Final Eliminations Result in a Win For Shawn Langdon

Shawn Langdon holding his Wally trophy after winning in the Top Fuel category at the 2024 Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway (Photo: NHRA Media)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Round 1 of the final eliminations for Top Fuel kicked off the elimination process for the 2024 Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.

The first matchup was between Justin Ashley and Tony Stewart.  Stewart won the reaction time with .021 while Ashley’s was .031, but would ultimately lose.  Both drivers spun tires but Stewart’s spun first, putting his elapsed time at 4.453 seconds while Ashley’s was 4.414 seconds, and his final speed at 267.80 while Ashley pulled off 297.94.  This eliminated Stewart from contention and allowed Ashley to move onto the second round.

Clay Millican and Doug Kalitta took to the strip next.  Millican would spin tires early on in the race, eliminating him from contention and automatically putting Kalitta in the next round.  Millican would have a reaction time of .040, an elapsed time of 7.442 seconds and a final speed of 89.73.  Kalitta had .036, 3.658 seconds and 337.75.

Next up was Tony Schumacher and Josh Hart.  Schumacher was coming up strong alongside Hart, but would let off the gas early, resulting in a loss.  Eliminated from contention for the next round, Schumacher had a reaction time of .091, an elapsed time of 4.024 seconds and a final speed of 323.81 while Hart had a reaction time of .049, an elapsed time of 3.750 seconds and a final speed of 329.26.

Antron Brown and Tripp Tatum took to the track next.  Tatum would be automatically eliminated from the next round due to the fact that he red-lighted.  This resulted in him being fouled.

Shawn Langdon and Cody Krohn were up next.  Langdon would be the victor of the race, but at the end the top half of his engine blew up.  Langdon would win with a reaction time of .070, an elapsed time of 3.690 seconds and a final speed of 335.90 while Krohn had .088, 4.391 seconds and 203.86, eliminating him from the next round.

Steve Torrence and Shawn Reed were scheduled to go side-by-side down the strip next.  Reed spun tires and faded away from the race, handing the win to Torrence and sending him to the next round.  Torrence had a reaction time of .071, an elapsed time of 3.673 seconds and a final speed of 335.90.  Reed had .112, 6.306 seconds and 109.66.

Doug Foley and Mike Salinas were supposed to race down the track side-by-side next, but that wouldn’t happen as Foley would be fouled for redlighting.  This automatically put Salinas into the next round.

The final matchup for the first round of final eliminations was between Billy Torrence, Steve’s father, and Brittany Force.  Force spun her tires, resulting in her losing against Torrence and being eliminated from competing in the second round.

Force started off strong though, by winning the reaction time with .089, while Torrence had .098.  Force’s issue would only give her an elapsed time of 6.116 seconds and a final speed of 100.86.  Torrence would pull off an elapsed time of 3.669 seconds and a final speed of 336.74.

Doug Kalitta and Brittany Force competing at Gainesville Raceway (Photo: NHRA Media)

ROUND TWO OF FINAL ELIMINATIONS

Brown and Hart took to the strip first.  Hart started off strong by winning the reaction time with .053 while Brown had .058.  Brown would win the race though, moving on to the semifinals.  Brown had an elapsed time of 3.730 seconds and a final speed of 332.84.  Hart had 3.866 seconds and 298.14 for his elapsed time and final speed.

Next up was Ashley and Langdon.  Ashley lost traction and spun his tires, resulting in his elimination.  Langdon would go on to the semifinals with a reaction time of .060, an elapsed time of 3.709 seconds and a final speed of 334.40.  Ashley had a reaction time of .037, an elapsed time of 4.890 seconds and a final speed of 157.12.

Salinas and Billy Torrence went head-to-head next.  Torrence was the victor. However, as he neared the end of the strip, his tires slipped, causing his engine to backfire.  Salinas spun his tires early on, resulting in an elapsed time of 6.272 seconds and a final speed of 98.31.  He won the reaction time though with .074, while Torrence had .106.  Torrence also had 4.535 seconds for his elapsed time and 171.25 for his final speed.

Torrence and Kalitta would be the final matchup before the semifinals.  Kalitta would have the spinning tires fate and would be eliminated from contention.  However, this did mean that Torrence would have to go against his father in the next round.

SEMIFINALS AND FINAL ROUND

Langdon and Brown were the first of two matchups for the semifinals.  Langdon would be the victor due to Brown spinning tires.  Langdon advanced to the final round with a reaction time of .047, an elapsed time of 3.702 seconds and a final speed of 336.74.  Brown had a reaction time of .059, an elapsed time of 5.731 seconds and a final speed of 122.40.

In the father-son matchup of Torrence against Torrence, Billy, the father, would walk away the winner after his son, Steve, smoked the tires early on.  Steve had a reaction time of .097, an elapsed time of 7.067 seconds and a final speed of 107.67.  Meanwhile, Billy, had .90 for his reaction time, 4.540 seconds for his elapsed time and 165.70 for his final speed.

The final round consisted of Langdon and Billy Torrence which resulted in Langdon emerging victorious.  Torrence started off strong by winning the reaction time with .067 while Langdon had .072.  But Langdon would win the elapsed time and final speed with 3.711 seconds and 335.40, respectively.  Torrence had 4.050 seconds and 228.50.

“Man, it [the win] feels really good,” said Langdon. “You keep your head down and you keep working hard and this is what you get.”