Dubai native Khalid alBalooshi, near lane, races Doug Kalitta in the first round of eliminations near Charlotte, North Carolina.
CONCORD, North Carolina: After a dazzling qualifying effort that propelled the Qatar Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Team, the two-time World Championship team owned by Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani, to the third and fourth qualifying positions, drivers Shawn Langdon and Khalid alBalooshi both lost in the first round of eliminations at the Carlyle Tools NHRA Carolina Nationals, the first of six races that comprise the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs and 19th of 24 races that make up America’s 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season.
After stellar qualifying efforts, the Qatar Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel team was optimistic entering race day.
However, optimism quickly turned to disappointment. Langdon, the No. 3 qualifier, had raced Bob Vandergriff seven times this year, and the Al-Anabi driver held a 6-1 margin over the season, but Vandergriff took some revenge in Charlotte’s first round posting a miraculous performance on the starting line.
Langdon’s silver Qatar Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel dragster made a brilliant 3.795-second run, but Vandergriff’s advantage on the starting line got him to the finish line two thousandths of a second before Langdon, and the silver Al-Anabi team was done for the day.
With the first-round loss, Langdon dropped one spot to second place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings.
He trails new points leader Spencer Massey by 24 points and leads third-place Morgan Lucas, Sunday’s race winner, by six points with five races remaining in the NHRA Play-offs.
It is the first time since July 7 that someone other than Langdon has led the NHRA Top Fuel point standings.
“The Al-Anabi car really was great this weekend,” Langdon said.
“We qualified well and made another excellent run in the first round, but we just got caught a little bit on the starting line and lost by two thousandths of a second. You need that race day luck, and it just really wasn’t on our side today.
“But we still have five races to go (In the Countdown), and with everything that happened today, we aren’t too far out of the points lead. The Al-Anabi team will be ready to get back some of the points we lost today next week in Dallas.”
A few minutes after Langdon’s loss, gold Qatar Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel driver Khalid alBalooshi, the No. 4 qualifier, came to the starting line to face veteran driver Doug Kalitta.
AlBalooshi left the starting line before Kalitta and was ahead on the race track when the tires on the Al-Anabi dragster lost traction with the race track allowing Kalitta to drive around the Dubai driver and race to the win.
With the first-round loss, alBalooshi dropped two spots to seventh-place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings.
He trails sixth-place Clay Millican by 17 points and leads eighth-place Bob Vandergriff by 36 points with five races remaining in the NHRA Play-offs. He trails the points leader by 87 points.
“A lot of the teams in the Countdown, including ours lost in the first round today,” alBalooshi said. “I don’t know why. Maybe the weather was tricky at the last minute.
“The crew chiefs put in the tune-up, changed it, put in the tune-up and changed it again. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I think the weather was very tricky with the sun coming out and going back in. I think it was very hard on the crew chiefs.
“The good news is five countdown teams lost in the first round we are still OK. I hope next week in Dallas, our team will have a better race.”
The Al-Anabi Racing team will be back in action September 20-22 at the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals in Ennis, Texas, the second race of the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Play-offs. THE PENINSULA
