Shields Ends Year with Semifinal Finish


Pomona - (November 19, 2008) -- Duane Shields and the Shortline Express team ended the season with a semifinal finish at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway. Shields qualified fifth with a 5.37 at 269 MPH for the season finale, which featured a field of the best Top Alcohol dragsters in the country.

In the first round Shields faced number twelve qualifier Brandon Lewis. This was a race that Shields dominated from start to finish. Shields left on "the Kid" with an 0.037 reaction time to Lewis' 0.054. At the finishline it was Shields by a pair of car lengths with a 5.37 at 269 MPH to Lewis' respectable 5.46 at 257 MPH.

This set up a second round showdown with Northwest Division Champion Joey Severance driving a blown alcohol car against Shields' nitro burning entry. At the green Severance got out in front of Shields with a 0.038 reaction time to Shields' 0.050. But Shields was able to hold off Severance in a very close side-by-side race. Shields ran a 5.33 at 269 to nip Severance's close 5.35 at 266 MPH.

In the semifinals it was a match up between two of the fastest A/Fuel dragsters in the nation, Duane Shields from the west, and Lucas Oil Champion, Bill Reichert from the east. Sadly for the Shortline Express team and the fans looking forward to an exciting race, Shields smoked the tires right out of the gate while Reichert sailed ahead and recorded the best ET for the meet, a sizzling 5.16 at 282 MPH. It turned out that Shields experienced computer problems prior to the round and was unable to come up with the right tune up. "Our computer didn't work so we didn't have a good tune-up. But we did make it to the semis" Shields said.

As the season comes to a close Duane wants to take this moment to thank his family for all of their support, the Shortline Express crew and of course all of his sponsors including Hussey Copper and NGK Spark Plugs.


Shortline Express Team Struggles at Home
Las Vegas - (November 8, 2008) -- All the way around, the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway just wasn't the homecoming Duane Shields and the Shortline Express team was hoping for. Before moving all the way up to the second position in a last ditch qualifying attempt, Shields' A/Fuel dragster was running a little off pace most of the weekend. But after all, this is one of the most difficult eight car fields to make it into as twice as many cars as usual from around the country make it to this race in order to pick up some last minute points, block a points leader, or simply because it's a convenient stop on the way to the last NHRA event of the year in Pomona California.

In the first round of qualifying, Shields ran a 5.43 at 255 MPH which was only good for the 10th position. In the second qualifying session, the car stayed in the 10th spot and was still not in the show with a 5.44 at 260 MPH. So like half of the Top Alcohol cars on the grounds, it all came down to the final round of qualifying. All eyes were on Shields; would he be able to dig deep and make a quick enough pass that would get him in the show? The answer was yes! The car made a great full pass down the Las Vagas strip and recorded a nice elapsed time of 5.32 at 271 MPH.

This set up a first round dual between Shields and Mark Niver. Niver has arguably become Shields' toughest opponents all year, and this time was no different as Niver scored a holeshot win over Shields. Niver got off the line first with an 0.089 reaction time to Shields' 0.162. Shields then tried to make up for lost time but ran out of race track with a 5.38 at 263 MPH and was unable to stop Niver's winning 5.40 at 262 MPH.

Now Shields will move on to Pomona this weekend and hopefully make up for the difficult loss at the famous California track.


Shields Falls Short at the Patch
Bakersfield - (September 15, 2008) -- Bakersfield. Just the name brings back fond memories of some of the greatest drag races in the history of the sport. Fortunately for drag racing fans stories are still be written about the track so many refer to as simply "The Patch." For Duane Shields a win at the legendary track would solidify his no. 2 position in the NHRA Division 7 points race.

Shields qualified well enough to take the second position with a 5.39 at 272 MPH which set up a showdown with a much improved Johnny Ahten, who qualified his A/Fueler in the seventh position. At the green both cars left together with nearly identical reaction times but Shields had just enough in the bank to get by Ahten with a 5.50 at 269 MPH, to Ahten's respectable 5.56 at 233 MPH.

In the semifinals, Shields drew Division 7 regular Chris Demke. At the light, Demke edged Shields off the line with a 0.046 to Shields' 0.071. At the stripe it was all Demke with a 5.41 at 258 MPH to Shields' 5.54 at 269 MPH. Shields has just one more divisional event left this season at his home track in Las Vegas.


