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Dubai driver Khalid al-Balooshi made a dazzling qualifying run on Friday night just across the Hudson River from New York City and made the Qatar Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Team, the two-time NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel World Champions owned by His Excellency, Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad al-Thani the No. 2 qualifier after two qualifying rounds at the 44th annual Toyota NHRA Summernationals, the ninth of 24 events making up the United States’ 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. Qualifying resumes Saturday with eliminations set for today. |
Al-Balooshi made a solid run in the first round and was seventh entering the evening session. The second-year driver dazzled the massive New Jersey crowd with a 3.803-second pass at nearly 323 mph and moved to the No. 1 position. Later in qualifying, veteran driver Clay Millican ran eight thousandths of a second quicker and took the No. 1 position.
“Both runs we made on Friday were very good,” al-Balooshi said. “I thought the first run would be in the top three. But a part broke so we were seventh. The Al-Anabi car was very fast in the second run. I thought we could be No. 1, but Clay was a little but faster. I feel very good about our Al-Anabi car. We have been one of the best cars for the last few races, and I am so happy with how well our crew chief and everybody on our team is doing. We can win the race on Sunday, and we are going to try our best.”
On the silver side of the Al-Anabi pit, Shawn Langdon made an excellent pass in the afternoon round and was fourth. In the evening session, Langdon was making a fantastic run and was well ahead of the car in the other lane when the tyres on the Al-Anabi car lost traction forcing Langdon to abort the run. He is eighth with two qualifying rounds remaining. “We were trying to go for the No.1 qualifier, but we just got a little too aggressive,” Langdon said.
“The evening session is the best chance to get the No. 1 qualifier because the conditions are so good, but we just tried to go a little too fast and overpowered the race track. We’ll be fine; we’re qualified, and the Al-Anabi team will be ready to race on Sunday when we try to win another race for Sheikh Khalid.”
Al-Anabi Racing operates out of multiple locations in both the United States and Qatar. In the United States, the Brownsburg, Ind.-based operation is a two-car NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series team that is managed by Alan Johnson Racing. Sheikh Khalid’s initiative has created increased international awareness of the nation of Qatar while highlighting the nation’s international sports outreach. Alan Johnson is a 14-time NHRA champion in various capacities including crew chief, team owner and team manager.
