TOPEKA, Kan. (May 22) -- Shawn Langdon locked-up his best qualifying effort of the season Saturday putting the Lucas Oil/Speedco dragster fourth on the elimination ladder at the 22nd annual O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.
"We're running with the best of them," Langdon said. "It's been a while since we've been able to believe that this is our race to lose, rather than just hoping to go a round or two. It's an encouraging feeling for me, our crew chiefs, and the rest of the guys on this team. We've all been working hard."
Langdon took advantage of the night session on Friday to run a best lap of 3.887 seconds at 312.57 mph. The sophomore driver said after weeks of experimenting, it's been nice to put what the team has learned to good use.
"We've been slowly creeping up on stuff," Langdon said. "Our main goal has been to not hurt anything and make clean runs down the track. That's what we've been doing lately; it's just not been showing up at the track.
"We've finally got back after it a little this weekend. We came in with a competitive attitude and the car has just been performing."
Langdon faces part-time racer Mike Strasburg in the first round on Sunday. Strasburg had a best lap of 4.148 seconds at 298.07 mph.
Beside the hero run on Friday night, the Lucas Oil/Speedco dragster went down the track smoothly in Saturday's heat and strong headwind. It's a combination that gives Langdon confidence.
"Forrest and Charlotte Lucas (team owners) are out here this weekend," Langdon said. "They are out here celebrating their 28th wedding anniversary this weekend, and hopefully we can get something going on tomorrow and give them something to get excited about."
In Pro Stock, Larry Morgan failed to get the Lucas Oil Ford Mustang into the field. His best time was 6.857 seconds at 181.23 mph. The No. 16 qualifier, Justin Humphries, ran a 6.780 at 202.00 mph.
Eliminations begin at 11 a.m. CDT Sunday from Heartland Park Topeka. The race will be televised on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. CDT.
