Story By: ROB GOODMAN / KALITTA MOTORSPORTS – YPSILANTI, MI – When the opportunity presents itself, even guys that are happiest driving 330 mph like to slow down, play some golf and taste some wine. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Season resumes July 26-28, 2024 at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals in Sonoma, Calif.
Shawn Langdon made the most of his west coast time between races in Seattle, Wash., and Sonoma, Calif. After a runner-up finish near Seattle on Sunday, Langdon, teammate J.R. Todd and Team Kalitta General Manager Chad Head took some time to enjoy the California wine country before it was time to focus on Sonoma Raceway, and for Langdon, it was a welcome respite.
“I was able to do some wine tasting and play some golf between Seattle and Sonoma,” Langdon said. “We always look forward to this time of year. Our schedules are usually so jam-packed. You get in, race and get out again. You show up for an appearance, and then run to the next thing so it’s nice to get to a race city and have time to enjoy the scenery, the cities and enjoy some time with friends and colleagues and just have a couple days off.
“I went to Del Dotto Vineyards and a couple other wineries, and it was great. Del Dotto has a great atmosphere and a great experience. We tried wine that was still in the barrel and learned how the different kinds of wood in the barrel affect the way the wine tastes. It was really cool. Then I was able to plan three days of golf in San Francisco. It was really relaxing, but I might be a little sore by the time qualifying starts Friday night.”
Kidding aside, it was a welcome break for the 2013 Top Fuel champion who’s having an excellent season with two wins in five final rounds and a second-place position in points. After a runner-up finish last weekend, Langdon and the Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team hope to do one better in Sonoma – it would be Langdon’s first win in wine country since his championship season.
“We had a good weekend in Seattle even though it started off a little rough in qualifying. We got a little behind the eight ball but were able to turn it around. We made some good runs on Sunday and made it to the final so all in all, we left second in points and got the Kalitta cars back to one-two in points so it was a good weekend. We feel like both cars are capable of making (track record) runs like Doug made in the first round at Seattle at any time. Both cars have really good capabilities of running well and making runs like that on a regular basis. That would be really nice. We’re looking to win this weekend and feel like we have a car capable of it. The conditions should be pretty good this week; the temperatures look nice for the weekend so we’re excited to go out there and make some good laps.”