Shawn Langdon and his Future Energy Solutions Toyota team enter Chicagoland in third place in the NHRA Top Fuel points standings. That’s a massive improvement from one year ago. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Season resumes May 17-19, 2024, at the Gerber Collision & Glass NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill.
Langdon won the season-opening race in Gainesville, Fla., and added a second win two races later in Phoenix. That early-season success with first-year crew chief Brian Husen puts the Future Energy Solutions team in an excellent spot following the end of the season’s first quarter.
“I think we’ve done pretty well,” Langdon said. “We’ve had some good success winning two races. The car’s been making good runs, and we’re still near the top of the points. It’s been good. It’s always nice to know, as a driver, that the car is making good runs; that confidence is big. It lets me just focus on doing my job and not worrying about the car.”
The two wins were great, but there’s always room for improvement. First-round losses at both of the recent four-wide races were certainly not part of the plan, but as Langdon said then, “it happens.” Langdon won two Jegs All-Star Super Comp championships at Route 66 Raceway, but he’s never won a Top Fuel race at the track outside Chicago. The team’s first-quarter report is good, but learning curves remain.
“I think our biggest strength right now is that we’re able to make good, strong runs in whatever conditions we have,” Langdon said. “The Future Energy Solutions car is a little bit ahead of where it’s been in the previous few years as far as qualifying a little bit better and making stronger runs down the track. Our car is qualifying better than probably any other time in my career at Kalitta Motorsports. It’s one of the best cars I’ve had in a long time.
“If we have weaknesses, and I’d probably say areas for improvement instead, I’d say everything is still a little bit fresh with some new guys on our team. Brian has some learning curves ahead of him being a new crew chief. I wouldn’t call that a weakness – it’s just part of the process. I feel like our team is really good and really strong right now. Everybody’s done a fantastic job, and we really haven’t made any mistakes. I don’t really see any weaknesses – I just see learning curves.”
This story was originally published on May 14, 2024. 