Shields Makes it to Final Round at US Nationals
Indianapolis - Duane Shields went to the final round of the most prestigious event in the sport of drag racing, the Mac Tools NHRA US Nationals. While Shields didn't win the event, going to the finals made for a great weekend although Shields clearly wished he had made it to the winner's circle. "I was the runner-up at Indy once before and didn't really think about it at the time, but a couple of years later I finally realized just how big winning Indy really is. Winning the US Nationals is the one race people always refer to" Shields said.

Shields qualified fifth out of 27 cars trying to get into a 16 car field. Shields recorded a stout 5.31 at 272 MPH which earned him a first round meeting with Courtney Force driving a John Force Racing A/Fuel entry. Force qualified twelfth with a respectable 5.39 at 261 MPH proving there were no easy first round opponents at the Big Go. At the green, Shields was off the line first with a 0.078 to Force's 0.110. To make matters even more difficult for Force, Shields improved on his qualifying time with a great 5.25 at 275 MPH to take the win over Force's slower 5.57 at 259 MPH.

In the second round Shields pulled of a squeaker when he raced Diana Harker. Harker reacted first with an 0.053 light to Shields' 0.090. She continued to pour on the magic with her best pass of the weekend, a 5.31 at 267 MPH. Harker's great pass wasn't enough though, as Shields nipped her at the finish line with a 5.23 at 276 MPH pass.

As the day progressed, the rounds never got any easier and in the semifinals Shields took on Spencer Massey driving a potent A/Fuel entry based out of Texas. At the hit Massey was out first with a 0.027 reaction time to Shields' 0.094. However, Shields was able to unleash some more of his Dana Hopewell horsepower to get to the stripe first with a 5.28 at 275 MPH to Massey's 5.44 at 267 MPH. Massey reportedly dropped a cylinder on the run.

After getting by Massey, Shields took on Top Alcohol Dragster Champion, Bill Reichert. For the first time in eliminations Shields lost lane choice and ended up in the right lane. "We knew this was going to be a fierce race against Reichert and cutting a good light was important. We didn't want to smoke the tires so we didn't step it up before the final round" Shields said.

At the start, Reichert left the line first with a 0.053 reaction time to Shields' 0.068. Shields was still able to get out ahead of him before smoking the tires, but pedaled it as he tried to get back into the race but was unable to catch Reichert who recorded a 5.58 at 257 MPH to become the 2008 Mac Tools NHRA US Nationals Champion. Shields recorded an 6.09 at 231 MPH for runner-up honors. "We were surprised to have smoked the tires since we didn't get aggressive on the tune-up. The only difference was the lane. We had brought out our A game all weekend, you have to at Indy. But being the runner-up is still good" said Shields.

Regardless of the loss, Shields had a great showing against the top cars in the country, and it was a good moral booster for the Shortline Express Team. The team now heads back to the west coast for a Division Seven event at Bakersfield in two weeks.

Shields Stopped in Round 1
While Duane Shields had a fairly successful Western Swing, he fell off his normal pace at the NHRA Divisional event that follows the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway. Shields qualified fifth for the super tough Top Alcohol Dragster field with a 5.36 at 272 MPH.

This set up a first round match with Mark Niver. Ironically, Niver was Shield's final round opponent at the Schucks Auto Supply NHRA Nationals two weeks prior. Shields had a great opportunity to even up the score but went up in smoke as did Niver which led to a pedal fest between the two drivers. Unfortunately for Shields, Niver recovered first and took the win with a 7.49 at 252 MPH to Shields' 8.15 at 154 MPH.


Shields Keeps Going Rounds in Sonoma
Sonoma - While Duane Shields didn't exactly have the weekend he wanted in Sonoma, the Nevada based driver still went a few rounds on Sunday at the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals and did well enough to keep pace with his goal of winning the NHRA Lucas Oil National Championship. Shields went into eliminations as the no. 2 qualifier with a fine 5.38 at 263 MPH.

This set up a first round match against Mark Foster. On that pass Shields posted a 5.58 at 267 MPH for the win as Foster had problems and idled though to the finish line.

In the second round, Shields faced Justin Davis driving a car for the Steve and Patty Federlin team. Shields got off the line quicker with an 0.064 to a 0.071 and didn't look back as he stormed through the finish line with a 5.25 at 267 MPH to beat Davis' impressive 5.45 at 264 MPH.

In the Semis it looked like it could be another Duane Shields vs Mark Niver showdown in the final but this time it wasn't meant to be as Shield's rival, Jim Whiteley beat him at both ends of the race track to move on to the final. At the hit, Whiteley got of the line first with a 0.066 to Shields' 0.102. At the top end it was all Whiteley with a 5.26 at 273 MPH to Shields' 5.37 at 276 MPH.

