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Both teams that comprise the Qatar Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Team, the two-time NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel world champions owned by Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad al-Thani, have qualified for eliminations at the 14th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, the 10th of 24 events making up the United States’ 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. |
The eliminations are set for Sunday. ESPN International will televise the race at 9 pm and 11 pm Qatar time on Tuesday (June 18) as well as 6 pm Qatar time on Friday (June 21).
Dubai driver Khalid al-Balooshi made two consistently solid qualifying attempts in the Eastern Tennessee Mountains and is currently the No. 6 qualifier.
Al-Balooshi made a very good run in the evening session and was sixth with a 3.842-second effort.In the night session, the second-year Top Fuel driver made an excellent pass and improved on his previous run with a 3.824-second pass at 324.20 mph.
“Our team made two good runs today, and we were consistent,” al-Balooshi said. “In the night qualifying session, we made a run that was a little bit
better than the first run, and we are sixth. Some other cars ran better than we did, but we will have two more chances to get better.”
On the silver side of the Al-Anabi pit, NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon is the No. 7 qualifier at the mid-point of the qualifying
process. Like his teammate, Langdon had a very good run in the evening session. Langdon’s 3.826-second effort was good enough for second after the first attempt.
In the night session, Langdon was on a brilliant pass when the tires on the silver Al-Anabi car began to lose traction, and Langdon was forced to abort the run. As other cars improved, Langdon dropped from second to seventh after the second qualifying attempt.
“We were trying to make the Al-Anabi car the No. 1 qualifier,” Langdon said. “We just put a little too much power in our set-up and overpowered the race track so the car smoked the tires. We have two more qualifying attempts to improve our position, and the Al-Anabi team will definitely be ready to race on Sunday. We have won the last two races, and we are going to do everything we can to make it three in a row for Sheikh Khalid.”
Al-Anabi Racing operates out of multiple locations in both the United States and Qatar. In the United States, the Brownsburg, Ind-based operation is a two-car NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series team that is managed by Alan Johnson Racing.
Sheikh Khalid’s initiative has created increased international awareness of the nation of Qatar while highlighting the nation’s international sports outreach. Alan Johnson is a 14-time NHRA champion in various capacities including crew chief, team owner and team manager.
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