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The team did not win the race, but it was still a very solid outing for the Qatar Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Team, the two-time World Championship team owned by HE Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad al-Thani. Silver Al-Anabi driver Shawn Langdon extended his points lead and clinched the first Top Fuel berth in the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals, the 14th of 24 races that make up America’s 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season. |
The Denver race begins the gruelling NHRA “Western Swing” with races in Denver, Colorado, Sonoma, California and Seattle, Washington on consecutive weekends. The goal for every team is to “sweep the swing” by winning all three races.
Langdon was the No 5 qualifier, and when he defeated reigning Top Fuel champion Antron Brown in the first round of eliminations, he became the first Top Fuel driver to clinch a playoff berth. Langdon went onto defeat Brandon Bernstein before losing to eventual race winner Spencer Massey by .015 seconds in the semi-finals. Langdon increased his points lead over Tony Schumacher to 19 points.
“The Al-Anabi car was great today,” Langdon said. “We made some excellent runs this weekend, and the semi-final run was no different. But they made a great run, too, and we just came out on the wrong end of a great drag race. It would have been nice to have had a chance to sweep the Western Swing, but at this point, we’ll just head to Sonoma next week and get it done there. Overall, it was a good weekend for the Al-Anabi team. We clinched our spot in the Countdown and increased our points lead, but now our focus is to clinch the No 1 spot in the playoffs. We know that won’t be easy. We appreciate all of the support we get from Sheikh Khalid and the people of Qatar.”
On the gold side of the Al-Anabi pit area, second-year driver Khalid al-Balooshi made many excellent runs this weekend. He was the No 4 qualifier – it was the ninth time in the season’s 14 races that al-Balooshi qualified in the top-six positions. In the first round, al-Balooshi left the starting line first and made an excellent pass – the fifth-quickest of the first round – but lost to Brandon Bernstein by 11 thousandths of a second. Despite the first-round loss, al-Balooshi remains sixth in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings, and his excellent qualifying performance allowed him to close the gap on fifth place. He is now just 22 points out of fifth.
“I had one of the best cars in the show this week,” al-Balooshi said. “My Al-Anabi car went down the track every run. I am comfortable with the car, comfortable with my team and how my crew chief tunes the car. I did not have my luck in the first round today. I had one of the best runs, but I ran the wrong car at the wrong time. Still, I am so excited to get to the next race. I hope to have better luck in Sonoma. I thank Sheikh Khalid for giving me this opportunity.”