Las Vegas - Duane Shields driving the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster enjoyed a solid weekend at the 17th annual NHRA Toyota Nationals held in his home town of Las Vegas. Duane qualified 5th with a respectable 5.31 at 270 MPH. Besides the racing, there was plenty of action in the PEAK pit area as Duane hosted a dinner after qualifying for all of the top alcohol teams in attendance. In addition, many home town fans who attended the sold out race visited their pit throughout the weekend.
In round one, Duane faced Ashley Sanford who has been making headlines lately in her quest to race Top Fuel. As the lights came down Duane got off the starting line first with an 0.070 reaction time to Sanford’s 0.091. Duane needed the starting line advantage as his car shook and he was forced to pedal in order to save the run. At the top end he dropped a cylinder but still was able to take an exciting win with a 5.42 at 264 MPH to Sanford’s close 5.44 at 271 MPH.
In the quarterfinals, Duane took on Chris Demke. As both cars staged Duane slightly moved his foot against the pedal which caused the car to break the starting line beam and triggered a red light giving the win to Demke. “Overall it was a good race. The car ran good, we qualified well and we had a great first round win. We have been on the road all year so it was nice to see our home town fans” Duane said.
With the season wrapping up, there are just two races left including a historically difficult regional event next weekend at the same venue. “We will be back here next weekend for the regional event and then roll into Pomona for the final race of the season, and then get ready for next year” Duane said. As always, Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support.
In round one, Duane faced Ashley Sanford who has been making headlines lately in her quest to race Top Fuel. As the lights came down Duane got off the starting line first with an 0.070 reaction time to Sanford’s 0.091. Duane needed the starting line advantage as his car shook and he was forced to pedal in order to save the run. At the top end he dropped a cylinder but still was able to take an exciting win with a 5.42 at 264 MPH to Sanford’s close 5.44 at 271 MPH.
In the quarterfinals, Duane took on Chris Demke. As both cars staged Duane slightly moved his foot against the pedal which caused the car to break the starting line beam and triggered a red light giving the win to Demke. “Overall it was a good race. The car ran good, we qualified well and we had a great first round win. We have been on the road all year so it was nice to see our home town fans” Duane said.
With the season wrapping up, there are just two races left including a historically difficult regional event next weekend at the same venue. “We will be back here next weekend for the regional event and then roll into Pomona for the final race of the season, and then get ready for next year” Duane said. As always, Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support.
