ARCHIVED MUSCLE MILK RACE COVERAGE

Duane Shields Makes it to Semis at NHRA Indy Nationals

Duane Shields Makes it to Semis at Tough Gainesville Regional Event

Gainesville FL - Duane Shields had a decent day at the "Baby Gators", the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event held prior to next week's Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals. Surprisingly, this was likely a harder race to qualify for then next weekend's national event because this weekend 16 cars fought to get into an eight car field so half the field did not qualify! The PEAK A/Fuel Dragster was one of the cars that did and squeaked into the field with a 5.41 at 274 MPH.

PEAK Team Goes to Quarterfinals at Cold Winternationals

The PEAK Dragster is ready for round two of qualifying.

Pomona CA - Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team made the best of a very cold, wet weekend and finished in the quarterfinal round of the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals held at the famed Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, CA. Duane qualified eighth with a 5.31 at 274 MPH. “It was a tough weekend with the winter weather but everyone was in the same boat” Duane said.

In the first round held on Saturday, Duane raced James Stevens. At the hit it was Duane off the line first with a .068 but Stevens wasn’t far behind with a close .070. Both cars were neck and neck with Duane taking the win with a 5.27 to Steven’s 5.33. However, the race didn’t end there as the chutes didn’t come out of Steven’s car in Pomona’s already short shutdown area. Stevens sadly barreled through the sand trap and right into the net totaling his race car but he escaped serious injury. “I was very thankful that James was okay” Duane said after the incident.

Duane takes the early lead early over James Stevens. Sadly, Stevens went into the safety net at the end of the track when his chutes failed to deploy.

The racing continued on Sunday for the final eliminations. However, NHRA was only able to get the first round of Top Fuel in before postponing the remainder of the event for the rest of the day due to ongoing rain showers.

On Monday, eliminations continued and the PEAK Team was ready to take on their next competitor, Shawn Cowie. As the cars left the starting line it was Duane out of the box first with a .072 to Cowie’s .099. Unfortunately for Duane, Cowie was on the quickest run in history for a blown alcohol dragster and Cowie stopped the clock with a 5.16 at 280 MPH to top Duane’s very respectable 5.27 at 277 MPH. “Because of the conditions, we backed it down a little bit to be sure we could get off the starting line without losing traction. We made a good pass but Cowie ran the quickest run in history so there wasn't much we could do to stop him” Duane explained.

Duane gets focused before the second round of eliminations against Shawn Cowie.

Duane wasn’t too disappointed with how the race went and was happy with his team’s performance. “Overall it was a good weekend and we did better this year than we did at this race a year ago” he said. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK Spark Plugs, GRP Connecting Rods and Brad Anderson Enterprises.

Photos and story by Rich Bailey

PEAK Team Works Hard to get into Eliminations

Pomona CA - Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team went into the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona confident of a strong finish to end the 2018 season and why not? The team earned the East Coast Championship by a combination of winning races and going to late rounds. Things were going well at the final event of the year until the third and final qualifier when the engine gave up the ghost. But still the team got into the show as the number eight qualifier with a respectable 5.31 at 273 MPH on a previous run.

Timing is everything and it would have been preferable if the engine went away on Thursday or even Friday but the engine waited until Saturday morning to let go causing the team to scramble in order to change engines before round one which left no time for tuning the new power plant. The team successfully swapped engines but barely made it to the starting line on time where Duane took on Shane Conway in the first round pairings.

Conway qualified ninth with a 5.32 at 266 MPH so it looked to be a very close and competitive race. As the cars left the starting line, Duane went up in smoke right at the hit. Meanwhile, Conway was on a clean run and advanced to the second round where he lost. Duane summed up the situation this way: “After my team busted butt to get the motor changed and everything associated with it, we got it done just in time to make it up there only to lose traction. We will start a new season in February” Duane said.

Duane and his team who finished the 2018 season seventh nationally would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK Spark Plugs, GRP Connecting Rods and Brad Anderson Enterprises for a great Championship season and look forward to a good year in 2019.

Shields Competes at Home Track During NHRA Las Vegas Regionals

For the second week in a row, Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team were back at their home track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the final Lucas Oil Regional event of the year. “Every season this race brings out the best cars in the country so just qualifying for this event is an accomplishment” Duane said. The PEAK Team qualified sixth with a very respectable 5.27 at 270 MPH.

In round one, Duane faced newly crowd Champion Joey Severance. At the hit, Duane was out in front of Severance with an .043 reaction time to Severance’s .061. To compound problems for the Champ, Duane was on a clean pass while Severance lost traction and smoked the tires. Duane stopped the clock with a sizzling 5.26 at 273 MPH to advance to the semi finals.

In the semis, Duane took on another top Northwest competitor, Shawn Cowie. As the lights came down it was Duane out first again with an .066 to Cowie’s slower 0.109. However, Cowie was able to narrow the gap and get around the blue PEAK Dragster as Duane was unable to match his performance from the previous round. Cowie recorded a 5.29 at 277 MPH to Duane’s valiant 5.35 at 269 MPH. “Overall it was a decent weekend, the car ran good in qualifying and we won a round and lost a close round” Duane surmised.

Next, the team moves on to Pomona for the Auto Club NHRA Finals. “There won’t be any points for us at Pomona as we’ve claimed all of our races for the year, we’re just competing to give PEAK some good exposure and to be sure the team stays tight for the upcoming 2019 season” Duane said. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK Spark Plugs, GRP Connecting Rods and Brad Anderson Enterprises. Photo by Bob Johnson

Duane Shields Goes to the Final Four at Dodge NHRA Nationals

Reading, PA - Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster had another late round finish as they went to the semi-finals at the Dodge NHRA Nationals held at Maple Grove Raceway. Duane qualified in the upper half of the field with a 5.34 at 273 MPH. Due to the weather forecast and the hurricane striking the Carolinas, several teams chose to sit this race out. But it was nearly a full field as 15 car were on hand for the usual 16 car field.

In round one, Duane raced California’s Julie Nataas in Randy Meyer’s car. As the lights came down Duane was long gone with an 0.023 reaction time to Nataas’ 0.075. At the finish line it was the PEAK Dragster stopping the clock with a strong 5.28 at 275 MPH to Nataas’ valiant 5.32 at 271 MPH.

