The fans and racers thought the 2025 American Rebel Light Virginia NHRA Nationals were settled and done when Shawn Langdon defeated Justin Ashley in the final round of Top Fuel. Boy, were they wrong. In a stunning turn of events, the NHRA announced Monday that it was disqualifying Langdon’s final round victory and handing the win to Justin Ashley due to a safety violation.

Things seemed to be amiss after the NHRA amended its post-race coverage of the event on NHRA.com with the following: “In Top Fuel, Shawn Langdon crossed the finish line ahead of Justin Ashley, but the results are under review for a possible rules infraction on Langdon’s car. The final-round result is under review.”

Speculation quickly began flying on social media as to what exactly happened and what was under review. Monday afternoon, the NHRA made its announcement as to what the final outcome of the event would be.

Right after the NHRA made its announcement, Kalitta Motorsports made one of its own. It’s a tough pill to swallow after such a big victory. There’s no doubt it will have points implications for the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series regular season crown.

In the end, the NHRA was founded on the idea of making drag racing safer. This may seem like a trivial reason for a disqualification, but safety rules on cars that go over 330 mph are very important. The Kalitta Motorsports team showed that it really is a top-tier operation by taking ownership of the situation in its statement.