Shawn Langdon put himself on top Friday at New England Dragway, turning in a 3.709-second run at 334.98 mph in his Kalitta Air dragster to become the provisional No. 1 qualifier at the NHRA New England Nationals presented by bproauto.

The run gave Langdon the No. 1 Clawifier Award presented by NAPA and kept him in position to carry his strong season into the rest of the weekend. He entered the event as the Top Fuel points leader, had won three straight races and four of the past six, and was chasing his second straight No. 1 qualifier and fourth overall in 2026. Friday's result mattered because the New England Nationals are the eighth of 20 races in the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, and the opening night often sets the tone before final qualifying is done.

Langdon said his team has worked hard for the last couple of years and he was happy to see that effort show up on the scoreboard. He added that he used to watch teams that seemed ready to throw down on Friday night, and now that is his group. He credited crew chief Brian Husen and said the team has real chemistry, adapted well to the conditions and knew it had to push hard on the night run.

Leah Pruett was second in Top Fuel after a 3.712-second pass, and Josh Hart was third with a 3.724-second run at 337.92 mph. In Funny Car, Alexis DeJoria took the provisional top spot with a 3.929-second pass at 312.42 mph in her Bandero Café Chevrolet SS, while Greg Anderson led Pro Stock and joined Langdon and DeJoria as the Friday provisional No. 1 qualifier in his class.

Langdon has already built momentum into this stop, but the weekend is not locked in yet. The remaining qualifying sessions will decide whether he, DeJoria and Anderson can hold their spots when the final order is set at New England Dragway.