West Lebanon Valley - Duane Shields got cooled off of a hot winning streak where he had won three consecutive NHRA Lucas Oil Eastern Regional Events. Still, the popular racer who came all the way from Nevada to Lebanon Valley Dragway in Upstate New York had a good weekend over all. In qualifying, Duane qualified the PEAK A/Fuel dragster second out of 14 cars with a 5.44 at 270 MPH. “It was one of those races decided by a few thousands of a second that could go either way. For an example, one thousandths of a second was the difference between the number one qualifier and our PEAK team qualifying in the number two position” Duane said.
In round one, Duane took care of Richard St. Pierre who qualified seventh with a 5.69 at 247 MPH. As the lights came down on the tree, Duane got a significant lead off of the starting line with a .077 light to St. Pierre’s 0.415. As it would turn out, Duane beat St. Pierre significantly at both ends of the track as he posted a victorious 5.37 at 269 MPH to St. Pierre’s 5.57 at 250 MPH to move into the next round.
In the semi finals, Duane faced Frank Schuster who was sharp on his lights all weekend and had an .009 light in round one. Sadly for Duane this trend continued in the semis as Schuster was off the line first with an .007 to Duane’s .076. Duane was able to get within striking distance with a quicker 5.37 at 269 MPH to Schuster’s slower 5.44 at 260 MPH. However, Schuster was able to win the round by a whisker, crossing the finish line by just .003 of a second ahead of Duane. “Schuster had a good light in round one and then another good reaction time in round two against me but he red lit in the final round. You live by the light and die by the light. I wouldn’t have done anything much different. I just want to continue to drive consistently and have a good car that continues to perform well” Duane said.
The PEAK team is now off to Norwalk, Ohio for the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals July 2-5. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting his team in 2015.
In round one, Duane took care of Richard St. Pierre who qualified seventh with a 5.69 at 247 MPH. As the lights came down on the tree, Duane got a significant lead off of the starting line with a .077 light to St. Pierre’s 0.415. As it would turn out, Duane beat St. Pierre significantly at both ends of the track as he posted a victorious 5.37 at 269 MPH to St. Pierre’s 5.57 at 250 MPH to move into the next round.
In the semi finals, Duane faced Frank Schuster who was sharp on his lights all weekend and had an .009 light in round one. Sadly for Duane this trend continued in the semis as Schuster was off the line first with an .007 to Duane’s .076. Duane was able to get within striking distance with a quicker 5.37 at 269 MPH to Schuster’s slower 5.44 at 260 MPH. However, Schuster was able to win the round by a whisker, crossing the finish line by just .003 of a second ahead of Duane. “Schuster had a good light in round one and then another good reaction time in round two against me but he red lit in the final round. You live by the light and die by the light. I wouldn’t have done anything much different. I just want to continue to drive consistently and have a good car that continues to perform well” Duane said.
The PEAK team is now off to Norwalk, Ohio for the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals July 2-5. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting his team in 2015.
