No. 1 qualifier Shawn Langdon, who spent the past two years driving a Funny Car, earned his first NHRA’s Top Fuel victory since the 2016 St. Louis race in claiming his second U.S. Nationals crown Sunday at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.
Sharing the winners circle Sunday at the Denso U.S. Nationals—like they did in 2015, as well—were Funny Car’s Jack Beckman and Pro Stock’s Erica Enders. Joining them on drag racing’s biggest stage was first-time Pro Stock Motorcycle winner Scotty Pollacheck, who cashed in on his seventh final-round appearance.
Langdon defeated Leah Pruett in the final round with a 3.705-second elapsed time at a 326.32-mph on the 1,000-foot course in the DHL Dragster for Kalitta Motorsports. But she eliminated Steve Torrence in the semifinal to overtake him for second place in the standings.
Second-round finisher Doug Kalitta retained his Top Fuel points lead as the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series leaves its Indianapolis cocoon after four post-coronavirus-break races and heads to the postponed Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla., Sept. 27.
Langdon is known for his skill at the Christmas Tree, but he had to rely on his experience in the semifinals against Justin Ashley to overcome the rookie’s nearly perfect reaction time (.001 of a second). Both lost traction immediately and often and were on and off the throttle, but Langdon won the entertainingly ugly pedalfest with his dubiously noble elapsed time of 6.920 seconds. The Kalitta Motorsports racer started his day by beating debuting Joey Haas, then veteran Cory McClenathan.
“Semis was a little goofy—had to change my underwear and come back for the final,” Langdon joked after registering hi 17th overall victory.
“When I hit the gas, I said, ‘We’ve got it if it doesn’t smoke the tires.’ I saw I had a little reaction-time advantage (.015 of a second to Pruett’s .091), so that was good. Just trying to give everything I’ve got, man,” he said. She countered with a 5.141-second, 145.75-mph run.
Langdon’s DHL/Kalitta Motorsports teammate, JR Todd, missed a chance to earn his third U.S. National victory in four years, as Beckman extended the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Funny Car dominance to nine straight races.
Beckman, whose benefactor Doug Chandler announced that his charity-related entry won’t return in 2021, pushed DSR’s victory count to 351.
He said that “if this is the last time I race at Indy in this Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger” he wanted “to leave nothing on the track. This is what drag racing is all about. I hope I can keep doing this next year.”
This was Beckman’s 32nd overall victory.
Todd challenged Beckman with a 3.960-second E.T. at 324.28 mph.
Erica Enders claimed her second U.S. Nationals title in the Melling-sponsored entry for Elite Motorsports and said, “I’ve drag-raced for 30 years and Pro Stock for 15, and its a dream come true. This Chevy Camaro is mean, I want to tell you. Rick Jones, Mark Ingersoll, and Rickie Jones—I’ve got the three baddest crew chiefs on the property and the best team in the world.”
“Stevie Fast” Jackson defeated Todd Tutterow in the Pro Mod final, and Randal Andras trumped Jay Turner for the Top Fuel Harley trophy.
66th Annual Denso NHRA U.S. Nationals
Results, Updated Standings
Final finish order (1-16) at the 66th annual DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. The race is the sixth of 11 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
TOP FUEL:
1. Shawn Langdon; 2. Leah Pruett; 3. Steve Torrence; 4. Justin Ashley; 5. Cory McClenathan; 6. Doug Kalitta; 7. Antron Brown; 8. Tony Schumacher; 9. Terry McMillen; 10. Clay Millican; 11. Doug Foley; 12. Pat Dakin; 13. Billy Torrence; 14. T.J. Zizzo; 15. Kyle Wurtzel; 16. Joey Haas.
FUNNY CAR:
1. Jack Beckman; 2. J.R. Todd; 3. Tim Wilkerson; 4. Matt Hagan; 5. Bob Tasca III; 6. Dale Creasy Jr.; 7. Dale Creasy Jr.; 8. Bob Bode; 9. Blake Alexander; 10. Tommy Johnson Jr.; 11. Terry Haddock; 12. Paul Lee; 13. Jim Campbell; 14. Alexis DeJoria; 15. Cruz Pedregon; 16. Dave Richards.
