NHRA

Bristol: Morgan Lucas Racing Friday notes

Langdon making noise in Thunder Valley; Lucas safely in BRISTOL, Tenn. (May 15) -- Rookie Top Fuel racer Shawn Langdon admits he's been a little nervous the past few days as he's contemplated his first night-time run in his 8,000-horsepower Lucas ...

Published: Jun 19, 2009, 7:55 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Langdon making noise in Thunder Valley; Lucas safely in

BRISTOL, Tenn. (May 15) -- Rookie Top Fuel racer Shawn Langdon admits he's been a little nervous the past few days as he's contemplated his first night-time run in his 8,000-horsepower Lucas Oil/Dixie Choppers dragster. As it turns out, all that nervous energy wasn't necessary as the back-to-back Super Comp world champion opened his first Bristol Dragway experience with a pair of nearly identical runs that placed him fifth on the provisional grid.

Team owner and teammate Morgan Lucas, who spent some time calming his protege, wasn't quite as quick, ending the opening day 11th overall, but with just 17 cars in attendance, it already appears likely that both drivers will be racing Sunday.

"I was pretty nervous heading into Round 2," Langdon said. "I went and talked to Morgan and he said the major difference was that everything seemed like it was a little bit faster. He also said I needed to chill out because it wasn't going to be as bad as I was thinking, and he was right.

"When we pulled up there I looked down the track to find my spot and it sure seemed dark down there, but during the run the header flames lit it up and it really just went off like just another run. It was cool, actually."

Langdon ran a 3.901 at 306.40 mph under the lights, not quite as quick as his earlier 3.892 at 309.70 mph, which he thinks can be lowered.

"We made two good runs and we're right there in the lead pack," he said. "The No. 1 guy is only 3.874 so I think we can get after it and try to get the No. 1 spot tomorrow. It's definitely within reach."

Lucas' best effort in the GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil dragster came in Round 1 when he put a 3.952 at 300.53 mph on the scoreboard. In the evening round, his engine dropped a cylinder and he was unable to improve.

"Not a great start but we're in the show," said Lucas, a winner two races ago in Atlanta and the No. 1 qualifier at the last stop in St. Louis. "I'm super happy for Shawn and we can use their data to help our car. That's what teamwork is all about."

-credit: mlr

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Laguna Seca: Series Friday report

Next article Pau: Practice 2 times

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

How the Racing Bulls pendulum is swinging back towards undeniable Liam Lawson

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

24 min

How the Racing Bulls pendulum is swinging back towards undeniable Liam Lawson

Brazilian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2026

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

Brazilian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2026

How Max Verstappen beat Red Bull's own simulation tools with P2 in Brazil

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

45 min

How Max Verstappen beat Red Bull's own simulation tools with P2 in Brazil

Who slept best last night: Toto Wolff

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

1 h

Who slept best last night: Toto Wolff

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts