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Shawn Langdon's time on the sidelines is officially over.
Langdon, 34, and a past NHRA Top Fuel champion, has joined Kalitta Motorsports as part of an expansion into a three-car team starting later this month at the NHRA Springnationals outside of Houston, Texas.
Global Electronic Technology serves as the primary sponsor for the new team in 19 of the remaining 20 events this season.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity to drive the Global Electronic Technology dragster,” Langdon said. “It is awesome to see new companies like Global Electronic Technology come in to drag racing, and I am excited to be a part of it.
“It’s been a tough year so far with me sitting on the sidelines. It has been the first time since my rookie year in 2009 that I haven’t been able to attend the NHRA races. I cannot thank Connie and Jim O enough for the opportunity. Kalitta has top quality cars that contend for wins and championships, so I feel that this partnership will work well.”
Langdon previously drove for Don Schumacher Racing, but the team was parked in 2017 due to lack of primary sponsorship.
"I also want to thank Don (Schumacher) and everybody at Don Schumacher Racing for bringing me in when I didn’t have a ride and making me feel like part of the family," Langdon continued. "We did everything we could to find adequate funding, and I want to thank Don for keeping me on the payroll throughout the process of trying to find sponsorship.
“My focus is to contend for a championship. We are seven rounds out of the top 10, and we have 14 races to catch up, and I am confident in my chances with the group that Kalitta is putting behind me.”
Before graduating into Top Fuel in 2009, Langdon secured back-to-back NHRA Super Comp championships in 2007 and 2008. As a professional, he's earned 14 race wins in 25 final rounds. The Mira Loma, Calif. native also has eight consecutive Countdown to the Championship finishes and claimed the Traxxas Shootout $100,000 bonus in 2013.
Langdon's return to full-time competition is made possible by an agreement with Global Electronic Technology, the fastest name in credit card processing.
“Samantha and I are honored to join one of the top teams in NHRA racing,” said Steve Bryson, Global Electronic Technology Founder and CEO. “We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Connie Kalitta, Jim Oberhofer, Rob Flynn and Shawn Langdon for helping make this come true. We are very excited to join a family like Kalitta and start at the top! See you in Baytown, Texas for the debut of the Kalitta/Global dragster.”
Based in Torrance, CA, Global Electronic Technology has over a quarter century of expertise in the payment processing industry. The Global Electronic Technology team is committed to setting the standard by delivering the most advanced technological packages in the payment processing industry, which makes their team one of the most knowledgeable in the world. Global Electronic Technology first joined Kalitta Motorsports in the offseason as a major associate partner on dragster driven by Doug Kalitta.
“All of Kalitta Motorsports is excited to represent Global Electronic Technology in this capacity,” said Jim Oberhofer, Vice President of Operations for Kalitta Motorsports. “Steve and Samantha Bryson have been truly unbelievable to work with and their excitement for the sport of drag racing is infectious. I am also thrilled to be able to welcome Shawn Langdon to the Kalitta Motorsports team. Drivers with his record do not become available often, and we are excited to be able to have him join our organization.”
The addition of the fifth team will create moves within the team's crew personnel. Langdon's dragster will be tuned by Connie Kalitta and Rob Flynn, who previously tuned for driver Troy Coughlin Jr.
Coughlin, behind the wheel of the SealMaster dragster, will now be tuned by Glen Huszar and Nick Casertano.
Jim Oberhofer, assisted by Troy Fasching, will now serve as the lead tuner on both the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster driven by Doug Kalitta and the SealMaster Top Fuel dragster piloted by Coughlin.
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Bobby Bennett is the Publisher/Editor of CompetitionPlus.com, a leading independent online drag racing magazine, since 1999. For the latest in dragster news worldwide, visit www.competitionplus.com or follow on Twitter @competitionplus
