Rookie qualifies at No. 1

Shawn Langdon has won races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in half-scale NHRA Jr. Dragsters and regional amateur drag races.

He’ll be at the pinnacle of his rookie professional season today when he’s introduced as the No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel Dragster for elimination rounds of the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals, which begin at 11 a.m.

“This feels great,” he said after completing a best 1,000-foot run in 3.874 seconds (311.41 mph) before an estimated crowd of 17,000.

Tony Pedregon qualified No. 1 in Funny Car, and Mike Edwards won his third Pro Stock pole of the year with a track record.

“I’ve been trying to do the best I can as a rookie driver and not make any mistakes,” said Langdon, 26, a Southern California native who has won the past two NHRA Super Comp national championships. “The guys know what they’re doing, and (crew chief John Stewart) has been out here forever.

“They know how to make a car run. I just try to keep the thing straight.”

Pedregon, the 2003 and 2007 Funny Car champion, won the 35th pole of his career and third at the speedway.

With only 17 cars contesting for today’s 16 elimination positions, Pedregon firmly was locked into the field and was able to go for the pole.

“What a huge benefit it is when you know you’re qualified,” he said.

Edwards tested his Pontiac GXP at the speedway in January and said that’s why he was able to set a track-record elapsed time of 6.656 seconds (206.16 mph).

“The conditions were really good, and the track was really good,” said Edwards, of Cowetta, Okla. “We’ve had an awesome start this year, that’s for sure.”

• PRO STOCK — Ron Krisher failed to qualify for today’s Pro Stock eliminations after he won the event title a week ago near Houston.

• FUNNY CAR — John Force qualified seventh for today’s eliminations after failing to qualify for the event the last two years.

Bob Bode, who had the professional pole after Friday qualifying for the first time in his career, fell to fifth. That still is his best starting position.

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.