Shawn Langdon sped to his third overall win of the season on Sunday at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals. the event took place at Gateway Motorsports Park, which is found a little outside of St. Louis.
Funny Car specialist Jack Beckman, and Pro Stock driver Alex Laughlin, were also winners in the 20th race of the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. The AAA Insurance Nationals was the second contest of the six-event NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.
Don Schumacher Racing’s Shawn Langdon charged his Red Fuel hot-rod to a 3.798 second run at 323.66 miles per hour. The effort was good enough to defeat the eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher. He sped to a 3.783 second at 317.49 miles per hour in his U.S. Army dragster. Langdon posted a slower time but claimed victory via a hole-shot.
It was Shawn Langdon’s 14th career triumph and his very first at Gateway Motorsports Park. The 2013 Top Fuel world champion climbed to fourth in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. Langdon also out-raced reigning world champ and points leader Antron Brown. Finally, he defeated the three-time 2016 event winner Doug Kalitta, and number one qualifier Richie Crampton to reach the finals.
“We didn’t really have a dominant car in qualifying, but we just kept picking away at it,” said Shawn Langdon, who also won in Bristol and Norwalk. “That’s what we’ve been doing since we got those two victories [earlier this year]. The car has just responded well. All in all, this was a great team effort. The whole team did a great job and gave me a great race car today.”
Tony Schumacher, the winning-est Top Fuel driver in NHRA history, qualified second and bested Chris Karamesines. Phoenix Nationals champion Leah Pritchett, and Sonoma winner J.R. Todd. Unfortunately, he fell to the AAA Insurance NHRA National’s winner Shawn Langdon in the final. Antron “Get Down” Brown kept his hold on the points lead after Sunday’s races.
The Funny Car veteran Jack Beckman recorded a 3.928 second pass at 324.51 miles per hour in his Infinite Hero Charger. The run was good enough to beat Tommy Johnson Jr.’s 4.185 second quarter-mile run at 231.40 miles per hour. As a result, Beckman won the Funny Car Division Final on Sunday. Furthermore, the victory was his 24th of his career and his second at the Gateway Motorsports Park.
The 2015 Mello Yello Series season runner-up, moved into third in the points standings. Jack Beckman beat the 16-time champion John Force, and points leader Ron Capps en route to the finals.
“Our team was in a slump, and we did what was incredibly difficult with the way our car was acting unpredictably,” said Beckman, who won earlier this year in Chicago. “I’m not quite sure what changed, but I think I had a good outing as a driver today; the guys tuned smart, and we turned on the win light every time.”
In the Pro Stock division, Alex Laughlin claimed his first final round appearance with a win. He dragged his Gas Monkey Garage Chevy to a 6.611 second pass at 208.68 miles per hour. The run was outlasted Bo Butner’s 6.637 second, 209.26 miles per hour effort in his Jim Butner Auto Camaro.
Alex Laughlin is competing in his second year in the Pro Stock division. Unfortunately, he did not qualify for the Countdown to the Championship. Laughlin powered past the Seattle Nationals winner Aaron Strong and Vincent Nobile. He then put down the number one qualifier Shane Gray, before facing off against Bo Butner in the finale.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said Laughlin. “It’s not even real at this point. This has got to be a dream. The whole day has been a blur. Took it one round at a time and ended up coming up to the final. I was a little nervous but took a couple deep breaths. I and told myself, ‘It’s just like any other round, just go up there and do your deal. As soon as I let the clutch out, I knew my crew chief gave me a good car.”
Bo Butner is still chasing his first victory. The second-fiddle racer earned his fifth runner-up finish of the season and sixth of his career. Butner blew past Mark Hogan and Indy victor Chris McGaha. Then he out-raced the Pro Stock division’s points leader Jason Line before losing to Laughlin. Butner jumped to third in points with the second place result.
The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series moves on to the 21st contest of the year. It is also the third race of the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship. The showdown starts on September 29th and ends on Sunday, October 2nd with the Dodge NHRA Nationals.
