(Photos by Mike Burghardt, Bob Wingfield and NHRA Media)  It’s that time of the year called the Silly Season, where drivers in all forms of motorsport are rumored to be moving from team to team, grabbing the few opportunities out there to make their run at a championship in the upcoming season.

Every driver and team wants to put together the best damn team ever assembled in all of professional drag racing, so with the recent announcement that Kalitta Motorsports Funny Car pilot Alexis DeJoria will retire from NHRA competition following the conclusion of the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, Kalitta Motorsports needed to fill the gap of her exit.

Today, Jim Oberhofer, Vice President of Operations, Kalitta Motorsport announced that 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon will make the move to the Nitro Funny Car class for the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season. The current primary sponsor on the Top Fueler Langdon drives, Global Electronic Technology, will move with him and back a Toyota Camry Funny Car.

“I am definitely excited about this new adventure,” said Langdon. “I am very thankful to Steve & Samantha Bryson and everyone at Global Electronic Technology for standing behind me as a driver and everyone at Team Kalitta for giving me this opportunity.”

Langdon will lean on teammate J.R. Todd, who moved from Top Fuel to Funny Car prior to this season.

“I am a little nervous because I feel like I will be starting from square one. Funny Car is very new to me. I am going to work with J.R. on everything that he has learned on the Funny Car side and look to continue to grow as a driver.”

Langdon has spent most of his successful life in the drag racing world. He made his NHRA professional debut in a Top Fuel dragster (above) in 2009 with nitro genius Allen Johnson, but was already a champion, as he owned both National Junior Dragster and National Super Comp titles. In 2013, he added a U.S. Nationals win to his list of accolades and finished the year with the Top Fuel championship. In his 202 career starts,

Langdon has scored 14 race wins, eighteen number 1 qualifiers and 239 round wins. He’ll have the opportunity to become the 17th driver in NHRA history to hold trophies in both nitro classes and just the fourth to have Top Fuel and Funny Car championship titles.

“We are really excited about Shawn making the switch over to Funny Car. It was a no brainer for us; very similar to the decision to put J.R. in the DHL Toyota,” said Jim Oberhofer, Vice President of Operations, Kalitta Motorsports. “That team competes to win races and championships. Shawn is a very talented driver, and we know he will achieve much success in the 2018 season. We are thrilled and thankful that Steve & Samantha Bryson and Global Electronic Technology agreed with this decision and are excited about next season.”

Global Electronic Technology joined Team Kalitta as Langdon’s primary backer beginning earlier this season in Houston and announced an extension to their deal for the 2018 season at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. 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.

“Were it not for the fine crew of Kalitta Motorsports and my own team at Global Electronic Technology, we would not be where we are today,” said Steve Bryson, CEO and Founder, Global Electronic Technology. “I cannot express my happiness and gratitude enough for my second childhood in auto racing with the finest people in America.”

Langdon’s Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry Funny Car will be tuned by 2015 championship co-crew chief Nicky Bonfinante and 2011 Titleist Tommy DeLago. Todd’s DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car will continue to be led by the championship-winning duo of Jon Oberhofer and Todd Smith.

The remainder of the 2018 season plans for Kalitta Motorsports will be announced at a later date.

Kalitta Motorsports Funny Car pilot Alexis DeJoria will retire from NHRA competition following the conclusion of the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season,