While Shields was disappointed he didn't win the race he was pleased how well the team did during the Western Swing. " We were making rounds but were sometimes too aggressive. These guys are all good so you can't take them lightly and you have to really lean on it. But we gained points so it worked out good" Shields said after the Sonoma event.

Shields Makes it to the Final at Seattle
Kent WA - After running flawlessly all weekend, Duane Shields driving his Shortline Express A/fuel dragster was poised to be one of the favorites to take the Schucks Auto Supply NHRA Nationals title beginning with an incredible 5.17 blast on Friday that would earn him the number one qualifying position.

Shields began Saturday's eliminations by taking on Northwest Favorite Bill Edwards Jr. driving the NAPA Auto Parts car out of Sumas Washington. While Edwards was off the line quicker he was unable to overcome the Shortline Express dragster at the top end. Shields posted a winning 5.37 to Edwards' valiant 5.60 effort.

In the second stanza, Shields faced the popular A/Fuel dragster driven by 21 year old Brittany Force and maintained by long time A/fuel mentor Jerry Darian. At the hit Force was out on Shields with a 0.056 reaction time to Shields' 0.074. However, Shields was able to step it up from the previous round and ran a 5.21 at 274 MPH to get past Force's impressive 5.35 at 268 MPH.



Shields gets by Cowie in a close semifinal round

In the Semifinals, Shields matched up against Canada's Shawn Cowie. Shields once again had a clean run as he defeated Cowie with a 5.24 at 274 MPH to Cowie's respectable 5.36 at 269 MPH. Cowie got off the line first with a 0.053 light, but Shields who had a slower 0.086, was able to make up the deficit well before the finish line.

In the final round, it was a showdown between Shields and Arizona's Mark Niver. With Shields' outstanding performance over the weekend few people were expecting him to get off of his winning pace. But that's exactly what happened as he smoked the tires right off the starting line which gave the Schucks Auto Supply NHRA Nationals title to Niver, who took advantage of the opportunity with a 5.41 over Shields' much slower 6.11. "After running so well all weekend we didn't change anything, so I'm really surprised that I smoked the tires. But I'm happy for Mark and if I have to lose a race I'd rather lose one to him" Shields stated at the conclusion of the event.


Shields smokes the tires in the final to Arizona's Mark Niver who went on to get the win. Photos by Rich Bailey

Shields Wins in Seattle Divisional
Seattle - Duane Shields wasn't the number one qualifier this time around but that didn't seem to be a disadvantage for the driver of the Shortline Express dragster who has been taking the pole position a lot lately only to go out in the earlier rounds. This time Shields qualified second with a 5.26 at 274 MPH but gained the consistency needed to go all the way to the final and win the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event held at Pacific Raceways.

In the first round, Shields faced the world's fastest School bus driver, Kim Parker. "Kim always makes me nervous as she always cuts good lights" Shields said. Sure enough, Parker got out of the hole quicker with a 0.082 to Shields' 0.132. But at the stripe it was Shields by three tenths of a second as he posted a 5.31 at 274 MPH. Parker was less than 100 feet behind and still ran a valiant 5.61 at 249 MPH.

In the semifinals, Shields faced Thomas Bayer driving Steve and Patty Federlin's Oregon based blown alcohol dragster. Bayer, who qualified third ran into problems and went up in smoke at the line. Meanwhile Shields cruised down the track and recorded a 5.34 at 272 MPH win. "We knew we needed to pick up the pace against Bayer but we went the wrong way and slowed down a little bit. Shields said.

In the finals, Shields faced the number one qualifier Randy Eakins. "Eakins beat me in Houston so I knew we couldn't take him lightly". Sure enough, at the light both drivers had good lights. Eakins was a little quicker off the line with a 0.036 to Shields' 0.047. However, Eakins dropped some cylinders and slowed down to a 5.65 at 246 MPH. Meanwhile, Shields was trucking straight down Broadway with the candles lit and crossed the finish line with a stellar 5.28 at 273 MPH to take the victory.

The win was bittersweet as the team hadn't reached the final round in a while, but at the same time Scott Kalitta's death in Englishtown NJ was weighing heavily on everyone's heart. "We heard the tragic news just before the first round and losing Scott is on all of our minds right now" Shields said. As for winning the event, it was a big relief for Duane and crew chief Dana Hopewell. "We're relieved. We have been on this three race circuit and couldn't seem to reach the final round. We knew we could win and we finally did although it would have been a much tighter race if Randy had not had any engine problems" Shields said while celebrating the win.
Next up for Shields is the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event in Woodburn Oregon, just south of Portland on July 10-13.

