Lucas Oil Racing final report

Lucas Oil drag racer Langdon a finalist at 4-Wide NHRA Nationals

CHARLOTTE (April 17) -- Third-year Top Fuel pro Shawn Langdon got agonizingly close to his first win as a professional Sunday at the VisitMyrtleBeach.com NHRA 4-Wide Nationals, but for the fifth time in his young career the Lucas Oil/Speedco-backed driver came up just a little short.

Shawn Langdon

Photo by: Ted Rossino

"Getting to the final is a big goal, but when you don't finish it off with the trophy it also increases the pain," Langdon said. "You're all pumped up for the final and you're thinking about it and then you have this letdown. It's tough, but you can't ever be too disappointed about reaching the finals because a lot of other teams would love to have gone as far as we did."

A three-time world champion in the Junior and Sportsman ranks, Langdon posted a 3.974 at 294.31 mph in the money round. Winner Del Worsham ran a 3.813 at 319.82 mph.

Langdon and reigning champion Larry Dixon actually raced three times on the day, a quirk of the unique four-wide format. The two advanced past Terry McMillen and Dom Lagana in the first round and Tony Schumacher and Steve Torrence in the semifinals.

"I saw a lot of Larry today," Langdon said with a laugh. "We both got to the finals, which is a good thing for our team. It keeps the momentum going for us and keeps the excitement level up in the Lucas Oil/Speedco pit. We had the worst lane of the four in the final and considering the cars in the other three lanes we knew we needed to push it to the edge to have a chance. We ended up breaking a valve and that took away just enough power to take us out of it.

"The car is working well and we can definitely feel good about ourselves. We can leave this track with our heads held high and with lots of excitement for the next race in Houston. We held our own in the points and this result will definitely keep us up there with the top guys."

Langdon's Lucas Oil teammate Larry Morgan was edged out in the first round by just a few thousandths of a second, running third to Mike Edwards and Greg Stanfield. Morgan ran a 6.567 at 211.06 mph to Edwards' 6.546 at 211.79 mph and Stanfield's 6.562 at 211.23 mph.

"I think we ran real good," Morgan said. "All the work we've done is paying off. I can't tell you how good we feel about the way we are running. Sure, we would be tickled if we had run a few ticks better and advanced today but at least we can now look at the timing sheets and see we're right there with the top teams.

"It takes a while to get the combination right but at least now we know we can contend with these guys on a weekly basis. We've come a long way from where we were a year ago."

-source: lucas oil racing