If NHRA wanted a statement to open its first national event at South Georgia Motorsports Park, Shawn Langdon supplied one at 345 miles an hour.
Langdon made the fastest run in NHRA history Friday, taking the provisional No. 1 spot in Top Fuel at the Southern Nationals with a 3.724-second pass at 345.00 mph. The run broke the existing record of 343.51, set last season by Brittany Force in Indianapolis.
The former champion now sits in line for his third No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 25th of his career. It also gave public proof to the eye-opening test numbers his Kalitta Motorsports team showed in Gainesville.
“To see that [345 mph] pop up on the scoreboard, I think it was special for the guys. I was happy for them, especially Brian [Husen, crew chief],” Langdon said. “We were able to do that testing and some people had different ideas on what they thought, if it was legit or not.”
“We kind of talked about it and Brian was like, ‘Well, we’ll just do it in the season to prove it was legit.’”
Tony Stewart moved into second at 3.758, 334.40, while points leader Doug Kalitta was third at 3.762, 334.40.
If that weren’t enough for Team Kalitta, J.R. Todd followed with his own headline in Funny Car.
Todd raced to the provisional No. 1 spot with a 3.887, 339.28 mph in his DHL Toyota GR Supra. It was the quickest Funny Car run of the season and the fastest speed of his career. Todd is now in position for his second No. 1 qualifier this season and the 16th of his career. After waiting five years between top qualifying efforts, he now has a chance for two in three races.
“Obviously, today was a good day and kind of continues everything we’ve done so far this year,” Todd said. “We hit the ground running in testing, and I knew we had a really good car.
“What I’m happy with is Dickie [Venables] and Todd [Smith] adjusting to the conditions. Even here, the track is good, but it’s still a bit tricky, and you see a lot of people struggling to get down.”
Jordan Vandergriff was second at 3.924, 325.14. Matt Hagan jumped to third at 3.933, 328.78.
In Pro Stock, Greg Anderson continued one of the strongest qualifying stretches of his career. Anderson drove his Chevrolet Camaro to a 6.498, 210.60 to secure the provisional No. 1 position. He is seeking his fourth straight No. 1 qualifier and the 144th of his career.
No other driver reached the 6.40s Friday. Eric Latino was second at 6.508, while Aaron Stanfield qualified third at 6.525.
“This is a good racetrack, but it seems like quite a few of us got a little greedy today, just because the air was so good,” Anderson said. “We made a lot of power out there today, and some of us missed, including myself.
“We missed a little bit on the starting line, just got a little bit too aggressive, but other than that, we just have to adjust for tomorrow. It’s not a big adjustment.”
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Smith added another strong Friday to his season.
Smith rode his Buell to a 6.669, 203.03, the first run in the 6.60s this season and quickest pass of the year in the category. It put the six-time champion in line for his second straight No. 1 qualifier and the 61st of his career.
“You know, we tested a lot. Even when we left Charlotte, we went and tested again in Rockingham. We’re out here trying to be better and it’s showing every day,” Smith said. “We’re getting better and better, and that’s the name of the game.
“Looking at the weather I said we should run 6.69 to 6.70, and it went 6.699, so it was as close to a 70 as you can get.”
Gaige Herrera was second at 6.723, while reigning champion Richard Gadson followed at 6.730.
Qualifying continues at 12:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday at the NHRA Southern Nationals at South Georgia Motorsports Park.
Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 41st annual NHRA Southern Nationals at South Georgia Motorsports Park, fifth of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.
Top Fuel — 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.724 seconds, 345.00 mph; 2. Tony Stewart, 3.758, 334.40; 3. Doug Kalitta, 3.762, 334.40; 4. Maddi Gordon, 3.775, 329.75; 5. Billy Torrence, 3.786, 331.61; 6. Leah Pruett, 3.804, 331.69; 7. Josh Hart, 3.855, 275.22; 8. Antron Brown, 3.896, 316.97; 9. Shawn Reed, 3.988, 236.17; 10. Tony Schumacher, 4.030, 236.84; 11. Justin Ashley, 4.250, 198.82; 12. Clay Millican, 4.755, 159.76; 13. Will Smith, 5.441, 124.48; 14. Dan Mercier, 6.760, 100.26; 15. Cameron Ferre, 11.927, 57.72.
Funny Car — 1. J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.887, 339.28; 2. Jordan Vandergriff, Chevy Camaro, 3.924, 325.14; 3. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.933, 328.78; 4. Chad Green, Ford Mustang, 3.946, 318.24; 5. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.948, 316.23; 6. Austin Prock, Mustang, 3.956, 331.94; 7. Hunter Green, Charger, 3.958, 322.65; 8. Dave Richards, Mustang, 3.959, 334.57; 9. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.963, 322.42; 10. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.968, 326.63; 11. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.973, 326.24; 12. Jeff Arend, Charger, 4.035, 311.41; 13. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 4.399, 200.08; 14. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 6.468, 134.58.
Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.498, 210.60; 2. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.508, 209.75; 3. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.525, 210.60; 4. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.526, 210.50; 5. Cody Coughlin, Camaro, 6.527, 210.50; 6. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.536, 210.05; 7. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.544, 211.49; 8. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.547, 210.57; 9. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.585, 209.88; 10. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.591, 208.84; 11. Brandon Miller, Dodge Dart, 6.600, 209.17; 12. Shane Tucker, Camaro, 6.731, 209.26; 13. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 12.343, 106.34; 14. Matt Latino, Camaro, 12.418, 69.98; 15. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 12.901, 104.63; 16. Erica Enders, Camaro, 20.273, 48.94.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.699, 203.03; 2. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.723, 200.23; 3. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.730, 201.37; 4. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.757, 200.65; 5. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.778, 200.29; 6. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.778, 199.35; 7. Clayton Howey, Suzuki, 6.795, 200.53; 8. Marc Ingwersen, Buell, 6.806, 198.58; 9. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.815, 199.32; 10. Ryan Oehler, Buell, 6.828, 197.19; 11. Brayden Davis, Buell, 6.830, 198.93; 12. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.837, 193.90; 13. John Hall, Beull, 6.841, 198.82; 14. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.842, 198.82; 15. Charles Poskey, Suzuki, 7.005, 193.18.