In the second round, Duane faced Wayne Morris. Sadly for Morris, this race ended before it even started as he red lit which disqualified him immediately. It would not have mattered anyway as Duane was untouchable with a 5.26 at 276 MPH to Morris’ 5.57.

In the semi-finals things got tougher as Duane’s opponent was the JEGS machine driven by Troy Coughlin Jr. At the hit, Coughlin was out of the gate first with a slight 0.050 starting line advantage to Duane’s close 0.058. From the starting line the race was too close to call as both cars were side by side all the way down the 1320. But the win light indicated that Coughlin got to the stripe first with a 5.33 at 273 MPH to Duane’s very close 5.36 at 272 MPH.

Next, the team moves on to Charlotte, NC for the NHRA Carolina Nationals. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their help.

PEAK Team Sweeps New England Regional and Wins Championship

Epping, NH - Hot off a great showing at the NHRA US Nationals, Duane Shields won his fourth NHRA Regional event of the year at New England Dragway in convincing fashioned. The PEAK Dragster was running consistent and hard all weekend and took home every award that was not nailed down while clinching the NHRA East Coast Regional Championship. Duane set and reset the track ET and MPH record and took the number one qualifying position with a 5.24 at 274 MPH. “It was a clean sweep. We had no complaints about this weekend what so ever” Duane said.

In the first round, Duane received a single run due to an odd number of cars. Still, he didn’t disappoint and posted a stellar 5.22 at 279 MPH to set a new track record in the process.

In the round two, Duane faced Dan Page whom he lost to in the semi-finals at Indy. Page was first out of the gate but got out of shape and made slight contact with the wall. Meanwhile, Duane was on a mission and punched his ticket to the final round with an impressive 5.22 at 278 MPH to Page’s 6.59 at only 139 MPH. Before the final round, it was discovered that the PEAK Team had to replace a cylinder head while also servicing the car. Team members, from another team assisted which allowed the PEAK team to replace the cylinder head in just fifteen minutes!

The hard work paid off and the car was ready for the finals to race Josh Hart in the Advance Auto Parts Dragster. As the lights came down, it was Duane out first with a .058 reaction time to Hart’s .085. Once again the PEAK Dragster flew to the finish line while resetting the track record again with a sizzling 5.21 at 278 MPH to Hart’s 7.47 at 137 MPH. Duane praised his team for a hard fought win. “My guys worked really hard to get this win and you have no idea how much I appreciate it. I also want to thank Augie and Al from John Finke’s for their assistance”. Duane said.

Next, the team heads to Maplegrove Raceway in Reading, PA for the Dodge Nationals. “We are overdue for a national win so I hope we can continue where we left off in Epping” Duane said. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.

PEAK Dragster Makes it to the Semi Finals at NHRA US Nationals

Indianapolis - Duane Shields had a strong running car in the Top Alcohol Dragster division at the historic 64th annual Chevrolet Performance NHRA US Nationals. While Duane didn’t get in the Winner’s Circle, the team did everything right all weekend but lost a very close side-by-side race in the semi final round. But that’s Indy, the pentacle of racing where history is made and wins and loses can be remembered for decades.

Duane qualified 9th with a 5.29 at 274 MPH which set up a close first round match up with Megan Meyer. As the lights came down on the tree, it was Meyer out of the gate first with an 0.025 to Duane’s 0.047. Meyer didn’t have much time to enjoy her lead as Duane was able to pull ahead almost immediately and hung on to take the win by a slim 17 foot margin with a strong 5.28 at 276 MPH to Meyer’s close 5.34 at 278 MPH.

In round two, Duane faced the top qualifier Jackie Fricke who dispatched Brandon Greco to the trailer in round one. At the hit both drivers left at the same time with identical 0.069 reaction times. It was Duane once again taking the stripe with a sizzling 5.27 at 275 MPH to Fricke’s 5.36 at 264 MPH to move on to the final four. “That was a good race and a big win! We had identical reaction times and beat the number one qualifier so I’m really happy about the win” Duane said.

In the semifinals, the PEAK Team met up with Dan Page. As both cars left the line it was Duane with the starting line advantage with an 0.045 to Page’s 0.057. However, Page was able to pull ahead and stay in front of Duane long enough to cross the finish line as Duane was closing in with a big MPH charge. Page took a narrow sixteen foot victory and posted a 5.32 at 267 MPH to Duane’s valiant 5.37 at 274 MPH. “It’s a long race and we came up short. We had a great weekend but we wanted to win Indy period. But hey, we won two rounds on Sunday and got to play on Monday. The team did a great job but it just wasn’t meant to be this year.” Duane said.

Next week, the PEAK team returns to the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series for a regional event at Epping, New Hampshire. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support.

Intermittent Electrical Problem Sidelines Duane Shields at Brainerd

An intermittent electrical problem had the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team chasing a gremlin for most of the weekend at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, MN.

Fortunately, the team was able to qualify fifth with a 5.32 at 271 MPH despite the distraction. In round one, Duane’s opponent, James Stevens, advanced to the next round when the electrical problem reappeared and sidelined the PEAK Team from going any further in eliminations. “We are disappointed but sometimes these problems strike out of nowhere. The good news is we have the problem fixed and we’ll be ready for Indy in just a couple of weeks” Duane said.

Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK Spark Plugs, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support. Photo courtesy of Competition Plus.

Duane Shields and PEAK Team Top Qualifier at Atco Raceway

Duane Shields returned to Atco Raceway, New Jersey’s premier racing facility after a much deserved four week break. Twelve Top Alcohol Dragsters showed up for the Lucas Oil Regional event with Duane Shields in the PEAK Dragster sliding into the number one qualifying position with a very respectable 5.23 at 278 MPH.

I round one, Duane took on up and coming driver Tiffany Januik. As the light turned green, it was Duane out of the gate first with an 0.059 to Januik’s 0.075. Duane never looked back as he had Januik covered by a tenth of a second and took the win with a 5.40 at 274 MPH to Januik’s 5.50 at 263 MPH to move on to the semis.

In the semis, Duane raced friendly rival Jackie Fricke. At the hit Duane lost traction and smoked the tires resulting in an abandoned run. “The car slowed down in round one after running strong all weekend including some pre-race testing. So, we gave the car some additional power before the semifinals and it spun the tires as a result. But we qualified number one which I have not done in a while and gained another round of points so it was an alright weekend” Duane said.

From Atco the team returns to national event competition beginning in Brainerd. “We can’t claim any more regional points so we’ll have to wait and see how everyone else dose at any remaining regional events. We will now concentrate on national events beginning with Brainerd which I’m looking forward to. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support.

Duane Shields Wins Lebanon Valley Regional Event in New York

Lebanon Valley, NY - Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster added a third victory to his successful 2018 season. Duane defeated Karen Stalba in the final round at the scenic Lebanon Valley Dragway in upstate New York.

Duane qualified in the top half of the field with a 5.42 at 270 MPH to land third in the qualifying order. The popular driver from Boulder City, Nevada, moved through eliminations by first taking on Richard St. Pierre in round one. At the hit, St. Pierre was late leaving the starting line giving Duane a big advantage. At the top end it was Duane taking the win with a 5.49 at 271 MPH to St. Pierre’s 5.62 at 252 MPH.

In the semi-finals, Duane took on Dan Mercier. As the lights came down, Duane was out of the gate first with an .053 to Mercier’s .095. At the stripe it was all PEAK as Duane chalked up a trip to the final round with a 5.54 at 269 MPH to Mercier’s 7.70 at 114 MPH.

In the final round, Duane met up with Karen Stalba who qualified fifth with a 5.50 so it looked to be a close race on paper. As the dragsters left the starting line, Duane once again got the edge with an 0.069 to Stalba’s close 0.072. Duane was able to keep the lead and take the win with a 5.43 at 269 MPH to Stalba’s distant 5.99 at 236 MPH. “My team did a great job in 90 plus degree temperatures today. Go PEAK!” Duane remarked following the race.

During the event there was a bad crash that hospitalized one of the PEAK Team’s fellow racers. “DJ cox was involved in a top end accident. Our thoughts and prayers go to him and his family” Duane said.

Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their ongoing support.

Duane Shields Goes to Quarter- finals in Norwalk, Ohio

Norwalk, Ohio - Even though the weather didn’t fully cooperate, it was a good outing for Duane Shields and the PEAK Team. They did everything right but lost a very close nail-biter in the second round of eliminations at the 12th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. “It was a rain plagued race which always effects the race teams and makes the event a guessing game” Duane noted.

Duane qualified fifth with a respectable 5.31@ 276 MPH. This set up a showdown between Duane in the PEAK Dragster and Corey Michalek. At the hit, Michalek pulled off an impressive 0.010 reaction time to Duane’s 0.037. Unfortunately for Michalek, his great reaction time was all for nothing as he immediately lost traction right off of the starting line. Meanwhile, Duane was on a clean pass and stopped the clock with a 5.33 at 272 MPH for the win.

In the quarterfinals, Duane took on Troy Coughlin Jr. This race turned out to be one for the highlight reel. At the startingline, Duane was out of the gate first with an 0.059 to Coughlin’s 0.077. Both cars were side by side with Duane slightly ahead by mid track. Then, Coughlin was able to overpower Duane and command the lead. At the finish line Coughlin held on by inches, taking the narrow win with a 5.28 at 276 MPH to Duane’s very close 5.32 at 275 MPH. “They had good MPH at half track and I think that was the race. It’s disappointing to see them slow down in the next round after they had their best run against me” Duane said.

Next weekend the team heads to Lebanon Valley Dragway in New York. If you are in the Northeast, this will be your chance to see the nitro fueled dragsters up close and personal. “The car is running great and my driving is good so we’ll roll into New York expecting to do well” Duane said. The race team would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support.

PEAK Team Enjoys a Competitive Event in Chicago

Chicago - Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team went down swinging in the quarterfinal round of the Route 66 NHRA Nationals. The national points leader going into Chicago lost a heartbreaker to Chris Demke. It was one of those races where one contestant would have to lose regardless of how well the car ran. Duane qualified third with a respectable 5.24 at 276 MPH. “We ran really well so we’re happy with our performance. And it was PEAK’s hometown race so overall it was an enjoyable weekend” Duane said summing up the event.

In round one, Duane faced Kim Parker who has been impressive since switching to an A/Fuel dragster so it was anyone’s race. As both cars completed their burnout Parker was unable to get the car in reverse and wisely drove it down the track allowing Duane to solo for a first round win. Duane demonstrated he brought his A game and ran a stellar 5.25 at 278 MPH to advance to round two. “They are known to step up and run some big numbers so we were ready for them. It was too bad she broke because it would have been a great race.” Duane explained.

Going into round two Duane met up with fellow west coast powerhouse Chris Demke in the Peen Rite entry. Demke was a little off his game in round one, posting an elapse time of 5.51, so the PEAK team had a good chance of taking the win if Demke wasn’t able to improve from the prior round. As the cars left the line, Demke got the edge at the starting line with a .028 to Duane’s .064. Both cars were side by side with the PEAK Dragster closing the gap. Unfortunately for Duane, Demke was able to take the stripe by a distance of only 16 feet, which is less that a car length. Demke took the win with a 5.27 at 277 MPH to Duane’s valiant 5.27 at 278 MPH. “Chris stepped up when he had too and ran his best ET and reaction time against me so that is that. We’ll go to the next race confident that we are competitive and can win.

The PEAK team will take a quick break and then return to NHRA national event action June 21-24 when they move on to Summit Dragway and the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. Duane would like to thank his sponsors: PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support.

Duane Shields Wins Maple Grove Lucas Oil Regional Event

Reading PA - Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster won his second NHRA Lucas Oil Regional event of the season. This time the win came at Maple Grove Raceway over the memorial day weekend where he beat Doug Foley in the final round.

