Top Fuel’s Shawn Langdon details cancellation of Qatar series; keeps in touch with friends amid region’s turmoil.
Cancellation of Formula One races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia next month due to the war in the Middle East grabbed the headlines, but the conflict has also adversely affected drag racing in that area. “They have a local series .
They had to cancel it due to all the conflict,” said Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel competitor Shawn Langdon, who spent his winter competing in the Arabian Drag Racing League. “I hate to see it. It’s a beautiful country. They, obviously, don’t want those wars.” More than a decade ago, Langdon raced in the NHRA for Al-Anabi Racing which was funded by Sheik Khalid bin Hamad Al-Thani. His teammate was Khalid alBalooshi. Since the bombing of Iran began, Langdon has talked daily with Sheik Khalid, whose family owns Qatar. “I’ve also been in communication with a couple of the other people that I’ve met. Kind of a ‘hey, man stay safe,’” Langdon continued. Langdon also has communicated with his former teammate Khalid alBalooshi, who is in Dubai. alBalooshi’s two sons race and after he purchased a bracket car, he asked Langdon to help with the car’s setup. Today, alBalooshi’s organization possesses six cars. During the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series off-season, Langdon competed for eight-and-a-half-weeks in the Arabian Drag Racing League, which is in Qatar, Bahrain and Dubai, Langdon won during the sixth round at Doha in the Index 4.50 and Index 4.80 categories.“Last year, I was able to drive one of Sheik Khalid’s dragsters,” Langdon said about his second year competing in the Middle East. “Did it more kind of an exhibition style racing. When I’m over there racing it’s a very relaxed environment. You’re over there to race and there’s not a lot of outside distractions. “They absolutely love drag racing. They don’t have just individual teams. They have racing clubs and the racing clubs represent the countries. So, the governments allow people that are on the racing team … paid time off of work to represent the country in the racing league. They also get paid by the government. The government pays the racing clubs as representative of the country. So, there’s a lot of country pride that goes on over there. It kind of has a little bit of an Olympic vibe to it.”When Langdon received a couple of days off, he became a tourist, riding buggies in the sand dunes, and visiting museums and malls. “Honestly, I love the country,” Langdon said. “I love the people over there, the culture. I enjoy the very relaxed lifestyle over there. It’s a beautiful experience.”
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