Norwalk, Ohio - Overall it was a good weekend for Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. They were the top qualifier in the Top Alcohol Dragster class and the car is running stellar. It was all good except for and unexpected change of plans in round two when the car smoked the tires at the wrong possible time thus ending the weekend early for the popular Nevada driver.
Duane qualified on the pole with a 5.30 at 271 MPH which set up a first round appointment with John Gutierrez in round one. It was not an easy race to win even though it appeared to be on paper. Gutierrez got the starting line advantage with an 0.032 to Duane’s 0.087 which gave him an early lead. However, the PEAK Dragster was able to quickly regain the lead and passed Gutierrez in time to grab the finish line stripe. Duane recorded a winning 5.39 at 271 MPH to Gutierrez’s 5.53 at 258 MPH.
In round two, Duane drew Rich McPhillips. At the hit both cars left evenly with McPhillips getting a slight edge. Both cars were side by side when suddenly the PEAK dragster started to lose traction 100 feet out allowing McPhillips to get past him to take the win with a 5.35 at 268 MPH to Duane’s 6.99 at 134 MPH. “It came as a total surprise to us, we did not expect to smoke the tires. Rich went on to win the race so congratulations to him. The PEAK car is running good even in challenging weather conditions like the heat we experienced here in Norwalk. We are confident the car will run good at the next two races in Lebanon Valley and then the JEGS All Star Race in Chicago the following weekend” Duane said.
Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support in 2016.
Duane qualified on the pole with a 5.30 at 271 MPH which set up a first round appointment with John Gutierrez in round one. It was not an easy race to win even though it appeared to be on paper. Gutierrez got the starting line advantage with an 0.032 to Duane’s 0.087 which gave him an early lead. However, the PEAK Dragster was able to quickly regain the lead and passed Gutierrez in time to grab the finish line stripe. Duane recorded a winning 5.39 at 271 MPH to Gutierrez’s 5.53 at 258 MPH.
In round two, Duane drew Rich McPhillips. At the hit both cars left evenly with McPhillips getting a slight edge. Both cars were side by side when suddenly the PEAK dragster started to lose traction 100 feet out allowing McPhillips to get past him to take the win with a 5.35 at 268 MPH to Duane’s 6.99 at 134 MPH. “It came as a total surprise to us, we did not expect to smoke the tires. Rich went on to win the race so congratulations to him. The PEAK car is running good even in challenging weather conditions like the heat we experienced here in Norwalk. We are confident the car will run good at the next two races in Lebanon Valley and then the JEGS All Star Race in Chicago the following weekend” Duane said.
Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support in 2016.
