Reading PA - Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster had an impressive weekend making it to the final round of the NHRA Nationals held at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, PA. He also went three rounds in the Charlotte make up race which was contested during qualifying.
In the Charlotte portion of the event, Duane beat Rich McPhillips in the second round but lost a close race in the semifinals to Randy Meyer. Duane posted a very competitive 5.32 at 271 MPH to Meyer’s slightly quicker 5.28 at 271 MPH.
Duane qualified fourth in the tough Reading field with a 5.30 at 270 MPH. In the first round, Duane took on Wayne Morris. At the hit, Morris got the starting line advantage but Duane was able to over power Morris immediately when he lost traction. Duane took the win with a stellar 5.27 at 274 MPH to Morris’ 6.45 at 169 MPH.
In round two, Duane faced Mia Tedesco. As the lights came down on the tree it was Duane off of the first with a 0.052 to Tedesco’s 0.081. Duane then fought off a mid track charge by Tedesco and took the win with a sizzling 5.23 at 273 MPH to Tedesco’s impressive 5.24 at 272 MPH. “Mia ran really well today and I believe this was the quickest side by side race all year in Top Alcohol Dragster” Duane said.
In the semis it was a classic showdown between Randy Meyer and Duane Shields who have been battling it out all season. As the lights came down Meyer was out of the gate first and had the lead but began to smoke the tires. Meanwhile, Duane passed him and hung on for a trip to the finals posting a 5.26 at 273 MPH to Meyer’s 5.95 at 204 MPH. “Randy had beat us five times this year but we felt confident we would finally beat him” Duane said.
The final round pitted Duane Shields’ A/Fuel dragster vs. the quickest blown alcohol dragster in the land driven by newly crowned National Champion Chris Demke. At the start, Demke zoomed off the line with a nearly perfect 005. light. Duane was in hot pursuit but smoked a crank shaft at mid track which slowed him down. With the engine going away Duane was unable to catch Demke who crossed the finish line with a 5.26 at 272 MPH to Duane’s 5.39 at 255 MPH. “They had their lucky round in the semis and had to swap engines so Chris was wired on adrenalin by the time he got to the line and cut that .05 light. They had nothing to lose with the replacement engine and it worked well” Duane conceded.
Even though the PEAK team was disappointed they didn’t win the final round they were happy with how consistent the car performed. “We were very pleased with how well the car ran all weekend and feel good going into the last three races of the year. At this race we have a big cheering section full of friends and fans who we have gotten to know over the years so I was glad they could see us win some rounds and go to the finals” Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for all of their support this season.
In the Charlotte portion of the event, Duane beat Rich McPhillips in the second round but lost a close race in the semifinals to Randy Meyer. Duane posted a very competitive 5.32 at 271 MPH to Meyer’s slightly quicker 5.28 at 271 MPH.
Duane qualified fourth in the tough Reading field with a 5.30 at 270 MPH. In the first round, Duane took on Wayne Morris. At the hit, Morris got the starting line advantage but Duane was able to over power Morris immediately when he lost traction. Duane took the win with a stellar 5.27 at 274 MPH to Morris’ 6.45 at 169 MPH.
In round two, Duane faced Mia Tedesco. As the lights came down on the tree it was Duane off of the first with a 0.052 to Tedesco’s 0.081. Duane then fought off a mid track charge by Tedesco and took the win with a sizzling 5.23 at 273 MPH to Tedesco’s impressive 5.24 at 272 MPH. “Mia ran really well today and I believe this was the quickest side by side race all year in Top Alcohol Dragster” Duane said.
In the semis it was a classic showdown between Randy Meyer and Duane Shields who have been battling it out all season. As the lights came down Meyer was out of the gate first and had the lead but began to smoke the tires. Meanwhile, Duane passed him and hung on for a trip to the finals posting a 5.26 at 273 MPH to Meyer’s 5.95 at 204 MPH. “Randy had beat us five times this year but we felt confident we would finally beat him” Duane said.
The final round pitted Duane Shields’ A/Fuel dragster vs. the quickest blown alcohol dragster in the land driven by newly crowned National Champion Chris Demke. At the start, Demke zoomed off the line with a nearly perfect 005. light. Duane was in hot pursuit but smoked a crank shaft at mid track which slowed him down. With the engine going away Duane was unable to catch Demke who crossed the finish line with a 5.26 at 272 MPH to Duane’s 5.39 at 255 MPH. “They had their lucky round in the semis and had to swap engines so Chris was wired on adrenalin by the time he got to the line and cut that .05 light. They had nothing to lose with the replacement engine and it worked well” Duane conceded.
Even though the PEAK team was disappointed they didn’t win the final round they were happy with how consistent the car performed. “We were very pleased with how well the car ran all weekend and feel good going into the last three races of the year. At this race we have a big cheering section full of friends and fans who we have gotten to know over the years so I was glad they could see us win some rounds and go to the finals” Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for all of their support this season.
