Gainesville, FL - For the second time this season and the third time if you count the final race of 2020 in Las Vegas, the Muscle Milk A/Fuel Dragster team made it to the final round of an NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series regional event. This week, the team went to the finals at the "Baby Gators" held the week prior to the Amalie NHRA Gatornationals.
Due to a rainy weather forecast, qualifying was limited to just two rounds and there were 14 good teams fighting to get into a tight eight-car field. After an aborted run in the opening qualifying session, Duane got into the show as the seventh seed with a 5.30 at 277 MPH.
In the first round of eliminations, Duane took on Rich McPhillips Jr. in the green McPhillips family entry. At the hit, it was McPhillips out first, with a .075 reaction time to Duane's .096 but it didn't take long for Duane to nose ahead and capture a close win with a 5.28 at 277 MPH to McPhillips' competitive 5.31 at 278 MPH.
In the semifinal round, it wasn't pretty as both Duane and his opponent Mick Steele smoked the tires. Duane's experience came into play as he was able to pedal four times to get the Muscle Milk car down the track and posted a 7.36 at 236 MPH to take the win. Steele, in the other lane, was never able to get a good bite on the track and had to idle to the finish line.
In the final round, Duane raced Julie Nataas. At the start, both cars were on a good run but Duane started to lose traction at the 330 foot mark. Meanwhile, Nataas was on a clean pass and took the victory with a 5.23 to Duane's 11.23. "We think old tires were to blame for the loss of traction and we will have a new set on the car next weekend" Duane explained.
The Muscle Milk team will spend the next few days getting ready for the Gatornationals and hope to extend their final round hot streak. Duane summed up the "Baby Gators" this way. "I'm disappointed. We wanted the win but anytime you get in the finals it's a good weekend". Duane would like to thank his sponsors including Muscle Milk, NGK, Brad Anderson Enterprises, GRP Connecting Rods, SRI, and CleanBoost for their support in 2021.
Due to a rainy weather forecast, qualifying was limited to just two rounds and there were 14 good teams fighting to get into a tight eight-car field. After an aborted run in the opening qualifying session, Duane got into the show as the seventh seed with a 5.30 at 277 MPH.
In the first round of eliminations, Duane took on Rich McPhillips Jr. in the green McPhillips family entry. At the hit, it was McPhillips out first, with a .075 reaction time to Duane's .096 but it didn't take long for Duane to nose ahead and capture a close win with a 5.28 at 277 MPH to McPhillips' competitive 5.31 at 278 MPH.
In the semifinal round, it wasn't pretty as both Duane and his opponent Mick Steele smoked the tires. Duane's experience came into play as he was able to pedal four times to get the Muscle Milk car down the track and posted a 7.36 at 236 MPH to take the win. Steele, in the other lane, was never able to get a good bite on the track and had to idle to the finish line.
In the final round, Duane raced Julie Nataas. At the start, both cars were on a good run but Duane started to lose traction at the 330 foot mark. Meanwhile, Nataas was on a clean pass and took the victory with a 5.23 to Duane's 11.23. "We think old tires were to blame for the loss of traction and we will have a new set on the car next weekend" Duane explained.
The Muscle Milk team will spend the next few days getting ready for the Gatornationals and hope to extend their final round hot streak. Duane summed up the "Baby Gators" this way. "I'm disappointed. We wanted the win but anytime you get in the finals it's a good weekend". Duane would like to thank his sponsors including Muscle Milk, NGK, Brad Anderson Enterprises, GRP Connecting Rods, SRI, and CleanBoost for their support in 2021.
