NHRA
Shawn Langdon preview
Event: Gainesville
Edited: Mar 7, 2011, 11:03 PM
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Second in the points, Langdon awaits first win for Lucas team
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 7) – Shawn Langdon is coming off a runner-up finish and heading to a facility he loves, so he's expecting big things for the Lucas Oil/Speedco Top Fuel dragster at this weekend's 42nd annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals at historic Gainesville Raceway.
Shawn Langdon aboard his Lucas Oil / Speedco Top Fuel Dragster
Ted Rossino
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 7) – Shawn Langdon is coming off a runner-up finish and heading to a facility he loves, so he's expecting big things for the Lucas Oil/Speedco Top Fuel dragster at this weekend's 42nd annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals at historic Gainesville Raceway.
"We had a good showing in Pomona and we're just excited to get going again," Langdon said. "Gainesville always has a good track and a good atmosphere. It has the feel of the start of the season for racers on the East coast so there's a lot of excitement in the air. Plus, it's always a full house. I love it.
"Conditions should be pretty close to Pomona, so we think we can finish what we didn't get done out West."
Langdon finished runner-up to teammate and car owner Morgan Lucas at the Winternationals and Langdon believes once the Lucas Oil dragster group experiences the winner's circle for themselves, it will be a huge lift.
"Hopefully we can get this first win out of the way," Langdon said. "It's something the whole team wants really bad. We don't want to get to a point where we're trying too hard, because if you try too hard you'll make mistakes. It just needs to happen and I know it will."
So far, however, the team has successfully carried the momentum it gained at the end of 2010 to the start of this season.
"It was a huge confidence booster for us to start the season the way we did," Langdon said. "Dating back to last year, we've been in three of four finals. It's a testament to our team and the guys doing all the work on the car.
"We've had almost everything we've needed to get a win except the luck. We've had a good car, a great crew, I've had good reaction times. We just needed that little bit of luck to pull it all together."
Langdon pointed to the crew's raceday effort in Pomona to get him on track in time to face Antron Brown in the semifinals after a massive engine failure in the quarterfinals as evidence that the Lucas Oil team might be generating its own luck.
"My guys want to win more than anyone out there," Langdon said. "These guys are dedicated and it's a huge team effort. Even Morgan (Lucas) came over to help us. We had the guys from hospitality come over to help. It shows what kind of strong team Morgan Lucas Racing has."
The Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals get under way with qualifying at noon EST at Gainesville Raceway. Qualifying continues on Saturday with eliminations starting at 11 a.m. Sunday.
"We had a good showing in Pomona and we're just excited to get going again," Langdon said. "Gainesville always has a good track and a good atmosphere. It has the feel of the start of the season for racers on the East coast so there's a lot of excitement in the air. Plus, it's always a full house. I love it.
"Conditions should be pretty close to Pomona, so we think we can finish what we didn't get done out West."
Langdon finished runner-up to teammate and car owner Morgan Lucas at the Winternationals and Langdon believes once the Lucas Oil dragster group experiences the winner's circle for themselves, it will be a huge lift.
"Hopefully we can get this first win out of the way," Langdon said. "It's something the whole team wants really bad. We don't want to get to a point where we're trying too hard, because if you try too hard you'll make mistakes. It just needs to happen and I know it will."
So far, however, the team has successfully carried the momentum it gained at the end of 2010 to the start of this season.
"It was a huge confidence booster for us to start the season the way we did," Langdon said. "Dating back to last year, we've been in three of four finals. It's a testament to our team and the guys doing all the work on the car.
"We've had almost everything we've needed to get a win except the luck. We've had a good car, a great crew, I've had good reaction times. We just needed that little bit of luck to pull it all together."
Langdon pointed to the crew's raceday effort in Pomona to get him on track in time to face Antron Brown in the semifinals after a massive engine failure in the quarterfinals as evidence that the Lucas Oil team might be generating its own luck.
"My guys want to win more than anyone out there," Langdon said. "These guys are dedicated and it's a huge team effort. Even Morgan (Lucas) came over to help us. We had the guys from hospitality come over to help. It shows what kind of strong team Morgan Lucas Racing has."
The Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals get under way with qualifying at noon EST at Gainesville Raceway. Qualifying continues on Saturday with eliminations starting at 11 a.m. Sunday.
-source: morgan lucas racing
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