Shawn Langdon has a single focus: win as many rounds as possible. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs continue with the third of six playoff races Sept. 26-28 at the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill.
To do that, the 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion knows to keep his head down and avoid distractions. Langdon advanced to the second round at the first playoff race and made a semifinal run at last weekend’s first-ever four-wide playoff race. They were positive overall results, but both were short of what the 25th Anniversary Kalitta Air team expects of itself. In the four-wide final on Sunday, Langdon finished third behind his teammate, Doug Kalitta, and race winner Justin Ashley. He now trails the points leader, Kalitta, by 59 points and trails second-place Justin Ashley by nine points. The top five is separated by less than 100 points with four races remaining.
“The Kalitta Air Careers car’s good,” Langdon said. “We set the low ET (elapsed time) of the semifinals (in Charlotte), but it should have run faster than it did in the final round. We’re addressing that this week and will go from there; we’ll be alright. We really want to have a great weekend in St. Louis and get this Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary car back on top of the standings.”
The Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs is 24 rounds of championship racing, and 16 of those rounds remain; the championship battle is far from over. Langdon and his Brian Husen-led team are focused on the primary objective and understand what it will take to achieve it.
“Every round counts especially in the Countdown, and we’ll be ready to go this weekend,” Langdon added. “The guys give me a great race car every week. From my perspective, my job doesn’t change; I hit the gas as far as it goes and hold it as straight as I can. That’s my focus. I’m trying not to get sucked into all the distractions. I do my best to keep my head down and not get distracted by all the nonsense. I focus on my lane and try to win a championship. That’s all we really care about.”
This story was originally published on September 24, 2025. 
