Almost 24 hours after Shawn Langdon defeated Justin Ashley in the final round of the Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park, the NHRA’s tech department has revealed a reversal of the outcome. Ashley is now the winner.
NHRA disqualified Langdon’s run after a post-race inspection revealed missing bolts from the Kalitta Motorsports dragster’s bellhousing cover.
NHRA confirmed, as per the NHRA Rulebook and related SFI Spec 6.2, that no fewer than 12 bolts must secure the cover. During a post-run inspection, the cover on Langdon’s dragster did not meet the requirement of 12 secured bolts.
The NHRA announced the Top Fuel final round was under review after winner circle photos were taken as well as the post-race press conference had been completed. In fact, NHRA had already distributed their post-race press release as well.
Kalitta Motorsports offered the following statement shortly after NHRA handed down its decision.
“Some of the bolts rattled loose during the run and fell into the belly pan,” Team Kalitta General Manager Chad Head said. “The bolts were in place before the run, but some were not in place after because they came loose and fell into the belly pan. That’s on us.
“We respect NHRA as the sanctioning body and understand that safety is always the most-important thing. We certainly apologize to our corporate partners, the race fans and our fellow competitors. We did not win yesterday’s race, but we’re moving on and are now focused on the next race.
“On behalf of our entire organization, this statement will be the only Kalitta Motorsports comment on this issue.”
