NHRA: Al-Anabi Drivers, Crew Chiefs Paired

NHRA

NHRA: Al-Anabi Drivers, Crew Chiefs Paired

Al-Anabi Racing team manager Alan Johnson has set his final driver/crew chief tandems for the upcoming NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series campaign.

NHRA Communications | Posted January 12, 2012

Team manager Alan Johnson. (NHRA)

Like a chess master maneuvering pieces for battle, Al-Anabi Racing team manager Alan Johnson continued his preparation for the 2012 season by setting his final driver/crew chief tandems for the upcoming NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series campaign.

After completing a rare December test session and reviewing the data, Johnson has decided to pair newly licensed rookie nitro driver Khalid alBalooshi with 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel championship crew chief Jason McCulloch on the gold team, and new team driver Shawn Langdon, who will be competing in his third season in the class, will be paired with 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel championship crew chief Brian Husen on the silver team.

With both the Al-Anabi silver and gold teams featuring new drivers in 2012, Johnson added last month’s test session to provide an opportunity for alBalooshi to get his license, test parts, and begin building the relationships necessary to compete in NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing. The session also allowed Johnson to think about the different experience levels and personalities and the new team dynamic.

“Jason McCulloch is our most experienced crew chief, so we decided it would be best to pair him with our rookie driver so that Jason can work with alBalooshi to make him as comfortable as possible,” Johnson said. “We also felt Shawn Langdon and Brian Husen would work well together, so it all just worked out nicely. We feel this arrangement will allow both teams to get up to speed in the least amount of time. Our December test, while primarily planned for alBalooshi to get his license, turned out to be quite helpful in making our personnel decisions.”

Pursuant to NHRA requirements, alBalooshi worked through the licensing procedures completing passes of short and intermediate lengths before making two full 1,000-foot passes to earn his Top Fuel license, completing runs in 3.86 seconds at 319 mph and 3.85 seconds at 318 mph.

“We don’t usually consider testing in December, but given the circumstances, we felt we should get a head start on the 2012 season,” Johnson said. “We are very pleased with alBalooshi’s progress in adapting to the Top Fuel car. Now with the licensing procedure behind us, we can get him back to West Palm Beach [Fla.] in a couple of weeks for more experience driving one of the world’s fastest cars.”

“I am very happy to have my [Top Fuel] license,” alBalooshi said. “From where I started my racing career, it was a big jump to drive Top Fuel. I never thought Top Fuel was possible until three years ago when I tested A/Fuel Dragster in West Palm Beach. I could not have done it without the Al-Anabi team behind me. I am very happy to have the opportunity, and the team took such good care of me that it I did not have time to be nervous. The team did a great job instructing me from the beginning of the process. I relied on the team and all of my years in racing to keep me calm.

“Every detail is taken care of. I am so happy with my firesuit and all of the safety equipment from Stand 21, and I thank Stand 21 for all of the help because I feel safe in the car. I need to continue making more runs to figure out what I need to change and how I can get better in the car. Thanks to Sheik Khalid and Alan Johnson for this opportunity, and thanks to everyone on the Al-Anabi team for making me feel so welcome and comfortable.”

Langdon made multiple runs in the Al-Anabi silver car in the low- to mid-3.80-second range. His best run was 3.799 seconds at 317.79 mph.

“It felt really good being in the car,” Langdon said. “There’s a lot of things that were new to me, but also a lot that were the same. It was mostly trying to get acclimated to the car and the procedures the team uses. It took a little getting used to. They run the car really aggressive, and they run the car pretty hard. I got my career-best 3.79 in the first couple of days, and I’m excited to get back to West Palm this month for preseason testing so we can keep bettering that career best and get ready for Pomona [the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries].”

“The December test also gave us an opportunity to give Shawn Langdon a few runs in his new car,” Johnson said. “After all, once the racetrack has been prepped, testing two cars is actually better than just one. We were able to let Shawn get acquainted with his car and our team as well as test a few new parts we did not have the chance to try during the 2011 season. Last month’s test was a vital step for our new-look Al-Anabi Racing team.”