Imagine if the New York Yankees abruptly went out of business just before the start of the World Series – and its players had to suddenly find homes with other teams.
That’s kind of the situation former NHRA Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon found himself in two weeks ago when team owner Alan Johnson suspended operations just before the start of the NHRA’s version of its World Series, the six-race Countdown to the Championship.
But Langdon, who won the Top Fuel championship in 2013, quickly went from being a free agent to playing for NHRA’s version of the Yankees, namely the winningest team ever in Top Fuel racing, Don Schumacher Racing.
Even better, Langdon’s points earned this season came with him when he moved to DSR.
Langdon is 194 points behind Top Fuel points leader Antron Brown (who has won each of the first two Countdown races). Still, Langdon believes he can make some significant noise in the remaining four Countdown races, starting with this weekend’s Keystone Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa.
“The goal is to compete for a championship and I won’t give up on that until the door is completely closed,” Langdon said in an NHRA media release. “At this point it’s starting to become a little bit of a long shot, but you look at how tight it is and I’m only a round and a half out of third place.
“We’ve got a great car and since we tested at Indy, we’ve made six good runs down the track. We have a car that can compete.”
Without question, this has been the most obtuse season of Langdon’s career. It began with Al-Anabi Racing pulling its sponsorship of the AJR-owned team just two weeks before the season began.
To Johnson’s and Langdon’s credit, even though the team competed on a shoestring budget from race to race, they still had a decent run during the 18-race regular season, including earning an emotional win in the season-opening Winternationals in February.
But Johnson could go only so far financially and suspended operations shortly after the U.S. Nationals earlier this month.
“It’s been a little tough this year but it’s all driven me to want to get better,” Langdon said. “It’s almost like you have to prove yourself all over again. But I try to find the positive in it and it’s been a big learning experience.”
When AJR suspended operations, Schumacher stepped forward and worked out an arrangement with Johnson that kept Langdon racing. He’s essentially filling the spot of former DSR driver Spencer Massey, who was released by the team just before the Indianapolis race. While Langdon is still technically racing for Johnson, Schumacher is footing the overall bill.
“It’s definitely been a unique situation this year but I feel comfortable and it’s just nice to get in the car,” Langdon said. “I feel good inside the car and (crew chiefs) Phil (Shuler), Todd (Okuhara) and the crew have done everything they can to accommodate me and any changes there’s been. They’ve all done a very, very good job and DSR is great, classy organization.”
Langdon lost in the first round of the Countdown opener at Charlotte two weeks ago and then reached the second round this past Sunday in Madison, Ill.
But a recent very successful test session at Indianapolis has optimism on the rise for the four remaining races.
And while he’s ranked last in the 10-driver Top Fuel Countdown field, Langdon isn’t giving up. He knows a couple of good races could put him right back into the mix for the championship, especially with this weekend’s race at Maple Grove, where he won two years ago en route to the championship.
“You definitely have to get a couple wins in the Countdown if you want to win a championship,” he said. “This (weekend’s) race is definitely important but they all are and you have to attack each race the same way. I just have to do my job and hopefully get a little luck.”
PALA, California – In his 450 bike debut, Jett Lawrence scored a perfect round at Fox Raceway in Pala, California to win Pro Motocross Round 1. He posted the fastest time in both qualification sessions, won the holeshot in both motos, and scored a pair of wins to take the overall victory and the early points’ lead.Chase Sexton stalked Jett Lawrence throughout Moto 2, but could not find his way past. – Align Media
No one seriously questioned Lawrence’s opportunity to make noise in the 450 class. Few would have been surprised to see him podium in his Pro Motocross National, but Lawrence outperformed all expectations by dominating Moto 1. He entered the weekend with zero points and his eye on 20th in the standings so he would receive an automatic invitation to the inaugural SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX).
He well surpassed expectations.
“It’s awesome,” Lawrence told NBC Sports’ Jason Thomas. “I can finally smile. I’ve been trying to stay serious and not get too excited with emotions coming up – and now I can finally let loose. The second one was a little harder, I couldn’t hear him but I’d look back and I’d still see the red bike. It was like a chess match.”
By the end of the race, Lawrence made up 30 percent of the points he needed to claim 20th and served notice that he will be one of the favorites to win the championship. He closed the gap even further in Moto 2, but the two races had entirely different storylines.
While Lawrence was able to run away from the field in the first race and win with a 10-second advantage, Honda teammate and defending Monster Energy Supercross champion Chase Sexton pressured him for the entire 30 minutes plus two laps that made up Moto 2.
Lawrence is the 16th rider to win in his first Pro Motocross race, the 10th to do so in an opener and second youngest, (behind Rick Johnson, 17 when he won at Hangtown in 1982).
Sexton was within two seconds of Lawrence for the entire moto. He rode a patient race with the realistic expectation that the 450 rookie Lawrence might make a mistake. Lawrence bounced from rut to rut in this race, but would not be forced into losing his focus.