The win was much needed after an unscheduled stop in Norwalk, Ohio the week prior where the team experienced a first round defeat. “We decided to go into Reading a day early and test which paid off for us as we were able to rebound” Duane said. The PEAK team found the results they were looking for in testing as they ran an impressive 5.21 at 278 MPH. But the team fell off slightly due to an electrical problem in qualifying and ended up sixth with a 5.35 at 273 MPH.

In round one, Duane took on Richard Bourke. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the track’s staging lights so the cars were allowed to cool down and refuel before returning to the starting line once the issue was resolved. At the hit, Duane was out of the box first with an .068 to Bourke’s .102. That was all it took as Duane had Bourke covered by a country mile with a victorious 5.41 at 271 MPH to Bourke’s 5.51 at 257 MPH.

In the semi-final round, Duane took on Jackie Fricke. Both cars left nearly at the same time with Fricke getting a very slight edge. However, Duane was on a very good pass and clicked off a competitive 5.27 at 274 MPH to take the win over Fricke’s honorable 5.32 at 268 MPH. “This was a big match up for us as Jackie was leading the points going into the round. We were able to make up a lot of ground by getting the win in the semis” Duane said.

In the final round, Duane faced off with former Top Fuel pilot Doug Foley. As the lights came down, Duane left on Foley with an .074 to Foley’s .080. Duane was on another clean pass and took the stripe with a sizzling 5.25 at 275 MPH to take home the Wally. Meanwhile, Foley had traction problems and shut off early with a 7.62 at 113 MPH. “We tuned the car up in the finals to make it more aggressive and it worked. This is a great win for our team and now we go on to Chicago, PEAK’s home town for the Route 66 Nationals” Duane said after the win.

The PEAK team is now in first place in both the year long national points chase and also leads in the Eastern Regional point series going into Chicago this coming weekend. Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support.

Duane Shields Exits Early in Atlanta

Atlanta - Duane Shields and the PEAK Team didn’t have the outing in Atlanta they were hoping for. It turned out to be a rare, off pace weekend for the popular A/Fuel Dragster team. On Saturday, there was a tragic accident during the first round of the Top Sportsman class which understandably cast a pall over the remainder of the event.

Duane qualified tenth over all with a 5.41 at 267 MPH. In round one, Duane lost a very close race to Dan Page. Page won the round with a 5.30 at 271 MPH to Duane’s valiant 5.34 at 272 MPH. “It was a difficult weekend for us but congratulations to my PEAK teammate Jay Payne for winning in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class” Duane said.

Next, the PEAK team moves up the East Coast to Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pennsylvania for an NHRA regional event, May 25-27. The PEAK team would like to give their condolences to the family of Randy Alexander who was involved in the crash on Saturday. The team would also like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support.

Shields Rebounds at NGK Spark Plugs Four - Wide Nationals

Charlotte - Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster made it to the quarterfinal round at the NHRA NGK Spark Plugs Four - Wide Nationals following a disappointing regional event last weekend in Virginia. At that event the PEAK Dragster recorded a 5.27 at 273 MPH which would normally be competitive at any event. But sadly it was not enough in Virginia to get into a tight 8 car field. Duane just missed getting in the show as the ninth qualifier and found himself as the first alternate in what is now the quickest field in Top Alcohol Dragster history.

With the sting from the Virginia race behind them, the PEAK team moved on to Charlotte and quickly turned things around by qualifying eighth with a solid 5.31 at 271 MPH. This would ensure a first round showdown with Karen Stalba. As the lights came down, Duane was long gone with an 0.096 reaction time to Stalba’s 0.155. Duane also took care of Stalba at the top end of the track by securing the victory with a 5.32 at 272 MPH to Stalba’s 5.50 at 267 MPH.

In the quarter finals, Duane would face Megan Meyer who qualified first with a 5.16. At the hit, Duane left on Meyer with an 0.047 reaction time to Meyer’s 0.077. Duane continued his lead past the 60 foot mark but by the eighth mile Meyer moved ahead and was able to keep the candles lit to the finish line. She grabbed the win with a 5.23 at 277 MPH to Duane’s 5.33 at 273 MPH. “The car shook out there which slowed us down” Duane explained.

This coming weekend the PEAK Team will compete in Atlanta for the NHRA Southern Nationals. Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support.

Duane Shields Reaches Semi Final Round at Gatornationals

Gainesville FL - Duane Shields, didn’t make it to the NHRA Gatornationals Winner’s Circle this time but still had a good weekend by making it to the semi-finals before getting stopped by a loss of traction. “I’m disappointed. We were on a roll and thought we were heading for another final round appearance but it didn’t work out this time” Duane said.

Duane qualified the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster in the top half of the field with a scorching 5.22 at 274 MPH. His qualifying run was good for 4th in the final run order of the Top Alcohol Dragster class.

In round one, Duane easily disposed of Robin Samsel. Duane was on his game and won the round at both ends of the track as he beat Samsel off the line with an 0.053 to his 0.084. At the finish line it was Duane taking the win with a 5.29 at 271 MPH to Samsel’s valiant 5.34 at 264 MPH.

In round two, Duane faced off with Jordan Vandergriff. At the hit, Vandergriff got the stating line advantage but didn’t have the power to over come the PEAK Dragster as Duane made up for the slight starting line deficit instantly with a potent 5.23 at 276 MPH to Vandergriff’s slower 5.37 at 273 MPH.

In the semifinals, Duane raced Josh Hart. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the close race that everyone was expecting. Hart got the starting line advantage and never looked back as he scored the victory with a 5.27 at 273 MPH. Sadly for Duane, he immediately went up in smoke at the tap of the throttle and had to reluctantly conceded the race. “The weather warmed up and the track got a little tricky and we lost traction. Some of the cars that were running hard all weekend began to smoke the tires as well” Duane said.

The PEAK team will take a brief break after three races in a row and then return to action April 20-22 when they move on to Virginia Motorsports Park for a Lucas Oil Regional event. Duane would like to thank his great sponsors: PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support.

Duane Shields and PEAK Team Wins Gainsville Regional Event

Gainesville FL - Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster improved over last week’s runner up finish to grab a big win at the NHRA Lucas Oil Regional event held one week prior to the Mac Tools NHRA Gatornationals contested at the same track. The win ends a long drought for one of drag racing’s more popular stars in the Top Alcohol Dragster category. “I hate to say how long it’s been since we won last, but it feels really good to get the win for my team and my sponsors” Duane said after the event.

