Kalitta Motorsports Funny Car driver Shawn Langdon defeated his teammate J.R. Todd in the final round of Sunday's eighth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at St. Louis MO. At the end of the day, team owner Connie Kalitta had a big smile on his face as the duo marked the first time an all-Kalitta Motorsports final round lined up in NHRA Funny Car since 2016. Langdon, who is a former Top Fuel world champion, became just the second driver in NHRA history to have won in both nitro classes at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Langdon defeated Tommy Johnson Jr., Jim Campbell and Bob Tasca III on his way to a shootout with his teammate in Sunday's final. It was Langdon's 16th Wally in NHRA competition and his second win in Funny Car. Todd picked up his 33rd career final round appearance after posting wins over Jack Beckman, Robert Hight and Top Qualifier John Force. In the final round, Langdon wheeled his Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry to a 4.068 second ET at 310.41 mph victory. Hight, who claimed Top Qualifier and the pole, grabbed the Funny Car points lead from Beckman. Todd falls to fifth place in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship just 52 points behind Hight.
Whenever the elder Torrence can find the time to show up at a Top Fuel event, it is obvious he hasn't lost a step to his son Steve, the defending NHRA world champion. In Sunday's final, Billy Torrence left the line a hundredth of second behind Steve's Capco Contractors Top Fuel dragster but motored by when his son lost traction. It was the third victory of the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello season and his first win in the Countdown to the Championship. Billy Torrence defeated Kyle Wurtzel, Doug Kalitta and Leah Pritchett enroute to Sunday's final, while Steve beat Scott Palmer, Pat Dakin and Mike Salinas to reach his 12th final of the season. The NHRA Countdown to the Championship continues at the NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals from Oct. 11-13 in Charlotte NC.
