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Former multi-time NHRA Super Comp World Champion, Shawn Langdon has been living the dream of many a racer for the last several years. First with his championships and then his lightning move up through the sportsman ranks to Top Alcohol and now professional ranks of Top Fuel as the driver of the Lucas Oil/Dixie Chopper entry.
Shawn Langdon and the Lucas Oil/Dixie Chopper Race Car
Much like several other drivers, who have obtained the level of success Langdon has, even with being a part of a NHRA Top Fuel team, he stills loves sportsman competition and has been pulling double duty at several NHRA events during the 2010 season.
"I just really started running back in the sportsman classes too during the last couple of races just to get a little more seat time," Langdon said. "I just enjoy racing sportsman cars, too, since that's what I grew up racing."
Langdon took a little time off from his roots to first make sure that things were in place with himself as well as the Top Fuel team he drives for.
"I kinda wanted to take the first year and just really concentrate with the fuel car," he explained. "We've got a good rhythm down now with the fuel car, so that allowed me time to run the Super Classes at the National events."
While there are numerous sportsman drivers who compete in multiple classes, some drivers may find it distracting to do it the way Langdon is, one sportsman and one professional, which are two completely different beasts.
"I was very-very busy," laughs Langdon. "Actually Saturday night, I had a dinner meeting to attend as part of my fuel driver's duties, but I was also running second and third rounds in Super Gas. So I was juggling all of that, running back and forth. Then Sunday morning, Super Gas eliminations continued as I was also trying to get the fuel car warmed up for first round."
"There were some times where it got very hectic, but that's what I enjoy," he added.
Things can get quite fast and furious, even when you are only competing in one sportsman entry let along Langdon's special situation, once you start making it to the later rounds. Langdon notes that while he was doing most of the between round preparation for the car he did have some help when he needed it.
"I was doing the majority of the stuff with the Super Gas car," he said. "The Lamb family was there to help, if I needed anything. For the most part, they kinda let me do my own deal."
Every racer who makes it to a final, no matter what the rank of class, has a lucky round or two along the way. Although Langdon was certainly doing his job in the 1968 Camaro Roadster he was racing in Super Gas, including some of his notable rounds with Steve Williams and Ryan Mangus, he did had a few lucky rounds come his way by virtue of his opponents' redlights, including his final round competitor Val Torres's .002 red in the final, giving Langdon his sixth NHRA National Event victory.
"You can be the best out there, but you have got to have that luck or it's just not going to happen," he said. "After a couple rounds started to go that way I told my buddy ‘this race is mine'. I knew I couldn't have that many lucky breaks and not finish it off."
Langdon points out that being as busy as he was during the weekend may have played in his favor.
"I didn't really have a chance to look at the ladder to see who I was running or who may be coming up," he explained. "The guys I ran throughout the day were some of the best Super Gas racers on the west coast. That can be very intimidating if you are looking at all that, I was just so busy that many times I didn't even know who I was running until I got up into the lanes to get paired. I really think that all was to my benefit."
"It was something else," he said of his rounds in Super Gas at the Sonoma National. "The last five of my seven rounds were all decided by three-thousandths of a second or less."
"The car did awesome and I was just in the right place at the right time," smiled Langdon.
Langdon is also looking forward to his new TNT dragster to be completed shortly and to debuting it during the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis over Labor Day weekend. The car will be capable of competing in both Super Comp and Top Dragster and just like the Super Gas Camaro he wheeled to the winner's circle at Sonoma, well equipped with both K&N High-Flow Air Filter and K&N Oil Filter.
The inside of Folk's office looked in order and ready to race.
Spend your young, formative years, toying around a dragstrip and the chances of developing a bond with the place become pretty strong.
After winning the Super-Rod class on Saturday Brain Folk followed that up with a semi-final finish is his Top Dragster.
"There is something about Byron Dragway that I have always liked , it's very possible that it is because I grew up at the track, with my mother and father, riding my bike with friends when I was five years old," explains Durand, Illinois native Brian Folk.
"Which is really neat to me now, because I race against some of those same friends that I grew up with around the track. So needless to say, having my immediate family, wife Jill, sons Aaron and Evan with me, as well as my brother Nick, father Ron and mother Vicky, as well as several cousins, and mother in-law and father in-law there - It was a very gratifying win."