Duane qualified 6th in a very competitive field with a 5.29 at 276 MPH. “It didn’t start out well, there were some delays so we only got two chances to qualify. We had to abort the first run so on the second run we had to concentrate on just getting into the show. It was a really tough field with seven cars in the 5.30’s or better” Duane said.

In round one, Duane took on Jackie Fricke fresh off her win over Duane last week in Belle Rose. At the hit, Duane got off the line first with a 0.063 to Fricke’s 0.073. Duane never trailed and took the stripe with a stout 5.23 at 276 MPH over Fricke’s competitive 5.34 at 270 MPH. “We stepped it up in the first round and kept the same tune up in the car the rest of the race” Duane explained.

In the semifinals, Duane raced Justin Ashley. As the cars left the starting line, Ashley had a great 0.021 light but that was it as he had problems and shut off early. Meanwhile, Duane kept his consistency going with a 5.24 at 275 MPH to win the round and go on to the finals for the second week in a row.

In the final round, Duane faced Jeff Veale who was also having a very consistent weekend. On paper, it looked to be a very tight race as both teams had similar performances throughout the day. As the lights came down, Veale made the most of it with an 0.017 reaction time to Duane’s decent 0.023. As predicted, it was a close race all the way to the finish line with Duane getting a well deserved win with a 5.27 at 274 MPH to Veale’s close 5.34 at 280 MPH. “It was a good race and there was a lot of maintenance after every round. Dana, Josh and Jason worked really hard to be sure we were ready for each round all weekend” Duane said.

The PEAK team will be looking forward to the Gatornationals coming up later this week. “Between the win today and the runner up finish last week we have a lot of momentum going into the Gators” Duane pointed out. The PEAK Race team would like to thank their sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support.

Duane Shields Makes it to Finals in Bella Rose

Belle Rose LA - The PEAK Dragster’s stellar performance in 2018 continues as Duane Shields made it to the final round at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Race Series Regional at No Problem Raceway located in Belle Rose, Louisiana. “I wish we would have won but this was good since we haven’t been to a final round in a while” Duane said.

Duane ended up third on the qualifying ladder with a 5.44 at 215 MPH and faced former Top Fuel stand out, Spencer Massey, in round one. Massey ended up being a no show but ready or not the PEAK team slapped down a 5.24 at 273 MPH which was low ET for the first round of competition. “The car ran right where we wanted it to in the first round” Duane explained.

In the semi-final round, the PEAK team had Buddy Domingue on their hands. Unfortunately, the race was over at the starting line as Domingue red lit giving the win to Duane. Domingue ran a very competitive 5.27 at 275 MPH to Duane’s slightly slower 5.30 at 272 MPH but it was all for not due to the starting line infraction.

In the finals, Duane faced friendly competitor Jackie Fricke who had ran an impressive 5.27 in the second round. At the hit Fricke got off the line first with an 0.058 reaction time to Duane’s 0.068. At the finish line, Fricke got the win with a solid 5.30 at 272 MPH to Duane’s close 5.34 at 272 MPH. “The car ran a little slower in the second round so we gave it a little more power for the finals but it didn’t respond” Duane said.

The PEAK team now moves on to Florida where Duane has won the regional event in Gainesville and the NHRA Gatornationals three times. “This is the start of three races in a row and this weekend gives us a lot of confidence going into Florida” Duane said. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting the team in 2018.

PEAK Dragster Runs Consistently Well in Pomona

When it comes to consistency which is extremely critical to be successful in NHRA drag racing, Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster was on the money all weekend at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals with incredible elapsed times on every pass. Consider these numbers: on the opening pass the PEAK Dragster ran a blistering 5.24 at 274 MPH. In the second stanza, the popular Nevada standout ran a 5.21 at 274 MPH. In the final session, Duane rang up another sizzling pass as he posted his second 5.24 of the event to land third on the qualifying ladder.

In the first round, Duane took on number 14 qualifier, Garret Bateman, driving the Rick Henkelman owned A/Fuel Dragster. As the cars launched, Duane was on his game and got out of the box first with an 0.056 reaction time to Bateman’s 0.058. It was a close side by side race to the finish line with Bateman slightly ahead. At the stripe it was Bateman taking a narrow win with a 5.28 at 274 MPH to Duane’s close 5.30 at 275 MPH. “We ran well all weekend and would have likely won most of the other match ups. We didn’t change anything but I think the track was just a hair better than we thought it would be. I’m not going to dwell on it. We’ll move on from here encouraged that we have a competitive car to start the year” Duane said.

With the season opening race now in the books the PEAK Team will prepare for a series of races in the Southeast beginning in Belle Rose, Louisiana on March 2-4. Duane would like to thank his returning sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support.

Duane Shields Closes Out 2017 Season with Solid Performance at Finals

Photos by Competition Plus and Andreas Hübler

Pomona - Duane Shields driving the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster ended the season valiantly in the quarterfinal round at the 53rd annual Auto Club NHRA Finals. Duane lost a close race to Joey Severance despite making his quickest run of the event. Duane qualified fifth with a solid 5.26 at 275 MPH. “The car ran solid every time down the track. This was the quickest field in history and the car ran good in qualifying and then we ran a little quicker in each round of eliminations which is what you want” Duane said.

In round one, Duane took on James Stevens who qualified twelfth with a 5.31. As the light went green, Stevens got off the starting line first with an .042 reaction time to Duane’s .073. Stevens’ lead didn’t last long however as Duane was on a great pass and stopped the clock with another blistering 5.26 at 275 MPH to take win!

Advancing into the quarterfinals, Duane faced off with Joey Severance for the second weekend in a row. As the two cars staged and the lights came down Severance got off the line first with an .013 reaction time to Duane’s .058. Both cars were nearly side by side with Severance maintaining a slight lead. At the stripe it was Severance taking the win with a 5.24 at 273 MPH to Duane’s nearly identical 5.25 at 273 MPH. “It was a very close race and we ran really well but I was unable to close the gap to get the win” Duane said.

