Shawn Langdon races to first Funny Car victory

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Shawn Langdon won the Funny Car title in the NGK Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals on Sunday to become the second driver to win in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories at zMAX Dragway and the 17th in NHRA history with wins in both categories.

Langdon, a 14-time winner in Top Fuel and a former season champion, won in his 30th Funny Car start. He had a run of 4.125-seconds at 305.08 mph in the final in a Toyota Camry. Robert Hight was second, followed by John Force and Matt Hagan.

“There’s so many things that I’ve gone through to get to this point,” Langdon said. “The reason I’m here is because of the people I’ve been surrounded by. They’re the ones who picked me to drive the car and I’ve been so fortunate to get to drive for a legend like Connie Kalitta. Working with these guys has really elevated my game.”

Steve Torrence won in Top Fuel, and Andrew Hines in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Defending season champion Torrence raced to his first victory of the season and third in a row in the event with a 3.778 at 323.19. Clay Millican was second, followed by Terry McMillen and Leah Pritchett.

Hines became the first Pro Stock Motorcycle rider to reach 50 victories, edging Harley-Davidson teammate Eddie Krawiec with a 6.831 at 198.17.