Shields Makes it to Semis at Divisional
Chicago - Rather than pull up stakes and return home to Las Vegas after the Torco Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals, Duane Shields chose to hang around and compete at the Division 3 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event held on back-to-back weekends. The bookend events are working well these days for teams looking to minimize their travel expenses in light of high fuel prices.

This time around, Shields qualified third with a respectable 5.36 at 266 MPH. In the first round, Shields met up with Jeff Hamelink who had qualified 6th with a 5.44. At the green Shields left first with a 0.098 reaction time to Hamelink's 0.104. Shields was on a clean run and was able to pull away from Hamelink and take the stripe with a 5.45 at 267 MPH to Hamelink's 5.59 at 253 MPH.

In the semifinals, Shields faced popular blown alcohol counterpart Marty Thacker. Thacker was on his game all weekend and had qualified no. 2 with a 5.35. At the hit Thacker got the advantage off the starting line with a 0.083 reaction time to Shields' 0.096. This race was squeaker from start to finish with Shields in close pursuit but ran out of race track as Thacker narrowly escaped with the win. Thacker's 5.41 at 270 MPH was just enough to get by Shields' close 5.47 at 269 MPH.

Shortline Team Takes Pole Again
Chicago - If national championships were decided on qualifying positions Duane Shields would already be crowned the champ as he's qualified on the poleat nearly every event he has raced at lately. This past weekend at the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals was no exception as Shields qualified number again with a stout 5.29. Shields grabbed the pole from a field that included every top ten car in the country!

In the first round Shields took on popular Oklahoma driver Brandon Lewis and got the win with a clean 5.40 ET at 256 MPH to Lewis' 5.80 at 247 MPH. Lewis reportedly had a cylinder out on the entire run.

In the second round, once the cars were called to the lanes the weather dramatically changed from hot to wind and rain causing a three hour delay. Finally the weather warmed up again and the racing resumed. Because of the weather change, the Shortline Express team missed the tune up. In addition, their opponent, Noha Condo, had his best light of the weekend, a 0.031 reaction time to Shields' respectable 0.043. At the stripe it was Condo with a 5.48 holeshot win to Shields slightly quicker 5.47. "It was a good race but I came up .005 seconds short." Shields said.
The team will stay in Chicago for this week's Lucas Oil race and hope to turn one of these number one qualifiers into a big win.

Shields Qualifies No. 1 in Canada
Mission Canada - After a brief break in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series schedule, Duane Shields was back on the road, this time in Mission Canada for the Lordco Auto Parts BC Nationals at Mission Raceway Park near Vancouver. In qualifying, Shields once again qualified on the pole with an impressive 5.23 at 272 MPH to establish him as a favorite going into eliminations.

In the first round, Shields took on Kim Parker, part of a popular husband and wife team from Washington state. At the hit, both drivers had an identical 0.109 reaction time. Shields then smoked the tires just as something let go on Parker's dragster. Shields was able to get back on the throttle and scored an important first round win. Shields clicked off a 6.79 at just 218 MPH. "The sun came out on Sunday and the air was good, we missed the tune up on the first run and smoked the tires" Shields said.

In the semi finals, Shields took on local driver Sean Cowie who earned lane choice as he had a quicker ET in the prior round. Shields was first out of the hole with an 0.078 reaction time to Cowie's 0.113 but by half track Cowie was able to get around Shields to take the win. Cowie posted a winning 5.357 at 269 MPH to Shield's 5.42 at 272 MPH. "The sun on the track made it tricky at the transition point 1.5 seconds out, it was trickier than we thought and I had to pedal the car against Cowie and he passed me at that time and I just ran out of race track trying to catch him. Shields said.

Shields Experiences Loss at Home Track
Despite some recent successes including a runner-up finish in Houston, Duane Shields didn't have the weekend he was hoping for at the Summit.com NHRA Nationals being contested at his home track in Las Vegas.

The event started out good as he once again qualified in the top half of the field with a 5.38 at 268 MPH, which landed him in the number four position.This would dictate a first round meeting with Wyoming racer Greg Tacke, who qualified 13th with a 5.51 at 257 MPH. Sadly for Shields, he red lit for the first time since 1997. To make matters even worse, Shields would have been victorious as he posted a 5.48 at 265 to Tacke's off pace 6.62 run.

