Shields Qualifies
10th in Norwalk at Summit Race
Norwalk, Ohio, June
28, 2009 - Duane Shields returned to the NHRA national event
circuit with a stop at Norwalk, Ohio and the third annual Summit
Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. After three rounds of qualifying,
Shields qualified tenth with a 5.41 at 264 MPH.
Shields tenth qualifying position
meant that he would face Canadian driver Ken Perry in round one.
Perry qualified seventh with a respectable 5.39 at 260 MPH, so
on paper this was anyone's race. At the light it was Perry that
was out of the gate first with a 0.075 reaction time to Shields'
0.092. Perry was able to hold his lead all the way to the finish
line where he won the race by a car length.
Demke's Close
Call with the Shortline Express!
Watch this final wild
round from Houston on You Tube: CLICK
HERE
Shields Makes
Semis in GA
Valdosta, Ga- After two straight wins on the NHRA national event
circuit, Duane Shields posted a semifinal finish at the NHRA
Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at South Georgia Motorsports
Park.
In qualifying Shields qualified
fifth with a 5.44 at 269 MPH which would set up a first round
appointment with Dan Mercier who qualified 4th with a 5.44. At
the light it was all Mercier with a 0.046 reaction time to Shields'
0.083. But Mercier's lead was short lived as Shields had him
covered by more than a tenth and took the win light with a 5.30
at 270 MPH to Mercier's 5.42 at 267 MPH.
In round two Shields raced Artie
Allen. At the hit it was Allen with a 0.091 reaction time to
Shields' 0.101. Shields shook the tires and then pedaled. Artie
Allen meanwhile was in route to the win as he stopped Shields'
winning streak with a 5.38 to Shields' 7.14.
Shortline Express
Team Wins in Houston
Shields Wins
Two NHRA National Events In a Row!
Baytown TX March 28, 2009 - For the second time in his career,
Duane Shields has won two NHRA national events in a row, this
time taking the Top Alcohol Dragster title at the 22nd Annual
O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil in Houston.
As
was the case in Gainesville when he won the last event, the ACDelco
NHRA Gatornationals, Shields qualified in the middle of the pack
but felt optimistic all weekend. With only two sessions, Shields
qualified eighth with a 5.36 at 265 MPH and shook the tires in
doing so. "Going into eliminations I felt pretty good because
we shook the tires and still ran a 5.36" Shields said.
In first round Shields faced
a tough opponent as he would race former World Champion Arthur
Gallant, whom Shields had lost to before. "We knew Art Gallant
would be tough so we brought our A-game" Shields said. And
boy did Shields bring it, as he ran a 5.28 at 267 MPH to Gallant's
5.53 at 269 MPH. Gallant had to pedal as he smoked the tires,
meanwhile Shields was long gone as he took the win.
Going into Sunday, Shields felt
good and made no changes to the car even though he faced another
difficult opponent in Bill Evans. "Like Art we knew we couldn't
afford to take Bill lightly so we had to be on our game once
again" said Shields. At the starting line, Shields had a
big advantage with a 0.056 light to Evans' 0.156. As the cars
left the line Shields' car begin to go into shake but Evans dropped
a cylinder. At the finish line it was all Shields with a 5.29
at 271 MPH to Evans' 5.52 at 268 MPH. "The car began to
shake so we were fortunate that he dropped a cylinder" Shields
said. Back in the pits Shields' crew made some adjustments to
the car before the semifinal round.
The opponents just kept getting
tougher and in the semifinals Shields would face red-hot Mike
Manners who had been out running him in the previous rounds.
At the hit Shields again had the advantage with a 0.068 to Manners'
0.096 reaction time. Manners then suffered tire shake and then
dropped a cylinder to record a 6.16 at 166 MPH. In the other
lane, Shields' adjustments paid off as he ran a 5.30 at 271 MPH
on a very s
mooth pass to earn a final round birth against Chris
Demke. Demke in the Peen-rite car has also been running very
well and had been in several final rounds prior to the Houston
race.
Little did anyone in the grandstands
know that the final round of Top Alcohol Dragster would be one
of the most exciting rounds of the day. At the light it was all
Demke as he left on Shields with a 0.027 to Shields' 0.093. "There
was big time glare on my side of the tree and I knew I was late.
Demke was ahead and I was thinking that this would be the event
where Demke would win his first race. But then he started to
get close to the center line and knocked out the timing block.
He then got back in his lane and I knew I had won as I drove
by him and pulled the chutes. After I got out of the car I found
out from viewing the ESPN footage that after I drove by Demke
he got back in my lane again and was behind me as I pulled the
chutes. Fortunately he was far enough behind not to get tangled
in my chutes. We were both lucky nobody got hurt. " Shields
said.
Since Demke crossed the centerline he was automatically disqualified.