The win in Byron, Illinois came after several rain delays canceled racing on both Friday and Saturday morning. Racing finally got underway again at 5:30 that afternoon. Brian's patience paid off as he won the Super-Rod in his Camaro Roadster, a few ticks after 9:00 pm.
Brian's remark about the late race was, "No lights - kinda cool." Then on Sunday in the Sportnational, Brian raced his Top Dragster to a semi-final finish. Adds Brian, "It was the best we could muster that day, although every team member, including dad, Nick and family friend Forrest Lipke all went rounds."
For team Folk Race Cars racing is a family affair, always has been, headed by patriarch and racer, Ron "The General" Folk.
"K&N is one of the biggest product sponsors we have, and they are so into the racer, that it makes you feel special, especially when they write these articles about our team on the their webpage," says Folk with a smile. "We use K&N Oil filters on all seven of our racecars. Bob Harris accused us of eating them because we use so many."
"This win definitely helped my confidence going into the next few months," says Brian, "We will be doing a lot of bracket racing. Then we will be going to Martin, Michigan for the Moser Axle Mania Shootout, then on to Indy for the US Nationals, and we will stay there for the Million Dollar Race the following weekend."
Tim Bertrand Motorsports' drivers know how to win. Taking his spot in victory circle this time around was Randy Cabral. Cabral withstood a late race challenge from second place Russ Stoehr on his way to notching the win at the Northeastern Midget Association's 25-lap Marvin Rifchin Trophy race by a mere foot.
Randy Cabral was able to sustain a serious late race charge, narrowly squeezing out the win by a shoe's length.
Cabral lost his brakes soon after taking the lead and he couldn't enter the turns like he wanted to. He also battled with over-heating woes all race. He decided at that point that if anybody was going to get around him, it would have to be on the outside. Pedal to the metal the rest of the way.
"We started to slow up a bit with five laps to go," explained Cabral. "The brakes were fading and the motor was over heating due to the 100 degree outside temperatures. He (Stoehr) saw us start to slow up and he mounted a serious charge."
"I looked down at my water temperature gauge - and when I did that - I saw him out of the corner of my eye. I didn't know he had closed in so quickly. I drove the car nearly full-throttle through the final corner and beat him by a nose. I'm happy we held on."
It was the second win of the season, and the eighth career triumph at Thompson Speedway for Cabral. It was a big night for Bertrand Motorsports as well. Visiting driver and team member Cole Carter brought home a third place for the team. Carter races with Bertrand Motorsports when he's not competing in the IndyCar Series.
"100 degree outside temperatures and our 3002 oil filter looked like brand new upon inspection," remarked team owner Tim Bertrand. "What more needs to be said."
"We have a very busy schedule with five races in the next three weeks. We have won three out of the last four. Hopefully we can keep it up!"
Bruno Jr. qualified 1st at the NHRA Lucas Oil Series race in Stanton, Michigan
The 2010 NHRA competition eliminator class is extremely competitive and takes years of experience to become a world champion. The Bruno Massel Race team definitely has what it takes to pull out another championship this season. It has been a slow race season for Bruno Massel Racing but, the team feels their ship is on the right track after numerous issues with $5 parts and the crash at Chicago. Bruno Jr. qualified 1st at the NHRA Lucas Oil Series race in Stanton, Michigan clicking off a 7.218 second pass.
2010 NHRA Competition Eliminator class with the WyoTech Turbocharged Chevy Cobalt
Bruno Massel Jr. and his father currently participate in the 2010 NHRA Competition Eliminator class with their WyoTech Turbocharged Chevy Cobalt. Last year Bruno Jr. drove the car to a NHRA Competition Eliminator championship running with K&N oil filter HP-5001. Between his busy scheduling of Speed channel's Truck U TV filming, modeling, freelance work, and racing Bruno Jr. found some time to answer some brief questions.
K&N: What are your future career goals?
Bruno Jr.: To be an NHRA Pro Stock driver.
K&N: How is the 2010 season going compared to last year?
Bruno Jr.: It's been a tough year so far. We are back-up-and running after Chicago.
K&N: What is your favorite track?
Joliet is my home town and favorite. Another favorite is Brainerd.
K&N: How important is it to have family present at the race track?
I live Chicago. Any time family can be with me it makes it a lot easier.