Looking towards next season, Duane is optimistic that the PEAK team will have a great year in 2018. “We finished this season strong with a very competitive car and that will move us forward going into next year. We just need a few breaks next season to go our way” he said. Duane would like to thank his team for a hard fought season and thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support all season long.

Duane Shields Makes Elite Final Four at Las Vegas Lucas Regional Event

Las Vegas - Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team turned in a solid performance at what is arguably one of the toughest fields on the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Circuit at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Duane went all the way to the final four and qualified in an 8 car field where 16 teams were fighting hard to get in. Duane made it into the elite field at the sixth position with a 5.34 at 271 MPH.

In round one, Duane raced against Bill Litton who qualified third with a 5.32. As the lights came down, Duane was on his game and left the line first by a substantial margin. This was an important factor in the race as Duane shook the tires and had to pedal to regain traction. His skills paid off as he grabbed the win with a 5.44 at 264 MPH to Litton’s 5.53 at 276 MPH.

In the semi-finals the PEAK Dragster went up against the recently crowned National Champion Joey Severance. At the hit, Severance got out first with an .028 to Duane’s .067. Severance won the race by less than 30 feet with a 5.27 at 272 MPH to Duane’s valiant 5.34 at 268 MPH. “It was a solid run for us but we came up a little short. We will go to Pomona later in the week and try to win it” Duane said after the run.

Next week, the season comes to a conclusion at Auto Club Raceway for the Auto Club NHRA Finals. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil,

Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support.

PEAK Team Returns Home to Las Vegas

Photo by Andew Green

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.

Duane Shields Part of Historic Dallas Field

Dallas - Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team returned to Dallas for the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals after a long absence from this classic Autumn event. Duane qualified deep into the field with a 5.27 at 275 MPH which put him in the 5th position going into round one. This was an impressive feat on it’s own considering it was the quickest Top Alcohol Dragster field in history. Over 27 cars were battling for 16 positions so many teams left “Big D” empty handed.

In the first round, the Las Vegas native took on the reining national champion from Oregon, Joey Severance. As the lights came down both drivers had good reaction times with Severance having the better light with a 0.018 to Duane’s 0.032. Severance never gave up the lead as he stopped the clock with a 5.29 at 270 MPH to Duane’s 5.45 at 272 MPH. “We didn’t change anything from the last run when we ran the 5.27. We wanted to repeat it and if we did we would have won the round. But the track went away slightly during eliminations and the car shook and I had to pedal it which slowed me down” Duane explained.

Next, the PEAK team moves on to the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “Our next stop is Las Vegas and we plan to take care of business at our home track” 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 support.

Duane Shields Enjoys Competitive Weekend at the Carolina Nationals

Charlotte - Duane Shields driving the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster had a good, well rounded outing at the 10th Annual NHRA Carolina Nationals held at ZMAX Dragway. Duane qualified fifth in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster with a highly competitive 5.28 at 276 MPH blast. “The car ran well so It was a good event for us. PEAK had some of their customers here on Saturday and NGK had a big presence at this race as well” Duane said.

In round one, Duane took on Tom Fox who qualified with a 5.38 so it was a fairly close match up going into the first round. As the lights came down on the tree, Fox jumped the gun and left too soon giving Duane an automatic first round win. At the finishline, Duane rang up a 5.35 at 273 MPH to move on to the next round.

In the quarterfinals, Duane raced Canadian Shawn Cowie. At the hit Cowie got the starting line advantage and was able to gain enough momentum by mid track to win the race by less than a car length. Cowie stopped the clock with a 5.29 at 272 MPH to Duane’s close 5.32 at 274 MPH. “It was a hot and greasy track. Shawn had a good light against me and he ran well” Duane said after the race.

The Next stop for the PEAK Dragster will be the AAA Texas NHRA Nationals in Dallas, October 12-15. “We have a competitive car we just aren’t getting the results to reflect that right now. But we have another chance in Dallas” Duane said. As always, the team would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support.

Duane Shields Qualifies Second at NHRA US Nationals

Photo By Roger Richards

Indianapolis - Duane Shields driving the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster qualified second at the Chevrolet Performance US Nationals. Duane had an impressive qualifying time of 5.18 at 277 MPH in the highly competitive Top Alcohol Dragster division. “It was a tough field and to qualify second at the US Nationals shows that we have a very competitive car. We have run in the teens before but it’s been a while so the PEAK Dragster is really coming around” Duane said.

In round one, Duane faced Fred Hanssen. As the lights on the tree came down Hanssen got the starting line advantage and never gave up the lead as Duane pedalled it as he anticipated tire shake. This added some extra time onto the run which resulted in Hanssen escaping with the win in an otherwise close race. Hanssen posted a 5.37 at 247 MPH to Duane’s slightly quicker 5.36 at 277 MPH. “I have been experiencing tire shake lately so I was mentally prepared for it. I thought I felt some shake coming on so I pedalled but it turned out that wasn’t necessary and it slowed me down just enough to lose the race” Duane said.

With Indy now in the books, Duane is now shifting gears and focusing on the NHRA Carolina Nationals in Charlotte, September 15-17. “With the car running better than it has all year and with our past history in Charlotte, I feel confident that we will have a good showing there’’ Duane said. As always, Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.

Duane Shields Goes to the Quarterfinals in Brainerd while Getting Ready for Indy

Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team went to the quarterfinals at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd this past weekend. It was an event where everyone qualified due to the number of cars so the PEAK team had the opportunity to try a few different things in order to squeeze a little more power out of the car during eliminations.

Duane qualified tenth with a 5.38 at 270 MPH and faced Robin Samsel in round one. At the hit, Samsel went up in smoke while Duane was on a strong run. He stopped the clock with a 5.35 at 267 MPH to take the win. Between rounds, they decided to swap engines utilizing the freshened up engine they broke the crank in at Atco two weeks ago.

In the quarterfinal round, Duane took on rising star Megan Meyer. As the lights came down, Meyer got off the line slightly ahead of Duane but then the PEAK Dragster lost traction and Meyer took the win with a 5.21 ET. “We got aggressive. We were out of the normal curve and the car shredded the tires. We are now getting ready for the US Nationals in a couple of weeks. In Indy, we’ll go back to the old fuel curve and clutch set up and hope for better results” Duane said.

