The 2024 season has been good to Shawn Langdon and his Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team, but this team wants more – its focus now is the same as it was before the season. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs resumes Oct. 11-13, 2024 at the Texas NHRA FallNationals in Ennis, Texas, the fourth of six playoff races.
Like everyone else, Langdon and his Kalitta Air Careers team set sail on the 2024 season in search of a championship, and that goal not only remains, it’s within reach. Langdon has two wins in seven final-round appearances and enters Dallas third in points. He trails second-place Justin Ashley by 26 points, leads his teammate, fourth-place Doug Kalitta, by 27 points and trails points leader Antron Brown by 60 points with three races remaining. Entering the second half of the Countdown, this team needs to win.
“The first half (of the Countdown) went well – we just lost some tough races,” the 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion said. “Heading into Dallas – it’ll be a pretty big race. There’s probably about seven people in contention for the Top Fuel title so now is the part of the year when there’s no mistakes. Every mistake is crucial so you have to excel and win races. We have to work together as a team – the guys have been doing a good job all season so it’s everybody pulling together to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.”
With five runner-up finishes over the course of the season, Langdon and his Brian Husen-tuned Kalitta Air Careers team have been right there. Langdon’s most-recent runner up came in the first Countdown race at Reading, Pa., last month. This team feels as though its time is coming and that another winner’s circle celebration could come at any time.
“I’ve felt like we’ve been due for a win for a long time,” Langdon said. “Fortunately, the runner ups have kept us in contention, but we need to turn those into wins. Now’s the time to turn the round wins and runner ups into race wins. We’re at the point in the season where the people who will be in contention at Pomona will start to separate themselves. We hope to be one of them. This part of the season is what you work for all year – to put yourself in a position to have a shot at the championship – that’s our goal and it’s what we’re going to keep trying to do.”
This story was originally published on October 8, 2024. 
