MORRISON, Colorado: The team did not win the race, but it was still a very solid outing for the Qatar Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Team, the two-time World Championship team owned by Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani.
Silver Al-Anabi driver Shawn Langdon extended his points lead and clinched the first Top Fuel berth in the Countdown to the Championship NHRA play-offs at the just completed Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals.
The Denver race begins the grueling NHRA “Western Swing” with races in Denver, Colorado, Sonoma, California and Seattle, Washington on consecutive weekends.
Langdon was the No. 5 qualifier, and when he defeated reigning Top Fuel champion Antron Brown in the first round of eliminations, he became the first Top Fuel driver to clinch a play-off berth.
Langdon said: “The Al-Anabi car was great today. We made some excellent runs this weekend, and the semi-final run was no different. But they made a great run, too, and we just came out on the wrong end of a great drag race. It would have been nice to have had a chance to sweep the Western Swing, but at this point, we’ll just head to Sonoma next week and get it done there.”
Khalid alBalooshi made many excellent runs.
He was the No. 4 qualifier, the ninth time in the season’s 14 races that alBalooshi qualified in the top-six positions.
THE PENINSULA
