Rookie Shawn Langdon did his part to improve his status in the running for NHRA’s Rookie of the Year award on Sunday afternoon in the NHRA Carolinas Nationals at zMAX Dragway. Langdon powered his way to a runner-up finish. Losing to veteran Top Fuel driver Cory McClenathan.

Langdon, the driver of the Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster, moved to within 49 points behind the man who defeated him. Langdon, ninth in the standings entering the first race of the Countdown, leaves Charlotte fifth.

Following the same pattern he has all season, Langdon dominated the line reacting to the tree better than all four men he raced. Langdon also posted low elapsed time of the weekend running a 3.826 at 315.78 mph in his victory over defending NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher in the semi-finals.

Rookie Shawn Langdon did his part to improve his status in the running for NHRA’s Rookie of the Year award on Sunday afternoon in the NHRA Carolinas Nationals at zMAX Dragway. Langdon powered his way to a runner-up finish. Losing to veteran Top Fuel driver Cory McClenathan.

Langdon, the driver of the Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster, moved to within 49 points behind the man who defeated him. Langdon, ninth in the standings entering the first race of the Countdown, leaves Charlotte fifth.

Following the same pattern he has all season, Langdon dominated the line reacting to the tree better than all four men he raced. Langdon also posted low elapsed time of the weekend running a 3.826 at 315.78 mph in his victory over defending NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher in the semi-finals.

A dropped cylinder in the final round may have been the only thing that kept Shawn Langdon out of the Winner’s Circle in Sunday’s race. McClenathan finished his run with a 3.857 at 312.64 mph while Langdon recorded a 3.980 at 280.49 mph.

"I've said all year that I'd be happy just getting to a final to see how it felt," Langdon said. "But now I know that to get this close to my first win and come up a little short is really tough to take. Once you get so close that you can taste it you want to go ahead and finish it off.

"It would have been a dream come true to beat a guy the caliber of Cory McClenathan. Hopefully, we'll have another chance very soon.

"It's unreal to think we're one race into the playoffs and we're right there near the top of the points. It's going to be a crazy finish to the season and after running that 3.82 in the semis I think we've proven we have a car that can run with anyone. This weekend is a huge positive all the way around. The only thing that could have made it better was if we had won it all."  

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