“Toward the finish line area I had some decent lines, I thought maybe, if I could get close enough, I could make a move,” Sexton said. “I tried my hardest; I got close. I made a bit of an attempt with maybe 10 minutes to go and messed up. Jett was obviously riding really good. We were pushing the pace and it was a fun moto. It felt a little like last year.”
With his 1-1 finish and the overall victory, Lawrence remains perfect at Fox Raceway after sweeping Victory Lane in five rounds his 250 career.
Dylan Ferrandis returned to the track after suffering a concussion in the Supercross season in Round 4 in Houston. He attempted to return for the Daytona Supercross race, but another hard crash on Media Day set him on the sideline.
“Earlier this week I was pretty far from a podium position, so got together with the team and we made it happen,” Ferrandis said. “It was very hard. [Aaron Plessinger] was pushing me and I had to dig very deep.”
In a pre-race news conference, he indicated that the best course of action was to get up to speed before he fully sent his bike into the turns. But adrenalin is a wonderful factor and once he got into the pace of the race, he held off charges from Cooper Webb in Moto 1 and Plessinger in Moto 2. Ferrandis’ 3-3 finishes in the two races earned 40 points and puts him back in the conversation to be among the top 20 in the combined SuperMotocross standings.
Plessinger and Webb each ended the day with 34 points. Plessinger won the tiebreaker for fifth overall in the standings. But it was an adventurous afternoon for Plessinger who had to overcome a pair of falls in the first Moto to finish fifth.
Round 1 of the Pro Motocross season marked the return of Webb after he suffered a Supercross series ending concussion in a heat race at Nashville.
“This was a last minute decision,” Webb said. “I sat out last summer and I didn’t want to do that again. Once I got cleared from the doctor, it was game on.”
The battle between Lawrence and Sexton gave Honda a 1-2 finish in this race for the second straight year, but perhaps most importantly, it provided a glimpse of what can be expected during the opening rounds.
I think there is more to come from Chase,” Lawrence said. “He had that crash in practice so it rung his head a bit, but I know it’s going to be a war in the outdoor season. I know there’s going to be times when I’m behind Chase and can’t get around him. It’s going to be an awesome season and I can’t wait to race my teammate.”
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Jett wasn’t the only Lawrence to win Fox Raceway Motocross. Hunter’s win in the 250 class marked the first time in history that brothers won a Motocross National on the same day.
The reigning 250 East Supercross champion scored the overall victory with a third in Moto 1 and a victory in Moto 2. A poor start in the first race forced Lawrence to mount a charge from behind. Riding with discomfort, Lawrence was out of his rhythm early. A spirited battle with Jo Shimoda and Justin Cooper for third through fifth forced him to push through the pain of an injury suffered at the start of the week.
“The start was crucial,” Lawrence said. “I had a massive crash Monday and could barely ride press day for three laps, I was in so much pain. This one goes out to Dr. [Rey Gubernick]. He has magic hands.”
Lawrence’s strong start to Moto 2 put him in a better zone and he pulled an eight-second advantage over the second-place rider.
Haiden Deegan got a taste of the Motocross series last year, but that was all it was: a nibble.
Deegan failed to crack the top 10 in either of two starts and had some questions for himself before the race began. Deegan did not believe there were high expectations placed on him for this race, which is precisely how he described his first Supercross attempt. In that inaugural SX race, he finished fourth and was as surprised as anyone in the field.
Again: The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Deegan surprised himself again by finishing second in only his third Motocross National. He finished sixth in Moto 1 and second in Moto 2, giving him a second-place finish overall.
“I’m actually a little surprised,” Deegan said. “A lot of people said I wouldn’t even be close to this. I guess we’re proving people wrong and that’s what we’ve got to do Second place in my first full season. I’m hyped.”
RJ Hampshire had to overcome a pair of falls in Moto 2 to score the final podium position in the overall standings. – Align Media
RJ Hampshire made a statement in Moto 1. An entirely new discipline allowed Hampshire to grab an early advantage. But then a poor start to Moto 2 provided an entirely different challenge. Two falls on Lap 1 dropped Hampshire to 39th in the running order.
“I didn’t have a great start and got mayhem in that second corner and went down,” Hampshire said. “Picked [myself] up in last and made some really good passes and then going uphill on the [backstretch], someone got out of whack – took me out and I was dead last again. I didn’t really know if I had a shot at the podium, but I was digging really deep.”
It took half of the race to get back into the points in 20th, but Hampshire kept digging. Passing riders one at a time, he climbed to 11th in Moto 2 and salvaged enough points to give him the third position overall.
Maximus Vohland made a statement of his own by holding off a determined Lawrence on the last two laps. Lawrence was able to pressure Vohland when they were slowed by a lapped rider who fell in front of the battle.
Tom Vialle was in a position to take the final overall podium spot with a solid third-place finish in the second moto. He did everything he could, but Hampshire’s determined charge from the back of the pack was capped off with a two-position advance on the final lap to slide onto the final step of the box.
