Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Shawn Langdon Interview: An Eye On The Prize! (originally posted on rpm2night.com)

    Expectations are high when a driver comes and joins one of the most dominant teams in drag racing, Al Anabi and Alan Johnson Racing. Mira Loma, CA native Shawn Langdon knew full well the expectations in becoming a driver for its top fuel car

 
Gary Nastase Photo
"With 4 event wins and a 121 point lead, It indeed has been a great year up to this point. When any driver joins a very successful team as Al Anabi has been for the last few seasons, those types of results are to be expected."


    But, it is clear, that the 2012 season for Shawn and the entire team is one they would soon like to forget.


    " Without doubt,  the 2012 season was a fairly tough one for us. There were quite a few things that I as a driver learned along with the team from last season. " Shawn said " It only served to help us prepare for 2013, to appreciate and enjoy the success that everyone at Al Anabi/Alan Johnson Racing has had so far this season. "

          
    It also doesn't hurt to have one of the greatest tuners in Drag Racing as manager, plus having an avid car enthusiast for an owner, whose clear intent is to win championships


    "When his Excellency Sheik Khalid put together this extraordinary group of individuals, it was done so with the full intent to win championships that both Larry Dixon & Del Worsham were able to accomplish. Said Langdon " The fact that the car has been running well upto this point in the season is a testament to the hard work that everyone at Al Anabi is putting in. Crew Chief Brian Husen has been in the position of chasing the championship many times. What a driver such as myself tries to do is  learn as much as possible from a crew chief with that level of experience. Couple that with the fact that the team is committed & focused with one goal in mind, becoming Top Fuel Champions for 2013 hopefully will make us a team that's hard to beat "


     Shawn admits the crew behind him is what makes the early season success worthwhile

   
     " You want to surround yourself with a great group of crewman that have been at the top of their game, that truly enjoy the sport of NHRA Drag Racing. I feel very fortunate to be associated with such successful people as these guys. What makes them an awesome group is that they know how to win with class and lose with class, which is something that I have tried to emulate from day one, the moment that I stepped into a Jr. Dragster, it's just at another level.


    Even for a top fuel veteran of 5 years, the learning process continues


     Learning from an individual such as Alan, who has worked alongside some of the greatest names in the sport and has driven as well, serves not only to help me to improve as a driver, but the improves the team as well. For example, if I impart to him that a certain thing happened during a run such as dropping a cylinder, or if I drove it out of the groove, he will understand the situation and do his level best to explain what can be done to remedy the situation. That's such a tremendous asset to have. " Langdon then added " As a driver, you learn as much as you possibly can on every single run, trying to improve yourself in certain situations, but I never thought of myself being a good driver. What I have tried to do is to surround myself with good people, always learning, always observing because a driver in any particular class is never going to be perfect. "


     Big speeds are a big part of the NHRA experience. Last season at the Maple Grove event, Langdon ran an ungodly 334 mph speed in 1,000 feet, but Rev Limits have put the kibosh on that


Ron Lewis Photo
     " At the moment, I don't believe we will see speeds rise much higher than what Top Fuel is currently running. If the conditions are right, a team could push and hit 330 MPH on a run. But in the interest of safety, rev limiters were put in place to prevent accidents such as the one Antron had at the Winternationals in Pomona in February. At the same time, Goodyear has put in a tremendous amount of work in making a safer tire that exhibits good traction. But as the season wears on, the elapsed times will climb, so the possibility of a 3.69 still exists. But the speeds will likely stay at around the 328-330 mark when we get to tracks such as Texas and Maple Grove."


     But one thing is for certain, the competition has been close with 8 different winners this season


" It does not matter where one car qualifies, every run must be as perfect as possible. Along with that, of course you must have some racing luck on your side due to the fact the competition being so close" Said Langdon "A prime example was running Troy Buff in the first round in Seattle. Though we got the win over Troy, he ran an 3.86 to our 3.82, which goes to show how close the top fuel class is. "


     The Mira Loma CA Native will be the first to say it's not cool being beaten on a hole shot


      " That is just how close the top fuel class has gotten over the years. Morgan Lucas became the most recent winner in Brainerd, making him the 8th different winner in top fuel this season. Said Shawn "When you put together 12 strong cars, plus those who may race from time to time, any number of cars are capable of winning at any given time. The reason for that is because every team is running the same parts and pieces on their cars, so the crew chiefs job is made just a bit tougher, working their magic to bring home the win. " He added " There were a few times this season where we could have certainly won more than we have, those are some mistakes that you learn from along the way, making our team stronger in the end. We are fortunate to have won four times this season, but we realize that there is much work to be done to continue the success we have enjoyed so far. "


     The driver of the Silver Al Anabi Top Fueler is firmly locked as the number one seed, but even he knows not to rest and take it easy going into the countdown


     Though we have clinched our position in the countdown, we still want to win. Building momentum in this sport is of the utmost importance, trying to win as many races as possible before the countdown begins, thats what it will take to win the championship.


      He added the significance of a US Nationals win would be amazing


 " You want to win the biggest race of the year, Indy is our Super Bowl, our Daytona 500. It is a race that any driver wants to put on their resume, and for me the hunger to win it is most definitely there. Look at some of the names that have won the "Big Go".   Names like Prudhomme, Garlits, Schumacher, John Force, Ashley Force Hood, Bob Glidden. The list goes on and on, and it would be amazing to add my name to that list of greats that have won the US Nationals

   
   

   

   


   


     

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