rocketman
Nitro Member
It was a hard way to end a great season as Duane Shields, the Defending Champion in Top Alcohol Dragster, did not qualify for the Auto Club Finals, the last NHRA event of the season. Auto Club Raceway in Pomona was the scene of another tough field where 24 cars were gunning to get into a 16 car field. Historically, even some of the toughest fields have not been a problem for the popular driver from Las Vegas but this weekend the traction gremlins were out in force every time the PEAK Dragster approached the starting line.
In the first stanza, the PEAK Dragster shook the tires causing Duane to pedal. Duane recorded a 5.47 at 268 MPH on the run which put him in the ominous thirteenth position. In the second round, Duane shook the tires again and slid down to the fifteenth position with an ironically quicker time of 5.39 at 271 MPH. While a 5.39 is usually quick enough to qualify at most national events, this was an exceptionally quick field and the PEAK team knew the 5.39 likely wouldn’t hold by the end of the third and final round of qualifying.
As expected, the final qualifying round was do or die for the PEAK team but they were confident that they would make a good enough pass to stay in the show but sadly it wasn’t to be. The car launched hard but then shuttered and blew the tires off just before mid track, ending a year long streak of qualifying at each race the PEAK team entered.
All things considered, the PEAK team had a very good year by winning two national events back to back in Charlotte and Reading. They also clinched the Eastern Regional Championship by winning four races in Gainesville, Virginia, Reading and Epping. Overall, the team finished in third place nationally. Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting the team in a big way in 2015.
In the first stanza, the PEAK Dragster shook the tires causing Duane to pedal. Duane recorded a 5.47 at 268 MPH on the run which put him in the ominous thirteenth position. In the second round, Duane shook the tires again and slid down to the fifteenth position with an ironically quicker time of 5.39 at 271 MPH. While a 5.39 is usually quick enough to qualify at most national events, this was an exceptionally quick field and the PEAK team knew the 5.39 likely wouldn’t hold by the end of the third and final round of qualifying.
As expected, the final qualifying round was do or die for the PEAK team but they were confident that they would make a good enough pass to stay in the show but sadly it wasn’t to be. The car launched hard but then shuttered and blew the tires off just before mid track, ending a year long streak of qualifying at each race the PEAK team entered.
All things considered, the PEAK team had a very good year by winning two national events back to back in Charlotte and Reading. They also clinched the Eastern Regional Championship by winning four races in Gainesville, Virginia, Reading and Epping. Overall, the team finished in third place nationally. Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting the team in a big way in 2015.
