{"id":14884,"date":"2018-02-20T16:10:17","date_gmt":"2018-02-20T22:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=14884"},"modified":"2018-02-24T12:07:23","modified_gmt":"2018-02-24T18:07:23","slug":"new-challenge-in-funny-car-doesnt-change-shawn-langdons-early-season-expectations-at-nhra-arizona-nationals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/02\/20\/new-challenge-in-funny-car-doesnt-change-shawn-langdons-early-season-expectations-at-nhra-arizona-nationals\/","title":{"rendered":"New challenge in Funny Car doesn\u2019t change Shawn Langdon\u2019s early-season expectations at NHRA Arizona Nationals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Courtesy of the NHRA<\/em><\/p>\n

CHANDLER, Ariz. \u2013 Shawn Langdon<\/strong> has never been one to back down from a challenge and the former Top Fuel world champion remains thrilled at trying to tackle perhaps the biggest one in his racing career early in the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series<\/a> season.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Shawn Langdon. NHRA photo<\/p><\/div>\n

Langdon made the transition from Top Fuel to Funny Car this offseason, repeating a process Kalitta Motorsports teammate J.R. Todd did the previous year. After a first-round loss in his Funny Car debut in Pomona to open the year, Langdon is confident he\u2019ll make big improvements in his 10,000-horsepower Global Electronics Technology Toyota Camry, starting at this weekend\u2019s 34th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew what my mistakes were,\u201d said Langdon, who has 14 career Top Fuel victories. \u201cThere was just so much going on in my first race out. I wasn\u2019t patient enough with it. I\u2019m happy with the overall team effort and I\u2019m happy with my reaction time. We\u2019re learning. We\u2019re going to have a good year. This team is going to be dangerous this season. I feel it and I\u2019m excited for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Shawn Langdon. NHRA photo<\/p><\/div>\n

Leah Pritchett (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) were last year\u2019s winners of a race that be televised nationally on Fox Sports 1 (FS1), including finals coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 25. The race is the second of 24 during the 2018 NHRA season, and Langdon is still looking for a quick start despite the class change.<\/p>\n

That displays his confidence in his Kalitta Motorsports team, led by crew chiefs Tommy DeLago and Nicky Boninfante. He\u2019s talked frequently with Todd about the transition, making considerable progress during the test session earlier this month at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. Langdon, who won the 2013 Top Fuel world title, also wants to make sure his strengths, like reaction times, continue to be factors on raceday while the learning process continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me at this point, I am trying to take it step by step,\u201d Langdon said. \u201cThere\u2019s only so much I can control, so I\u2019m really trying to concentrate on my driving. Right out of the gate, I may not be the best at pedaling it, so one thing I\u2019m trying to work on is my reaction time and give my team a good opportunity off the starting line. All the other driving things are going to come in time. I feel like we\u2019ve got a great opportunity to go out and try to win races right out of the gates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even in a different class, Langdon took momentum into the off-season, advancing to the final rounds in two of the final three races. It was a strong way to finish off his first season with Kalitta Motorsports, a team he meshed well with immediately, despite missing the first four races of 2017. That has given him added confidence in making the move to Funny Car, even facing off with the likes of Pomona winner and defending event champion Hagan, reigning world champion Robert Hight, 2016 world champ Ron Capps, Courtney Force and 2016 event winner Tim Wilkerson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fortunate to be with a great group and we\u2019ve got a very good group of talented drivers on one team,\u201d said Langdon, referencing a group that includes Todd, as well as Top Fuel drivers Doug Kalitta, who won in Pomona, and Richie Crampton. \u201cIt\u2019s a fun group of guys and I\u2019m really excited about this year. The overall atmosphere is great. Everyone likes to go win and have fun doing it. Last year we all had good cars, it just didn\u2019t come together. With everything in place in January this year for all four teams, I think that it puts us steps ahead of where we were last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pritchett will try to make it three straight Top Fuel wins at Phoenix this season, hoping to hold off a talented field that includes Pomona winner Doug Kalitta, three-time world champ Antron Brown, and five-time event winner Tony Schumacher.<\/p>\n

Anderson won for the second time at the track in Pro Stock a year ago, also finishing second in points to KB Racing teammate Bo Butner, who had five wins in 2017 and started 2018 with a victory. Other class stars include Tanner Gray, last year\u2019s top rookie, Jason Line and Jeg Coughlin.<\/p>\n

The event also will feature thrilling competition in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, where future stars of the sport hone their skills and the 2018 Mickey Thompson Tires Top Fuel Harley Drag Racing Series.<\/p>\n

Following nitro qualifying during the weekend five jet cars thrill the fans during the NHRA Arizona Nationals. Taking to the track will be jet cars operated by Segal Motorsports with Shelly Segal running the \u2018FireStarter\u2019, AA Motorsports with Scott Arriaga running \u2018Wicked Sinsation\u2019 jet Dragster, and Tim Smith running the \u2018American Freedom Fighter\u2019 jet dragster. The Lucas Oil will showcase their two \u2018Muy Caliente\u2019 during the race. Known for their exciting pre-run flame shows and after burner pops, jet cars are thrust driven vehicles propelled by jet engines.<\/p>\n

As always, fans have the opportunity to interact with their favorite drivers as they\u2019re granted an exclusive pit pass to the most powerful and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet. This unique opportunity in motorsports gives fans direct access to the teams, allowing them to see firsthand the highly-skilled mechanics service their hot rods between rounds, and get autographs from their favorite NHRA drivers.<\/p>\n

Fans also will want to visit NHRA\u2019s popular Nitro Alley and Manufacturers Midway, where sponsors and race vendors create a carnival atmosphere, with interactive displays, simulated competitions, merchandise, food and fun for the entire family.<\/p>\n

Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 1:30 and 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, Feb. 24, also at 1:30 and 4 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 25.<\/p>\n

To purchase general-admission or reserved seats, call (800) 884-NHRA (6472) or visit www.NHRA.com\/tickets<\/a>. Kids 12 and under are free in general admission areas with a paid adult. To honor the Salute to First Responders, military and first responders can save 20 percent on general admission tickets at the gate. For more information about the NHRA visit www.NHRA.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Courtesy of the NHRA CHANDLER, Ariz. \u2013 Shawn Langdon has never been one to back down from a challenge and the former Top Fuel world champion remains thrilled at trying to tackle perhaps the biggest one in his racing career early in the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. Langdon made the transition […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14886,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[6,378,247,550],"class_list":["post-14884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nhra","tag-nhra","tag-nhra-arizona-nationals","tag-shawn-langdon","tag-wild-horse-pass-motorsports-park"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/2018_Langdon_Shawn_Action.jpg?fit=2250%2C1500","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-3S4","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14884"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14888,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14884\/revisions\/14888"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}