This was quite the season-opening weekend for Shawn Langdon.

Langdon qualified No. 1 and then raced his way to the title at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals on Sunday in Gainesville, Fla.

Langdon capped the memorable weekend by defeating Billy Torrence in the final round. Langdon clocked a 3.711-second elapsed time at 335.40 mph to defeat Torrence’s 4.050-second lap at 228.50 mph.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again, even if it takes you 18 times. Since Kalitta Motorsports debuted a Top Fuel and Funny Car combination four decades ago, the Michigan-based team has never been able to reel in a double-win. 

Let the record reflect that a pair of nitro racing friends who used to share a podcast got the job done before a large Sunday crowd at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

And it couldn’t have come at a more emotionally charged time as days earlier, Scott Kalitta was inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, and team owner Connie Kalitta was honored with the Lifetime Achievement award. 

Final round-by-round results from the 55th annual NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, the first of 21 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:

It was quite the way for Erica Enders to begin defense of her sixth NHRA Pro Stock world Championship.

Enders rocketed to the No. 1 spot at the Gatornationals thanks to her 6.550-second run at 207.88 mph in Q2 Friday at the 2024 season-opening Gatornationals at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway.

Enders maintained her No. 1 position with a 6.549-second lap in Q4 on Saturday.

It didn’t take Antron Brown long to find the winner’s circle in the 2024 NHRA season.

Brown, the NHRA Top Fuel champion in 2012 and 2015-16, won the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout on Saturday. He defeated Brittany Force in the final round of the special event, which is held during qualifying for the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

For his performance, Brown earned an $80,000 payday.

“It is very, very special. And I tell you what, we didn't start out with the best car, but thing about it is, we just never quit,” Brown said. “And we've been working through some things, like a brand-new chassis we got, and the car's running great.”

When Kalitta Motorsports shuffled things in the offseason and Brian Husen was named crew chief of the Kalitta Air Careers team, it was to get driver Shawn Langdon’s team headed in the right direction.

Well, mission accomplished through qualifying at the season-opening NHRA Gatornationals.

Langdon, in Q4 Saturday, clocked a 3.682-second time at 334.15 mph to leapfrog Steve Torrence for the No. 1 qualifying position.

Funny Car racer and Professional Racers Organization [PRO] board member Bob Tasca III was emphatic to those who might try to read between the lines of an announcement by the group on Saturday. 

The Professional Racers Owners Organization, Inc. (PRO), a not-for-profit 501(c)(6) business, confirmed the decision to form PRO Promotions, LLC, a for-profit business entity. It has named Tasca as its spokesperson.

“It’s not a new race series at all,” Tasca responded when asked if this was the start of a new race series. “Just looking for ways to bring more excitement to the sport.”

After a day where rain played havoc with the schedule, the final day of qualifications yielded only one new face atop the NHRA Gatornationals qualifying leaderboard. Past NHRA Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon was all too happy to be the lone wolf. 

Langdon was joined by Austin Prock (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock), and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

Langdon showcased the alliance in his reunion with Brian Husen, a tuner he’d won a championship with back in 2013 when the two raced together at Al-Anabi Racing. He earned his first No. 1 spot since 2020, the same year he won his last race, running a 3.682 at 334.15. 2020.

This nitro Funny Car thing is working out quite well for Austin Prock – at least initially.

Prock, substituting for Robert Hight who is on leave to address medical concerns, hit the grounding running.

Fresh off earning $250,000 for winning the inaugural SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout event at Bradenton (Fla.) Motorsports Park on Feb. 10, Prock hasn’t taken his foot off the throttle.

Steve Torrence finished second in NHRA’s 2023 Top Fuel points standings which didn’t sit well with him.

Torrence, who believed he let the championship slip away by not driving up to his world championship standards, didn’t waste any time getting his 2024 season going.

Torrence’s Capco entry had the quickest ET in both qualifying sessions Friday at the Gatornationals and took the provisional No. 1 spot with his 3.690-second elapsed time at 333.08 mph in Q2 at Gainesville Raceway.