Make it a hat trick for Shawn Langdon.
The Top Fuel driver of the Kalitta Air Careers dragster won his third consecutive race, claiming the title at the NHRA Potomac Nationals Presented by JEGS Sunday at Maryland International Raceway in Mechanicsville.
Langdon’s 3.762-second run at 334.90 mph was just good enough to beat his teammate Doug Kalitta’s 3.766, 334.24 to win the race by 2/10,000ths of a second – approximately one inch at the finish line.
“That was a little too close for comfort, but when you race Doug Kalitta and [crew chief] Alan Johnson, you better be on your ‘A’ game,” Langdon said. “Man, our Kalitta Air Careers team has been so good lately. They’ve given me a better race car than I deserve, but for all our partners, everybody at Kalitta Air, DHL, Mac Tools, Revchem and SealMaster, three in a row is bad ass – give it the hat trick!
“We had two Kalitta cars in the final round, and Connie [team owner Kalitta] hasn’t been out the last couple of races. He’s been recuperating a little bit; we’re thinking about him. Can’t wait for him to come back. I never met a guy that loves drag racing more than me until I met Connie Kalitta. That guy is the epitome of drag racing. I’m very fortunate to be able to race his car and race against Doug. It’s been a tough week for a lot of us in the racing industry with [the death of two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion] Kyle Busch. We’re definitely thinking about the Busch family. Hopefully, they know we love and support them.”
This was Langdon’s fourth win of the season and third in a row as he also won the Southern Nationals in Adel, Ga., on May 3 and the 26th annual Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals near Chicago on May 17. His first victory of 2026 came at the Arizona Nationals outside Phoenix on March 22.
Langdon is the first NHRA Top Fuel driver to win three races in a row since Steve Torrence accomplished the feat in 2021 when he claimed titles in Norwalk, Ohio, Denver, and Sonoma, Calif.
“I think, a couple of years ago, bringing over Alan Johnson and [crew chief] Brian Husen and then [Mac Tools crew chief] Mac Savage on Doug’s car and [assistant crew chiefs] Aaron Cave and Justin Groat on our car and all of our crew guys,” Langdon said. “It’s getting all the right guys together, and we really have, just across the board including the DHL [Funny Car] team, three great groups of guys. They all work so well together – everything’s clicking. We knew the potential of what we had three years ago. It was just a matter of time, getting the cars dialed in, getting the right parts and pieces, getting everybody on the same page. Alan and Brian won all those championships for a reason, and so for all of us, we just keep our mouths shut, keep our ears open, listen and learn.”
A year ago, Langdon finished second in the points standings to Doug Kalitta, and he began the 2026 season with a first-round loss to rookie Maddi Gordon at the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. Since then, not much at all has gone wrong for Langdon and his team.
“Winning cures everything. This year’s been unbelievable. We had one little hiccup at the first race, but that’s just how good the team is. They bounced back, and now we’ve won three in a row,” Langdon said. “When this kind of thing happens, you just ride the wave because you never know how long it’ll last. A couple years ago, we didn’t finish in the top 10, and now we won three in a row. You ride the wave, enjoy it and soak it in, but you know what? The first thing we’re going to do is get back, analyze it, and try to be better for the next race.”
Langdon has now captured 26 national-event wins in his career, and this marked the 24th in Top Fuel. Langdon also won two Wallys while driving a nitro Funny Car for Kalitta Motorsports in 2019.
It was part of an incredible weekend for Langdon at Maryland International Raceway, a facility which was making its NHRA debut on the national-event stage.
Langdon was the No. 1 qualifier at the Potomac Nationals. He set the Top Fuel track records for elapsed time and speed in the second qualifying session Friday afternoon when he reached the finish line in 3.758 seconds at 336.23 mph. It held until the final session Saturday afternoon, when he ran a quicker elapsed time with a 3.744-second effort at 334.90 mph. It was Langdon’s third No. 1 qualifier of the season, the 25th of his career and the fourth straight Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier for Kalitta Motorsports.
When he made his No. 1 qualifying pass, it also gave him the victory in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge over Leah Pruett.
Langdon carried that momentum into Sunday’s eliminations. He had a first-round bye in a 15-driver field, then defeated Justin Ashley and Billy Torrence to advance to the second all-Team Kalitta final round in the last three races.
Langdon exits Maryland atop NHRA’s Top Fuel standings. He leads second-place Kalitta by 76 points.
“The hardest car to drive is a really fast race car,” Langdon said. “And it’s not because it’s fast. It’s because it’s yours to screw up. And mentally, that’s the hardest thing to overcome is when you get in a situation like this, you know, it’s thinking the wrong way, like, ‘Ah, don’t mess this up,’ right?
“Everything’s got to be positive. It’s easy when you have a car from behind. You got to try to catch lights. I got to win it on a holeshot. So, you’re motivating yourself. But it’s hard to come from a point of like, ‘Don’t screw this up.’ So, you try to reverse psychology yourself a lot of times.”
Langdon has a stout 20-3 elimination-round record this year, and he was quick to credit his crew chief Brian Husen and team members for those numbers.
“They give me a great race car and for me, it just makes my job a lot easier,” Langdon said. “I just go out there and, and hit the gas on time and, and hold the thing straight. You just have the confidence in your team. You have the confidence in your car. And it makes it fun. Makes it a lot of fun.
“I’ve always known Brian’s talent since I worked with him at Al-Anabi Racing. We had great years over there and then we went to different teams. But I’ve always subtly tried to figure out a way to get Brian back because I always enjoyed working with Brian, and I wanted to work with him again. I’ve always known his talents. I’ve always known what Brian’s capable of. And I’m just happy that I get to have the opportunity to be in the car to showcase his talents and, you know, the team’s talents and how good this team really is.”
Langdon won the 2013 NHRA Top Fuel crown driving for Al-Anabi Racing headed up by Alan Johnson.
“You know, we had a really good car that year, but this one’s pretty damn good too,” Langdon said. “With that car, we were able to win the championship and hopefully if things go right, we’ll have an opportunity to do that again. I mean, this is this car, it listens very well.”
