Past NHRA Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon knows a thing or two about running well at Bandimere Speedway near Denver where the elevation is 5,800 feet above sea level. One year ago, he went to the final round, but this race track holds a more significant part of the California native’s history, too. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend with the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals in Morrison, Colo., July 14-16, 2023.
Way back in 1997, Langdon won the 1997 NHRA Junior Dragster championship at Bandimere Speedway, where he first met J.R. Todd who was competing in the same event. It was his first NHRA national championship, and he would go on to add national titles in Super Comp in 2007 and ‘08 and Top Fuel in 2013. Last year, the team reached the Denver final round, and this year, with SealMaster on the side of the Team Kalitta Toyota entry, Langdon hopes the team can break out of its slump and turn on Bandimere’s final Top Fuel win light.
“You always hate to lose a race track, and Bandimere Speedway is one of my favorite tracks on tour,” Langdon said. “I really enjoy going there. It’s just a really cool atmosphere, and the Bandimere family does a great job promoting our races. More than losing a track, we’re losing a family atmosphere at the race track and great promotors. I think the Bandimere and Bader families probably do a better job promoting the teams and the drivers than anyone else. Losing them is unfortunate, but hopefully it’s only temporary, and they start a new race track in the future.
“Kalitta Motorsports and SealMaster have had a great relationship through the years,” Langdon added. “We’re very happy to have them on the car as a full-season associate, but it’s nice for them to have top billing this week. Duke and Rhonda (SealMaster president Duke Thorson and his wife Rhonda) have been big supporters of Team Kalitta for a long time. We have a great relationship with them and everyone else at SealMaster. It’s nice when a team partner is so enthusiastic about NHRA Drag Racing. We’d definitely love to put them in the winner’s circle this weekend.
“We had a great race in Denver last year and made it to the final round, but we had an oil leak so we’d like to turn on one more win light this year. We’re definitely in a rut we’d like to get out of, and we know something has to click at some point. Our team shows flashes of its potential, but we just haven’t been able to put it all together. Our time will come.”