Shortline Team Gains Ground Towards the National Championship in Houston
Houston - Duane Shields returned to the national event stage in Houston at the 21st annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil. This was a race dominated by the A/Fuel Dragsters as all but two of the 22 cars entered utilized an injected nitro engine. Leading the pack was Duane Shields who once again took the pole for his third race in a row with a stout 5.20 elapsed time at 277 MPH.

In the first round of eliminations, Shields took on David Brounkowski, of Cypress TX. Unfortunately for the Brounkowski, Shields got a single as Brounkowski broke prior to staging the car. Shields went for it and posted a 5.56 at 270 MPH solo pass.

Going into the second round Shields drew Diana Harker. At the light Shields got the edge with an 0.019 reaction time to Harker's 0.031 but that's as far as the race got as Harker had problems and coasted through with an 8.41. Shields meanwhile flew through the traps with the quickest ET of the round by recording an awesome 5.27 at 272 MPH.

Moving on to the semifinals, Shields had to get by Brandon Lewis, the popular second year driver from Broken Arrow Oklahoma. Lewis gave Shields all he could handle with a 5.36 at 263 MPH to Shields' slightly quicker 5.35 at 272 MPH. But it was Shields' 0.032 reaction time to Lewis' 0.049 that was the contributing factor in the race which helped advance Shields to the money round.

In the Finals, Shields faced off with fellow Nevada racer Randy Eakins for one dandy of a drag race. It was a close race as both cars ran identical 5.392 ETs. Like the semifinals, this race was decided on the line. This time it was Shields' opponent that got the starting line advantage. Eakins left first with an 0.026 to Shields' 0.107 to capture his first ever national event win.

After the event, Shields reflected on the loss. "Going into the final round we had a valve problem and didn't have time to fix it resulting in the slower time. But Randy Eakins had done a great job driving all day, winning every race on a holeshot and won the event in memory of Marge Edgecombe, which gave the group an emotional win".

Even though he didn't win the event, Shields had a very productive day too. He entered the Houston event in third place in the Lucas Oil national point standings and collected some much needed points towards the Championship. He now leaves Houston in second place, just 20 points behind points leader John Finke.

Shields Improves in Tucson
Tucson - After scoring a major win at Pomona and then experiencing a disappointing first round exit in Phoenix after taking the pole, Duane Shields was looking to get back into the winner's circle in Tucson where he won last year.

Shields certainly seemed like he was on track for another win as he once again took his second number one qualifying position in as many weeks with a 5.39 at 267 MPH. This set up a showdown with number eight qualifier, Shawn Cowie, who has done fairly well in only his second season in Top Alcohol. At the start, Cowie handed Shields the win as he fowled out with an -0.182 light. Fortunately for Shields, Cowie went red as he had a better ET with a 5.47 to Shields' 5.52 at 260 MPH. But it didn't matter as the race was over at the starting line.

Shields then moved on to the semis where he earned a re-match with Cody Perkins, whom Shields lost to in the first round at Phoenix. This time rather than smoke the tires at the hit, Shields was able to make a race out of it with a 5.70 at 256 MPH. But the run was still off pace as Perkins recorded a much quicker 5.48 at 253 MPH to take the win. Shields explained the reason for the loss. "The car had severe tire shake and I was forced to "pedal" the throttle to get it settled down, which gave Cody the opportunity to race by for the win" Shields said.

While Shields was unable to score back-to-back wins in Arizona like he did last year, the season is still young and there will be many more opportunities to defend his Division 7 title while going after his first National Championship.

Shields Qualifies No 1 in Phoenix
After winning the NHRA Winternationals and then taking the pole at the Lucas Oil Divisional event in Phoenix this past weekend with a 5.37 at 269 MPH, it appeared that Duane Shields in the Shortline Express was on track to capture a pair of back-to-back wins. Sadly for Shields, that wouldn't be the case as he smoked the tires at the hit in the first round. His opponent, Cody Perkins was on his game and won the round with a 5.40. Shields now heads to Tucson for the Lucas Oil event at Southwestern International Raceway where he hopes to defend his title there.

Duane Shields Scores Winternationals Title
After a runner-up finish at the NHRA Auto Club Finals in November, Duane Shields returned to the famous Pomona track with a new unproven car and this time took the brand new Shortline Express A/Fuel Dragster nonstop to the Winner's Circle. "It's great to start the season off with a big win at Pomona" Shields said after securing his second CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals victory.