Shields ran a 5.36 at 271 MPH on his way to earning the O'Reilly
NHRA Spring Nationals title. This wasn't the first time that
Shields had a close call in the final round at Houston. In 2002
Shields was in route to the title during the final round when
a bolt broke causing the steering column to come a part. "The
steering wheel rod separated so I had no steering at all. During
the run I was able to slip the steering wheel rod back on the
spline and get control of the car once again. Houston is my lucky
track when it comes to close calls" Shields said after the
win.
Shields celebrated a hard fought
victory and was glad to have won again in Houston in front of
a special member of his family. "This weekend I brought
out my step mom, Tree. I was glad she could be here when we won.
The crew had a good weekend as well" Shields said as he
thanked the team that includes: Dana and Sheryl Hopewell, Bill
Jones, Ralph Freeman and Chris Zedaker. The Shortline Express
team also thanks its sponsors Hussey Copper and NGK Spark Plugs.
Next Week's Scheduled
Event:
Next week the team will be back east again, this time racing
at the Division 2 event at South Georgia Motorsports Park in
Cecil GA. To avoid having to make up a divisional they chose
the South Georgia race rather than race at their home track in
Las Vegas. It's a new schedule for the team as they are claiming
points in the South East Division.
Shields
Steps Back to Win ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville
Gainesville, March 15,
2009 - For Duane Shields, qualifying on the pole usually means
an early round exit. At the events where he qualifies in the
middle of the pack he seems to do his best. So for the 40th Annual
ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals, Shields came up with a new strategy:
rather than run the best in qualifying, step back and improve
the car's performance a little bit on each round.
The strategy paid off as Shields
defeated Bill Reichert in the final to win his first ACDelco
NHRA Gatornationals title. "I felt comfortable all weekend
not being the number one qualifier. It seems like when we are
the number one qualifier we often stumble. This time we gave
the car some room to step up a little bit on every round"
Shields said after the win.
Shields qualified sixth with
an elapse time of 5.39. "The car was running a little inconsistent
during qualifying and we had to get a handle on it" Shields
said. Going into the first round Shields was optimistic but still
knew his team needed to get better control on the car's performance.
Shields was able to get out of the first round by beating Dan
Mercier who posted a 6.22 to Shields' 5.38. That evening after
winning the first round, Shields and the Shortline Express crew
made some wholesale changes to the dragster.
In round two on Sunday, Shields
took on Darryl Hitchman. Hitchman had some problems getting his
car out of reverse as Shields patiently waited for him at the
starting line. Finally, both cars were staged, and at the hit
Shields had a quicker 0.081 reaction time to Hitchman's 0.147.
It was all Shields down the length of the track as he posted
a 5.36 at 268 MPH to cover Hitchman's slower 5.85 at 191MPH.
In the semifinals Shields took
on Artie Allen from near by Jacksonville. "We hopped the
car up before we ran Artie Allen as he beat us at the Gainesville
divisional event" Shields said. Shields continued to run
faster than the prior rounds and dipped into the twenties for
the first time during the weekend. Allen got off the line first
with an 0.068 to Shields' 0.074 reaction time, but at the stripe
it was Shields getting the win with a 5.26 at 272 MPH to Allen's
5.38 at 259 MPH.
The semifinal win earned Shields
the right to take on NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster Champion Bill
Reichert. Shields had lane choice and chose the left lane while
also coming up with a plan not to beat himself in the final.
"We struggle with Reichert but we knew if we are consistent,
have a good light and not beat ourselves we would have a chance.
So all we can do is see how it plays out" Shields said.
The game plan worked as Shields scored the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals
victory. On his way to the title, Shields' Shortline Express
dragster ran a blistering 5.28 while Reichert went up in smoke
right off the starting line.
The ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals
title was Shields' first win since his father, Lee Shields, had
passed away prior to the season. Duane made a special dedication
to his father after the race. "I dedicate the win to my
dad as racing was a big part of our relationship. Also, my daughter
Whitney and her friend Britnay are here for spring break. They
are both my good luck charm. I also want to thank Hussey Copper,
NGK Spark Plugs and my crew, Dana and Sheryl Hopewell, Chris
Zedaker, Bill Jones and Ralph Freeman. They did a great job this
weekend getting the car into the Winner's Circle".
Shields
Qualifies Third at Winternationals

Pomona
- (February 10, 2009) -- It was a long week for racers, officials
and fans as intermittent rain showers stretched the NHRA Winternationals
to a week long affair. In the Top alcohol class, the rain shortened
qualifying to one round. Duane Shields, made the best of it and
qualified third with a 5.39. In the first round Shields had a
first round appointment with Dennis Swearingen. At the starting
line, Shields let go of the button just a little to soon and
red lit by -0.025 to lose the round.
To read more
stories from the 2008 season click
here