NHRA Gatornationals

MAR 15, 2015

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 15, 2015) – Shawn Langdon and Antron Brown each advanced to the Top Fuel semi-finals to lead Toyota at today’s Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at the Auto Plus Raceway at Gainesville (Fla.).

Langdon, who was the top qualifier for the event, defeated fellow Toyota drivers Morgan Lucas and Richie Crampton in the first two rounds before being eliminated by Tony Schumacher in the semi-finals. Langdon continues to lead the Top Fuel point standings after three races.

“The Knuckle Sandwich/AJPE Toyota was very good today,” said Langdon, the 2013 world champion. “We just overpowered the track and smoked the tires. It still would have taken a great run to beat Tony; we were pretty much even off the starting line, and he ran 3.83 (seconds). It would have been tough to beat him. We had a good car so it was a little disappointing, but hopefully we can regroup, find some sponsorship and go to Charlotte.”

Brown ran a solo in his opening round today and then knocked off J.R. Todd in round two. He was then eliminated by teammate Spencer Massey in the semi-finals. It marked the third straight race that the 2012 Top Fuel champion has advanced to the semi-finals or beyond.

Crampton defeated Steve Torrence in his opening run before matching up with Langdon in round two. By beating Torrence, Crampton has won at least one round in each of the season’s first three races. Lucas was making his 2015 debut and will run a limited schedule similar to last season where he earned two victories while competing in just seven races.

In Funny Car, both Cruz Pedregon and Alexis DeJoria advanced to the second round, but both hazed the tires midway down the track while leading and were eliminated. Del Worsham, Chad Head and Tony Pedregon each lost in their opening runs.

Next up for the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, N.C., March 27-29.

Toyota Gatornationals Post-Race, 2-2-2-2

2015 Toyota NHRA Winners (1):
Top Fuel (1): Langdon (1),

2015 Toyota Number One Qualifiers (3):
Top Fuel (2): Langdon (2), Pomona1, Gainesville
Funny Car (1): C. Pedregon (1), Gainesville

Notes:

By advancing to the semi-finals, Shawn Langdon continues to lead the Top Fuel points race. He has now advanced to the semi-finals in each of the season’s first three races. The team’s future remains uncertain as they continue to search for a major sponsor for the 2015 season.

Antron Brown has now advanced to the semi-finals in each of the season’s first three races. He and Shawn Langdon are the only drivers to have advanced to the semi-finals or better in all three races this season.

After three races, six of the eight full-time Toyota NHRA drivers currently rank in the top-10 in their respective point standings. Shawn Langdon (first), Antron Brown (four) and Richie Crampton (sixth) all are in the top-10 in the Top Fuel standings, while Del Worsham (third), Alexis DeJoria (seventh) and Cruz Pedregon (eighth) are in the top 10 in Funny Car.

Quotes:

Shawn Langdon, Knuckle Sandwich AJR Toyota Top Fuel dragster: “The Knuckle Sandwich/AJPE Toyota was very good today. The track heated up quite a bit. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t make the right adjustments, but both lanes were pretty slippery and greasy. We just overpowered the track and smoked the tires. It still would have taken a great run to beat Tony; we were pretty much even off the starting line, and he ran 3.83 (seconds). It would have been tough to beat him. We had a good car so it was a little disappointing, but hopefully we can regroup, find some sponsorship and go to Charlotte.”

Alexis DeJoria, Patron XO Café Incendio Toyota Camry Funny Car: “It’s been a bit of a weird weekend. Qualifying was definitely tough, but we made it in the show so that was good. That first round win against Hagan was really big for our team. They’re a competitive team and had been on a roll lately, so that was a huge win for us. Of course, each round is so different and anything can happen. During my burnout on that second round, my air line came off from my helmet. I was trying to get it back on, backup my car at the same time, and tell the guys on the radio what had happened. I think at that point, I just let it get the best of me. I went in there, lit both bulbs and still couldn’t get my air line back on my helmet, so I just kind of had to accept- it got really hot in there. I waited for him, took off, and then the car smoked the tires at half-track, so that was the end of our day.”

Richie Crampton, GEICO/Lucas Oil Toyota Top Fuel Dragster: "It was great to get another first-round win this year. Obviously, first-round wins can really help you out in the points standings. It also helped build some good momentum for us going into the second round. It was a small victory for me to leave on someone like Shawn Langdon. I was .076 to his .080, so he was actually a little bit slower than normal and I was just a tad better than I had been this weekend. But while it was definitely a good feeling to leave on him, he had quickly gotten by us at half-track after that. It happens though. We were on a hell of a good pass until we dropped that cylinder and had some issues after that. We have our head held high though. It was a good weekend; no complaints here."

Toyota Gatornationals Post-race, 3-3-3-3

Morgan Lucas, ProtectTheHarvest.com Toyota Top Fuel Dragster: "The clutch just got hot early, so as soon as I hit the gas the tires were spinning. I think we found out why that happened though; it was just something silly on our end. We still showed up to our first race of the year and got the car qualified despite some initial issues, so no complaints out of me. I just want to go to the next one and get everything right that time around. Hopefully if we can do that, we will have better success."

Cruz Pedregon, Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry Funny Car: “Unfortunately, our day ended early. Tire spin and a dropped cylinder got us.”