K&N: What advice do you have for young racers seeking to enter a career in racing?
You gotta do something you really love doing. You will find a way.
K&N: What do you think of K&N products? Describe them in one word.
Cutting edge. They have the latest and greatest on the market.
K&N: Who is your toughest competitor?
I have ultimate respect for Dan Fletcher and David Rampy and I always wanna bring it up a notch. They carry themselves as true class acts.
K&N: How do you stay race ready throughout the season?
I work out a lot to stay healthy. I am in the gym at 6:30 am. Sometimes on a good day, I'll go for a run in 90 degree weather and jump into the simulator and practice reaction times.
K&N: What was your most memorable victory?
Comp eliminator race at Dallas last year locked championship for us. We had to beat some of the best racers. We blew up the motor and overcame all of the obstacles at Dallas to win the championship.
K&N: What is the status of your acting career?
I have a two years contract with Truck U. I'm trying to start my own show. It is a motorsports based show. It's 30 minutes long. It involves behind the scenes actor's interests in sports.
K&N: Who would you say has been the most inspirational in your life?
My father because he is one of the most intelligent people I know. He's self taught and hard working. I look up to him every day.
Bruno Jr. will continue to tackle the competition in Competition Eliminator class throughout the 2010 season looking for another championship. After being the spokesperson for 9 years, this is his last year with WyoTech behind the car. This year looks promising for the Bruno Massel Racing's last 8 races of the season.
The entire POPS Race team was on hand to celebrate Kenneth Walker's ASCS win at Dallas' Devils Bowl.
Phil Oaks has been active in the racing scene since age 15. "I have been racing since 1958, I started first in Drag racing," explains the Arrow, Oklahoma native.
The Devils Bowl win was Walker's first ASCS win of the year.
"In 1965 I started running Top Fuel and in the seventy's Funny Cars. In 1978 I was asked to build engines for a World of Outlaws team, and I have been involved with sprint cars ever since."
Oak has been a motor builder for sprint car teams at Tulsa Speedway, and from 1998 until now, he has been a racecar owner of Phil Oakes Performance racing team, or POPS Racing.
"The name comes from my parts business, Performance Parts and Phil Oakes Performance Service (they build engines) - everyone just started calling me pops - I figured why not go with it."
Kenneth Walker drives for Oaks. He has raced since he was old enough to hold a steering wheel Oak tells us. Walker worked his way up from street stocks to Outlaw Sprints. He recently took a trip to Dallas' Devils Bowl, and his son Mickey and wife Saundra, were the only crew he needed to win that ASCS race.
"The win at the Devils Bowl in Dallas was our first win this season," remarked Oak. "This was a good win for us as the Lonestar-verses-Sooner rivalry is strong and brings out the best in each driver. The fact that he won from the seventh starting spot and went right to the front was lost to no one. This is a very tough race track and any racer would be proud to have a win at this track."
Oak is a family oriented businessman and race team owner, and he's extremely proud of his driver. "Kenneth has always been a winner, says Oak, "He has championships in almost every class he has ever driven in. In Sprint Cars alone has won four championships at the Tulsa Speedway, and Oklahoma City Fairgrounds, well, he's won at least three there."
Walker also has one ASCS Championship at Creek County Speedway, before it became a national event. In the ASCS National tour, he finished ninth in 2007, eighth in 2008, and twelfth last year. The increasing expense of travel has kept the team closer to home this season says Oak.
Oak says he's been involved with K&N for too many years to count. "It started somewhere with motorcycles, or race cars in the late 60's or early 70's, I would guess," recalls Oak. "Norm McDonald has had a cycle store here (Oklahoma) since he moved from California. And I have used K&N filters from the very first time I found out about how great they are."
"I sell K&N in my store and have since the day we opened. We use K&N air filters, which we clean each week. The K&N oil filters are cut open and inspected each race and replaced, we also use K&N crankcase breathers, filter oil and cleaner. A K&N air and oil filter keep the tow rig going down the road too. My wife's Honda and my old Chevy truck wear K&N filters as well."
"We do not race alone," says Oak. "Saundra and Mickey are great pit help, and Saundra keeps us all well fed. Vinson Rasmunson is the pit crewman that helps set up the car, and he does a fantastic job. My job is to keep the engine in tune."