PRO STOCK:
1, Erica Enders; 2. Matt Hartford; 3. Jason Line; 4. Mason McGaha; 5. Bo Butner; 6. Greg Anderson; 7. Deric Kramer; 8. Kyle Koretsky; 9. Kenny Delco; 10. Chris McGaha; 11. Fernando Cuadra; 12. Val Smeland; 13. Alan Prusiensky; 14. Jeg Coughlin; 15. Aaron Stanfield; 16. Alex Laughlin.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:
1. Scotty Pollacheck; 2. Andrew Hines; 3. Eddie Krawiec; 4. Steve Johnson; 5. Angie Smith; 6. Cory Reed; 7. Angelle Sampey; 8. Matt Smith; 9. Ryan Oehler; 10. Hector Arana Jr; 11. Jerry Savoie; 12. John Hall; 13. Chris Bostick; 14. Michael Phillips; 15. Jim Underdahl; 16. Marc Ingwersen.
Final Round Results
Top Fuel — Shawn Langdon, 3.705 seconds, 326.32 mph def. Leah Pruett, 5.141 seconds, 145.75 mph.
Funny Car — Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 3.908, 327.35 def. J.R. Todd, Toyota Camry, 3.960, 324.28.
Pro Stock — Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.606, 208.55 def. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.610, 208.59.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — Scotty Pollacheck, EBR, 6.790, 200.53 def. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.914, 197.10.
Round-by-Round Results
TOP FUEL:
ROUND ONE — Cory McClenathan, 3.761, 313.58 def. Doug Foley, 3.768, 322.65; Antron Brown, 3.752, 325.61 def. T.J. Zizzo, 3.793, 320.81; Tony Schumacher, 3.770, 324.59 def. Clay Millican, 3.763, 286.74; Doug Kalitta, 3.707, 329.67 def. Pat Dakin, Foul – Centerline; Shawn Langdon, 3.729, 315.71 def. Joey Haas, 4.032, 273.77; Steve Torrence, 3.749, 325.37 def. Kyle Wurtzel, 3.869, 311.70; Justin Ashley, 3.717, 323.12 def. Billy Torrence, 3.773, 320.81; Leah Pruett, 3.703, 325.61 def. Terry McMillen, 3.726, 320.13;
QUARTERFINALS — S. Torrence, 3.750, 325.77 def. Brown, 4.088, 246.30; Langdon, 3.723, 319.90 def. McClenathan, 3.731, 330.47; Ashley, 3.774, 294.50 def. Kalitta, 3.755, 329.67; Pruett, 4.312, 211.89 def. Schumacher, 9.048, 79.71;
SEMIFINALS — Pruett, 3.743, 322.34 def. S. Torrence, 3.724, 325.14; Langdon, 6.920, 175.00 def. Ashley, 7.237, 184.90;
FINAL — Langdon, 3.705, 326.32 def. Pruett, 5.141, 145.75.
FUNNY CAR:
ROUND ONE — Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.915, 328.62 def. Dave Richards, Mustang, 8.079, 84.91; Bob Bode, Mustang, 4.034, 285.65 def. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Camry, 4.924, 156.41; Dale Creasy Jr., Dodge Charger, 4.009, 315.64 def. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 4.011, 276.58; Ron Capps, Charger, 3.924, 328.06 def. Jim Campbell, Charger, 4.902, 166.25; Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 3.898, 330.31 def. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 4.383, 246.57; Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.942, 326.63 def. Paul Lee, Charger, 4.737, 169.13; Jack Beckman, Charger, 3.909, 327.74 def. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 7.734, 87.81; J.R. Todd, Camry, 3.916, 331.28 def. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 3.996, 319.52;
QUARTERFINALS — Wilkerson, 4.011, 312.78 def. Bode, 4.005, 318.62; Beckman, 4.003, 316.01 def. Capps, 5.454, 137.79; Hagan, 3.939, 327.03 def. Tasca III, 3.940, 328.46; Todd, 3.919, 328.14 def. Creasy Jr., 4.000, 315.78; Todd, 3.919, 328.14 def. Creasy Jr., 4.000, 315.78;
SEMIFINALS — Beckman, 3.915, 329.10 def. Wilkerson, 3.914, 324.59; Todd, 3.946, 327.03 def. Hagan, 4.132, 273.05;
FINAL — Beckman, 3.908, 327.35 def. Todd, 3.960, 324.28.