Duane would like to thank his valued marketing partners including: PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.

PEAK Team Gains a Bit Too Much Power in Atco

Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team was back in action over the weekend in Atco NJ for an NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Regional event. The race attracted a very competitive field and five teams didn’t even make it into the tight eight car show. In fact, it was so competitive that Duane’s 5.27 qualifying time was only good for the 5th seed. It was just a short time ago that a run like that could put a driver in the pole position.

It was during qualifying that the PEAK team broke a crank and had to install a new engine before the start of eliminations. In round one, Duane raced Richard Bourke. At the hit, both drivers had identical .087 reaction times but Duane lost traction and had to abort the run. “When we switched engines after breaking the crank we unknowingly gained a lot more power and it was a little too much for the track. We will tune the new engine down a little bit before our next event” Duane said.

Next, the PEAK team returns to the national stage as it competes at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd MN, August 17-20. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support.

PEAK Team Enjoys a Fun Weekend at New England Dragway

Epping NH - Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster had a good outing at the NHRA Lucas Oil Regional event held at New England Dragway. The event was marketed as the “Night of Fire” complete with jet cars and some razzle dazzle so it attracted a lot of spectators. On Friday, the PEAK team along with several other race teams hosted a large group of kids from a local YMCA camp. Duane signed pictures and gave each of the visitors a PEAK racing hat.

As for the car’s performance, other than going a little too aggressive in the first qualifying round the car was back in the ultra competitive five twenty zone. Exactly eight cars showed up for the eight car field and Duane qualified second with a 5.28 at 275 MPH.

In round one of eliminations, Duane took on Dan Mercier. It ended up being a “see ya later” race as Mercier smoked the tires and Duane was on a clean run and stopped the timer with a respectable 5.31at 276 MPH for the win.

In the semifinals, Duane faced Josh Hart. This would be one of the best races of the night but sadly it didn’t turn out as the PEAK team had planned. Both cars left together but Hart had a slightly better ET and took the finish line stripe for the win. Hart ran a 5.23 at 271 MPH to Duane’s valiant 5.27 at 276 MPH. “I’m happy the car is running consistently well but I just can’t seem to get a break which you need to win one of these races. We’ll get another chance next weekend in Atco” Duane said.

Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their ongoing support.

PEAK Team Enjoys Good Outing in Chicago

Chicago - Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster had a respectable weekend in Chicago at the 20th annual Children of Fallen Patriots NHRA Route 66 Nationals presented by K&N. Chicago is one of the big races on the tour and Duane wanted to pull out all the stops for his title sponsor Old World Industries which is headquartered in the Windy City. Duane qualified in the top half of the field in the no. 7 position. On the final qualifying run the car shook so hard that it broke the fuel pump drive. Other than that, the car ran well throughout the event.

In the opening round of eliminations the PEAK team took on Justin Ashley. As the lights came down, Ashley got off the line first but Duane was on a great run and stopped the clock with a blistering 5.29 at 276 MPH to take the win over Ashley’s 6.07 at 252 MPH.

In the quarterfinals, Duane faced Mia Tedesco who beat Kris Krabil in round one. At the hit, Tedesco had a slight edge at the starting line and was able to maintain her lead the entire quarter mile distance. In a squeaker, Tedesco got to the finish line first with a 5.30 at 280 MPH over Duane’s close 5.39 at 274 MPH. “We made a lot of progress this weekend we just didn’t get the win this time around. But it was great to race once again in front of PEAK’s home town” Duane said.

Duane wanted to take a moment to congratulate fellow PEAK driver Dan Fletcher on his one hundredth national event win this weekend. Next, the PEAK team heads to New England Dragway for the Lucas Oil Regional, July 21-23. As always, Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.

PEAK Team Makes it to the Semifinal Round at Lebanon Valley Regional Event

Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster made it to the semifinal round at a rain plagued NHRA Lucas Oil Regional event contested at Lebanon Valley Speedway in upstate New York. Duane qualified fifth in the tough eight car field with a 5.58 at 262 MPH. “On the second qualifier, I went out a ways and then spun the tires. I’m not sure if the track was wet or what. It rained after our run so the field was set” Duane said.

On Saturday with the rain threat still hanging around, Duane faced east coast regular Dan Page in round one of eliminations. Duane won the race by a wide margin with a 5.38 at 266 MPH to Page’s 5.87 at 193 MPH. Duane then advanced to the semifinal round where he met up with Josh Hart. Unfortunately, Duane shook and had to pedal the car resulting in a loss. Duane posted a 5.51 at 266 MPH to Hart’s winning 5.40 at 265 MPH. “I was hoping to get past the tricky spot on the track. Unfortunately I didn’t. Duane said

Duane is looking forward to the Route 66 NHRA Nationals, his next event. “Chicago is next weekend and we are excited to race in our sponsor’s home town. Go PEAK!” Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.

Duane Shields Goes to Quarter Finals at Norwalk

After a few weeks off, Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster was back in competition. This time the team was in Norwalk, Ohio at the 11th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Unfortunately, heavy rain was an unwelcome guest on Friday and put everyone at a tuning disadvantage. Still, the PEAK Dragster qualified well with a 5.33 at 273 MPH to land Duane fifth in the qualifying order.

In round one, Duane faced former nostalgia funny car star Kris Krabil who recently made the switch to the long cars. At the hit, Krabil got out of the gate first but his lead didn’t last long as Duane was on a good pass and got the win light with a 5.35 at 270 MPH to Krabil’s valiant 5.43 at 258 MPH.

In the quarter finals, Duane took on fellow west coast racer Chris Demke in the Peen Rite Dragster. At the hit, Duane smoked the tires while Demke was on a clean run which rang up a 5.39 and ended Duane’s weekend. “We backed the car down so we were surprised that it smoked the tires. We will try and improve at the NHRA Regional race next weekend before the Chicago Nationals” Duane said after the event. Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.