The path to victory began with qualifying as Shields qualified in the middle of the pack with a 5.44 at 263 MPH. This set up a first round dual with Brandon Lewis who qualified eighth, one position better than Shields. Lewis was first off the line but began to lose ground at about 330 feet. Shields cruised by him and nailed a 5.39 ET at 270 MPH. Lewis stopped the clocks with a 5.53 at 256 MPH.

In the second stanza, Shields took on number one qualifier Morgan Lucas. Shields got off the line first with a 0.046 to Lucas' 0.077 and then blasted down the track to a 5.31 at 268 MPH to take the win. Lucas recorded a respectable 5.48 at 261 MPH, but it wasn't enough. On that pass, Shields and company demonstrated that they already found their sweet spot as the new Shortline Express had the best ET of the round.

In the semifinals Shields drew rising star Kate Harker, who like all of Shield's opponents so far was driving an A/Fuel Dragster. Shields got off the line first with an 0.060 to Harkers 0.079. Harker then demonstrated just how finicky an A/Fuel car can be as she ran out of power and glided through the traps. Shields never looked backed and advanced to the finals with a 5.54 at 260 MPH as he dropped some cylinders along the way. The problem for Shields turned out to be related to the magneto which the team was able to diagnose and correct between rounds.

This set up a showdown with Northwest racer Joey Severance who is racing a blown alcohol car. Severance had beat Shields in their past two final round appearances which served as a motivator for Shields to be on his game. This time Severance was early with a -0.011 which automatically gave the win to Shields. The red light may not have mattered that much as Shields was back to full power and ran a very competitive 5.37 ET at 270 MPH to seal a well earned victory in a brand new car.

One of the most dominant drivers racing an A/Fuel car is Duane Shields from Las Vegas Nevada. Shields, who owns a chain of convenience stores called Shortline Express Markets has been in the running for a national championship for the last five seasons and always manages to pull out at least one national event win per season. In 2006, his Shortline Express dragster finished fourth nationally in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series by winning at both Pomona and Dallas. And this year he is closing in on the Pacific Division championship by winning back-to-back divisional events in Arizona. He also won the Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals in Sonoma. Shields also won the NHRA Pacific Division Championship in 2007.

Strangely enough, the Top Alcohol Dragster class is considered by NHRA to be at the sportsman level but nothing could be farther from the truth as every aspect of Shields operation is professional. Shields, employs full time crew members and races all over the country in search of enough points to put together a national championship. Like any pro team, his crew is on an off the road from February through November, racing as far east as Indianapolis.

While it's hard to estimate exactly what Shields spends per season, one can only imagine that it's an accountant's worse nightmare when you consider that the return on investment is pennies on the dollar. But he's seen a decrease in costs since switching over to nitro from blown alcohol five years ago. "It actually costs me less to race the A/Fuel car but every time the rules change the cost of racing increases. The parts attrition goes up when NHRA lowers the nitro percentage because we have to lean on the car more. Rule changes are never necessary and only make it harder to compete" Shields said. Currently the percentage of nitro that an A/Fuel dragster can utilize is 96 percent.

Shields also sites higher costs due to increases in the price of energy. "The national events pay fairly well but the divisional events is where we really get soaked. Winning a divisional race won't even pay the travel and maintenance bills for the weekend. With the high cost of a irline tickets, transportation, hotels and food, racers are now taking a closer look at what races they attend."

Another issue that Shields and a lot of other racers are concerned about is the transition from the division races being a spectator event to a "back gate" affair where car counts and not spectator attendance determine how the race is conducted. "The tracks now look at the alcohol classes as an expense and not a feature to draw more spectators. So, now we end up paying at the gate even though we are the show. They also dropped the low qualifier bonus and nobody said a word about it. On top of that, there is less contingency money for divisional events. I just wish that national event points determined the national championship and not a mix of both national and divisional points" Shields stated.

When asked if it would be better to race in Top Fuel given the low payout on the divisional level, Shields conceded that it's best for him to stay put with his A/Fuel program. "The cost of racing a Top Fuel car is astronomical and you can only do it now with major sponsors. And that drives most businessmen out of the process. Plus, I wouldn't want to switch to Top Fuel only to be forced out financially later."

Shields then mentioned the most important reason for staying in the sportsman ranks: his family. "We're becoming more of a racing family which would make it harder to race in Top Fuel. My wife Betsy is good about accepting my current schedule and my kids are now starting to race. My daughter Whitney is beginning to race a Super Comp dragster and we're building an All Motor Import car for my son Adam to race. Away from the strip we are back to being a family and we want to keep the family aspect into it." Burnout Photo by www.competitionplus.com