Mohnton,PA - Duane Shields and the PEAK Top Alcohol Dragster team are undefeated so far in NHRA regional competition. This past weekend they added the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series regional event held at Maple Grove Raceway into their trifecta which also includes wins in Gainesville, Fl and Dinwiddie, Va. This was no ordinary event as the track was recently repaved, there was a monster field of cars and the stands were filled on Saturday. The event and the track surface scored rave reviews by Duane. "It was a great event and the first major race since it was repaved. They did some good advertising and a special carload promotion helped make it a successful turnout. The track itself was perfect, very smooth and really nice" he said.
The PEAK dragster qualified second with a 5.34 at 271 MPH in a tough field. "Twenty cars competed for an eight car field which made it very competitive. You really had to be on your game just to qualify" Duane added.
In round one, Duane raced Dan Mercier, of LaPrairie, PQ, who qualified 7th with a 5.44 at 270 MPH. At the hit Mercier lost traction and Duane was long gone scoring a sizzling5.24 at 274 MPH to seal an easy win.
Prior to the semi finals there was a long delay due to numerous oil downs resulting in the second round being pushed back to 9:30. By this time the track was starting to go away due to the cool track temperature. Duane's opponent in the semis was local standout Karen Stalba of Downingtown, PA. At the hit, Stalba was out first but Duane quickly made up the difference and took the win with a 5.41 at 272 MPH to Stalba's 6.06 at 188 MPH. "It was getting cool and the car shook. I had to pedal it one second into the run" Duane said.
Because of the earlier delays and the late hour, the final round was postponed until the following day. On Sunday, Duane faced Jeff Veale, who had taken out Rich McPhillips in the second round.Veale had lane choice in the finals but it didn't seem to matter as he instantly went up in smoke at the hit. Duane in the other lane flew to the event victory with a jaw dropping 5.27 at 274 MPH. "We now have three regional wins in a row and we're very happy with how our regional program is going. We also have a lot of friends here celebrating with us so we're having a great time" Duane said after the win.
Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze, PEAK Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP, Brad Anderson Enterprises and Meadows Construction for their support in 2015.
The PEAK dragster qualified second with a 5.34 at 271 MPH in a tough field. "Twenty cars competed for an eight car field which made it very competitive. You really had to be on your game just to qualify" Duane added.
In round one, Duane raced Dan Mercier, of LaPrairie, PQ, who qualified 7th with a 5.44 at 270 MPH. At the hit Mercier lost traction and Duane was long gone scoring a sizzling5.24 at 274 MPH to seal an easy win.
Prior to the semi finals there was a long delay due to numerous oil downs resulting in the second round being pushed back to 9:30. By this time the track was starting to go away due to the cool track temperature. Duane's opponent in the semis was local standout Karen Stalba of Downingtown, PA. At the hit, Stalba was out first but Duane quickly made up the difference and took the win with a 5.41 at 272 MPH to Stalba's 6.06 at 188 MPH. "It was getting cool and the car shook. I had to pedal it one second into the run" Duane said.
Because of the earlier delays and the late hour, the final round was postponed until the following day. On Sunday, Duane faced Jeff Veale, who had taken out Rich McPhillips in the second round.Veale had lane choice in the finals but it didn't seem to matter as he instantly went up in smoke at the hit. Duane in the other lane flew to the event victory with a jaw dropping 5.27 at 274 MPH. "We now have three regional wins in a row and we're very happy with how our regional program is going. We also have a lot of friends here celebrating with us so we're having a great time" Duane said after the win.
Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze, PEAK Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP, Brad Anderson Enterprises and Meadows Construction for their support in 2015.