PRO STOCK:
ROUND ONE — Jason Line, Chevy Camaro, 6.605, 208.65 def. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, Foul – Red Light; Kyle Koretsky, Camaro, 6.594, 207.72 def. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, Foul – Red Light; Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.581, 208.39 def. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.586, 209.56; Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.574, 208.42 def. Fernando Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.622, 208.14; Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.578, 209.07 def. Alan Prusiensky, Dodge Dart, 6.664, 206.54; Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.626, 207.98 def. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.601, 208.52; Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.564, 208.59 def. Val Smeland, Camaro, 6.645, 208.17; Bo Butner, Camaro, 7.395, 135.35 def. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, Foul – Red Light;
QUARTERFINALS — M. McGaha, 6.660, 207.08 def. Koretsky, Foul – Red Light; Enders, 6.603, 208.68 def. Kramer, 12.821, 67.70; Hartford, 6.621, 206.57 def. Butner, 6.616, 208.88; Line, 6.598, 209.07 def. Anderson, 6.624, 208.55;
SEMIFINALS — Enders, 6.614, 208.49 def. M. McGaha, 6.791, 192.63; Hartford, 6.624, 208.84 def. Line, 6.605, 208.91;
FINAL — Enders, 6.606, 208.55 def. Hartford, 6.610, 208.59.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:
ROUND ONE — Angelle Sampey, Harley-Davidson, 6.870, 197.28 def. Ryan Oehler, 6.894, 196.93; Cory Reed, 6.909, 195.00 def. Hector Arana Jr, 6.934, 196.13; Angie Smith, 6.924, 198.00 def. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.943, 192.28; Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.831, 196.87 def. John Hall, Suzuki, 6.964, 192.66; Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.860, 194.16 def. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.968, 194.80; Matt Smith, 6.908, 196.82 def. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, Broke; Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.811, 198.93 def. Marc Ingwersen, Broke; Scotty Pollacheck, 6.812, 199.11 def. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 8.804, 111.64;
QUARTERFINALS — Johnson, 6.870, 194.94 def. A. Smith, Foul – Red Light; Hines, 6.868, 196.99 def. M. Smith, 29.003, 21.32; Pollacheck, 6.821, 199.08 def. Sampey, 6.966, 171.08; Krawiec, 6.850, 199.05 def. Reed, Foul – Red Light;
SEMIFINALS — Hines, 6.841, 197.86 def. Krawiec, 6.829, 199.70; Pollacheck, 6.821, 199.32 def. Johnson, Broke;
FINAL — Pollacheck, 6.790, 200.53 def. Hines, 6.914, 197.10.
Updated Points Standings
Top Fuel
1. Doug Kalitta, 492; 2. Leah Pruett, 442; 3. Steve Torrence, 432; 4. Justin Ashley, 370; 5. Billy Torrence, 331; 6. Shawn Langdon, 330; 7. Antron Brown, 316; 8. Terry McMillen, 305; 9. Clay Millican, 279; 10. T.J. Zizzo, 179.
Funny Car
1. Jack Beckman, 517; 2. Matt Hagan, 482; 3. Tommy Johnson Jr., 460; 4. J.R. Todd, 387; 5. RonCapps, 376; 6. Bob Tasca III, 355; 7. Tim Wilkerson, 348; 8. Alexis DeJoria, 241; 9. Cruz Pedregon, 234; 10. Paul Lee, 225.
Pro Stock
1. Erica Enders, 453; 2. Jeg Coughlin, 446; 3. Jason Line, 442; 4. Matt Hartford, 291; 5. Greg Anderson, 290; 6. (tie) Bo Butner, 249; Chris McGaha, 249; 8. Alex Laughlin, 243; 9. Kenny Delco, 228; 10. Deric Kramer, 197.
Pro Stock Motorcycle
1. Scotty Pollacheck, 251; 2. Andrew Hines, 226; 3. Eddie Krawiec, 225; 4. Matt Smith, 224; 5. Angelle Sampey, 221; 6. Ryan Oehler, 204; 7. Hector Arana Jr, 158; 8. Chris Bostick, 154; 9.Angie Smith, 145; 10. Steve Johnson, 137.
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