Shields Qualifies on the Pole at Indy
As the top qualifier in the Top Alcohol Dragster division of the 52nd annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Duane Shields had high expectations going into eliminations. Shields of Las Vegas, ripped off a great 5.20 ET at 270 MPH in his A/Fuel dragster to put him on the pole. “I thought we would run 5.26 so I was pleasantly surprised. It feels good being the top qualifier at Indy” Shields said after the Sunday morning run.
Going into eliminations Shields raced Jeff Hamelink in the Northstar Machine/US Bank blown alcohol car. In the first round Shields’ performance dropped off slightly as he ran a slower 5.343 at 266.90 MPH. But it was still enough to cover Hamelink’s charge of 5.465 at 255.68 MPH. “We were a little disappointed after the first round as we thought the car should have speeded up.” Shields said.
In the second round, Shields met Randy Meyer. “We were excited about racing Randy because he is one of the top dogs in the field and we thought we would have a good race.” Shields said. In one of the best match ups of the day, Meyer got out of the gate first with a 0.064 reaction time to Shields’ 0.092. At the stripe Meyer was able to hold on for the win with a5.363 hole shot to Shields’ quicker 5.343. The margin of victory was 0.0086, which is about three feet. “We didn’t have lane choice and I underestimated the track. I had a bad light as I stuck the tire. It was a close race and I thought I had won.”
While the team fell short of their goal to win the US Nationals, Indy gave Shields and the Short Line Express team some optimism going into the final stretch of the season. “I’m disappointed we didn’t win Indy but I’m very optimistic going into Dallas.” Shields said following the race.
