Six fast-scanning tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS)-based diagnostics targeting nitric oxide (NO) in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) and excited oxygen (O*) and excited nitrogen (N*) in the near-IR are employed in mixtures of air for a sweep of incident shock velocities (3.0–7.2 km/s) and fill pressures (1.4–10.0 Torr). Laser scan rates up to 1 MHz probe multiple absorption features to provide quantitative measurements of temperature and species number density profiles behind the incident shock. TDLAS and emission measurements are compared to two in-house models and the Data Parallel Line Relaxation Code (DPLR). In shots targeting measurements of NO, emission and TDLAS-inferred temperatures are found to be higher than models in most conditions. There is also a greater offset between emission measurements and simulations than TDLAS measurements and simulations. In shots targeting measurements of O* ( \(\mathrm {3s^5S^{\circ}\rightarrow 3p^5P_3}\) ) at 777 nm and ( \(\mathrm {3p^5P^{\circ}\rightarrow 3d^5D^o_{2,3,4}}\) ) at 926 nm, and N* ( \(\mathrm {3s^4P\rightarrow 3d^4D^{\circ}}\) ) at 868 nm, TDLAS-inferred measurements of temperature trend with Park-based models towards equilibrium. There is good agreement in temperature between emission-based inferences, TDLAS measurements, and simulations. TDLAS measurements of O* ( \(\mathrm {^5S}\) ) at 777 nm and N* ( \(\mathrm {^4P}\) ) at 868 nm are found to be higher than models, while O* ( \(\mathrm {^5P}\) ) at 926 nm is generally lower than models. These discrepancies motivate ongoing model validation studies and sensitivity analyses to resolve the accuracy of current modeling assumptions.