenathan.
“It’s always easy in hindsight to fix your mistakes and that was something we were trying to address last year,” said Langdon. “There was a lot of testing involved. We had some new engine components and the clutch department was working on things. We had a lot of trial and error and that was one of the races that caught up to us.
“This year, we really feel like we have a lot better handle on the car. It has been running really well. We’re just maintaining that fast car on race day. BIR is a great facility. The track can be very fast. Hopefully we can start off in the right direction and have some quality runs.”
Langdon said the team’s primary focus will be to clinch that No. 1 spot heading into the Countdown. That’s as far as the humble 30-year-old would go. Sometimes he still sees himself as the quiet young child who would collect autographs of the guys he’s now racing against.
“I do enjoy the attention, but it’s definitely something I’ve had to adjust to growing up,” Langdon said. “I was the shy, quiet kid in the back of the room. In school, I just did my thing, went to class and did my work. I played a lot of sports, but I was never the type that wanted the focus to be on me.
“I race because I love to do it. It’s taken a little bit of getting used to and adjusting to doing TV, radio and newspaper interviews. It’s pretty exciting in the same sense. I’ve met some really cool people racing a car for a living.”
Top Fuel points leader with a 147-point advantage heading into the 32nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Aug. 16-18 at Brainerd International Raceway.
Langdon entered the 2013 season, his fifth in Top Fuel, with a quality resume already highlighted by four Countdown appearances,
including last year’s fifth-place finish in the final points standing.
This season, however, Langdon broke out from the start, winning the season-opening Pomona I over Tony Schumacher. After losing the points lead the second week, Langdon regained it with back-to-back wins at Topeka and Englishtown and has been No. 1 or 2 since.
He added a win in Sonoma to go with a No. 1 qualifying and a semifinal appearance at Seattle — the last NHRA race before BIR.
“To me, I’m lucky and fortunate to be able to do what I do,” said Langdon. “Whether I’m in first or last place at the end of the day, I’m very excited and happy to be able to race a car for a living. Of course I have that competitive side of me and we’re out here for a reason and that’s to win, but it’s very exciting.
“This is the first year that I’ve been able to be in first place and have the opportunity to win as many races as we’ve won this year. It’s kind of weird for me a little bit. Just from growing up and being a big fan and now I’m leading the points standing.”
If Langdon has a lot of bruises, it’s not from a crash, it’s from pinching himself so often. He still can’t believe what he and his team have accomplished so far.
In 16 events, he has four wins, two other finals appearances and five semifinal appearances. He has four No. 1 qualifiers and owns a 34-12 round record to improve his career round record to 118-100.
He’s one of just three Top Fuel drivers already qualified for the playoffs and will likely qualify No. 1 and earn a 30-point advantage in the Countdown. The Indiana native doesn’t care. He wants to win.
He’ll have to improve upon his showing at last year’s event. After qualifying fifth, Langdon was eliminated in the opening round by Cory McClenathan.
“It’s always easy in hindsight to fix your mistakes and that was something we were trying to address last year,” said Langdon. “There was a lot of testing involved. We had some new engine components and the clutch department was working on things. We had a lot of trial and error and that was one of the races that caught up to us.
“This year, we really feel like we have a lot better handle on the car. It has been running really well. We’re just maintaining that fast car on race day. BIR is a great facility. The track can be very fast. Hopefully we can start off in the right direction and have some quality runs.”
Langdon said the team’s primary focus will be to clinch that No. 1 spot heading into the Countdown. That’s as far as the humble 30-year-old would go. Sometimes he still sees himself as the quiet young child who would collect autographs of the guys he’s now racing against.
“I do enjoy the attention, but it’s definitely something I’ve had to adjust to growing up,” Langdon said. “I was the shy, quiet kid in the back of the room. In school, I just did my thing, went to class and did my work. I played a lot of sports, but I was never the type that wanted the focus to be on me.
“I race because I love to do it. It’s taken a little bit of getting used to and adjusting to doing TV, radio and newspaper interviews. It’s pretty exciting in the same sense. I’ve met some really cool people racing a car for a living.”
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