Qatar Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel driver Khalid AlBalooshi begins a qualifying attempt during last weekend’s NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event near Dallas, Texas. The Dubai driver enters this week’s race near St. Louis, Missouri striving for a return to form.
ST LOUIS, Missouri: A very solid second season for Dubai driver Khalid alBalooshi stalled in the last two races, but driver and crew are focused on getting back into championship contention for the two-time World Championship team owned by Sheikh Khalid Hamad Al Thani.
The team is ready to rebound at this weekend’s second annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals, the third of six races that comprise the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs and the 21st of 24 races making up the United States’ NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
Qualifying is set for tomorrowand Saturday with eliminations scheduled for Sunday.
AlBalooshi entered the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs as the No. 5 seed. He qualified fourth in the first Countdown race in Charlotte but lost in the first round and dropped two places to seventh in points.
Then the gold Al-Anabi team had more troubles last weekend in Dallas when rain cancelled two of the four qualifying sessions. The team had trouble in both remaining qualifying sessions – neither attempt was quick enough, and alBalooshi did not qualify for eliminations for the first time in his Top Fuel career.
Despite the two difficult races, alBalooshi and the gold Al-Anabi team are focused on a return to the form that earned the No. 5 seed in the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs. They spent yesterday in Dallas making practice runs aimed at returning the gold Al-Anabi dragster the level of consistency that allowed the team to enter the playoffs as the No. 5 seed.
“The Countdown has been hard on our Al-Anabi team,” alBalooshi said.
“We had a good car in Charlotte, but we lost in the first round. Then in Dallas, we missed the race. The Countdown is the time to win, but it has been hard for our team. After Dallas, our team stayed to test, and the test was perfect. We made three good practice runs in good conditions. On all three runs, the Al-Anabi car went down the track and was fast. Jason (crew chief Jason McCulloch) changed a little bit in the tune-up. I don’t know exactly, but he found something that makes him think our car will be one of the best in the show this week in St. Louis.”
After missing last weekend’s race, alBalooshi dropped two more spots to ninth place in the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings. Still, with the tight point standings, he trails fifth place by just 66 points with four races remaining in the NHRA Playoffs.
With some excellent performances in the next two races, alBalooshi and team could be right back in the thick of the points battle. With the team’s problems apparently fixed during testing, spirits are high entering St. Louis.
“I am excited to get to qualify on Friday because I know I have a good hot rod that will be in the show next week,” alBalooshi said.
“Everybody is excited – especially Jason. He thinks he came up with a different idea on Monday. After the first run, he was very happy, and after that, the car got better and better each run. The main thing I feel is that our Al-Anabi car is coming back for the last four races in the Countdown. We need to do a lot to get back to where we were, but we have to do the best we can do from the first qualifying run and on every single run through race day.”
Al-Anabi Racing operates out of multiple locations in both the United States and Qatar. In the United States, the Brownsburg, Ind.-based operation is a two-car NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series team that is managed by Alan Johnson Racing.
Sheikh Khalid’s initiative has created increased international awareness of the State of Qatar while highlighting the nation’s international sports outreach.
Alan Johnson is a 14-time NHRA champion in various capacities including crew chief, team owner and team manager.
For additional information on the Al-Anabi Racing Team, team manager Alan Johnson or drivers Khalid alBalooshi or Shawn Langdon, please visit www.alanabiracing.com.
The Peninsula