Weather Limits Norwalk Regional Making it a Guessing Game

Norwalk, Ohio - Unseasonable wet weather made the “Cavalcade of Stars” NHRA Regional event a challenge for all competitors to read the track. As a result of the rain, the Top Alcohol Dragster class only got one qualifying pass thus limiting the amount of data collected. But, Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel dragster made the best of it and qualified fourth with a 5.48 at 264 MPH during the exciting one shot qualifying session.

In round one, Duane faced Jared Dreher who qualified fifth with a 5.53 at 242 MPH. As the lights came down, Dreher got an advantage off the starting line. Other than the slight lead, it was a fairly even race all the way down the track with Dreher tripping the win light with a 5.43 at 264 MPH to Duane’s close 5.45 at 270 MPH. “We didn’t give it enough power and it stuck the tires. The track was tight and because we only got one qualifying pass before eliminations we just didn’t have much to work with” Duane said.

The PEAK Team returns to Norwalk, June 22-25 for the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.

Duane Shields and the PEAK Team Takes Pole Position at NHRA Four Wide Nationals

Photo by Tammy Souza

Charlotte - It was a seesaw battle for the pole position at the NHRA Four Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway and Duane Shields came out on top. Duane started out in the opening qualifying session in the number one position with a 5.34 at 275 MPH blast. In the second session, the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster rang up another 5.34 at 275 MPH but dropped one notch to second in the qualifying order. Then, in the final session Duane was back on top with a sizzling 5.29 @ 273 MPH. “The car is running good right now. We did some testing in Richmond prior to the rainout and took care of a few small problems that we noticed in Gainesville” Duane said.

Because Duane qualified in the pole position he was awarded a solo run in round one during eliminations. In the opening round, Duane made another impressive run scoring a 5.35 at 270 MPH which was low ET for the round.

In round two, Duane raced Justin Ashley from Plainview, NY. At the hit, Ashley got a slight advantage off the starting line with an .036 to Duane’s .043. “I had a close reaction time to his so we didn’t give him a lot to work with at the starting line”. Unfortunately for Duane, his car went up in smoke as it lost traction while Ashley was on a clean run and took the win. “It blind sided us! It was crushing to the whole team. I didn’t have to pedal it all weekend and the car got down the track smoothly on every pass. We didn’t change the tune up and the weather changed only slightly. The only thing that changed was the day. So, maybe the track went away on Sunday when we lost traction” Duane explained.

Next, the PEAK Team travels to Norwalk, Ohio for the Lucas Oil Regional event, May 19-21. “We’re certainly competitive and we can’t back it down because the competition is so tough. It’s just a matter of time before we break through and get a win” Duane predicted. Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.

Shields Comes Up Short at the Gatornationals

Gainesville - The 48th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals weren’t too kind to Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team. Unfortunately, they suffered a close first round loss to end a three race stanza which included a regional event in Phoenix, Arizona and a pair of races in Gainesville, Florida.

Even with the loss, Duane was still on his game qualifying in the top half of another tough field as the seventh seed with an impressive 5.27 at 279 MPH. “The conditions were so good in Gainesville that it could make anyone into an instant hero. Everyone in the class stepped up so we gave the car a more aggressive tune up. But that increases the risk of losing traction” Duane said.

In round one, Duane took on reining East Coast Regional Champ, Rich McPhillips, who qualified tenth with a 5.31 at 266 MPH. As the dragsters left the line, McPhillips got the starting line advantage but then got slightly out of the grove allowing Duane to nearly close the gap but McPhillips crossed the finish line before Duane was able to pass him. McPhillips rang up another 5.31 at 270 MPH over Duane’s 5.39 at 278 MPH. “It shook early into the run so I had to pedal. The 5.39 is the slowest we have run since the beginning of the season in Pomona. But this is a race where consistency could have won. I’m disappointed but I have to say that I’m really proud of my team. They have really worked hard over the last three weeks and have done a great job” Duane said.

The PEAK team now takes a short break before returning to action April 21-23 in Richmond VA for a Lucas Oil Regional event. “This break comes at the right time so we can regroup and do some testing before the next race in Richmond. We need to step it up in order to stay with the top cars in the class” he said. As always, Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.

Duane Shields Runs Hard and Consistent at Gainesville Regional

Duane Shields ran flawless at the NHRA regional event held at Gainesville Raceway in his PEAK A/Fuel Dragster. The event is a precursor to the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals held the following weekend. Duane stayed in the ultra competitive 5.20’s on every pass and looked like a favorite to win the race. The problem was everyone else could have been favored to win too as the top seven cars in the eight car field were all in the 5.20 zone. “It’s getting harder as there are no easy rivals. A lot of the best cars are here from out of the region because of the Gatornationals next weekend and to get a good tune up, but we never shy away from the top performing cars” Duane said.

Duane, qualified fourth with an impressive 5.260 at 274 MPH and faced Rich Bourke in the first round. Bourke qualified fifth with a close 5.263 at 274 MPH so it was anyone’s race going into eliminations. As the lights came down on the tree, Bourke got a slight starting line advantage but Duane was right with him the entire length of the track. At the finish line it was Bourke scoring the win with a 5.20 at 279 MPH to Duane’s close 5.26 at 274 MPH. “He saved his best run of the weekend for us. We didn’t expect him to go out and run a 5.20 but he did” Duane said.

This week the team will stay in Gainesville to get ready for the Gatornationals. Duane and the PEAK team will be looking for slight changes to squeeze a little more power out of the car but it won’t be much. “Right now, we are competitive with the top cars but running in the 5.20 and not winning is frustrating. There really isn’t much more room to tune since we’re right at the top now but maybe we can get a little more out of it for the Gators” he said. Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.

Shields Goes to Semifinals and Makes Big Performance Gain in Phoenix

Duane Shields got his performance edge back by breaking into in the elite 5.20 zone at the NHRA regional race in Phoenix AZ. “I’m very happy to see that the PEAK team is making good progress. We tested before the race and have a new team member setting the clutch. The car made competitive runs and we didn’t hurt anything so it was a great weekend for us” Duane said.

Duane qualified third with a stout 5.31 and faced James Stevens in round one. Stevens qualified fourth with a 5.34 so on paper it looked to be a close race. Stevens got off the starting line first but Duane made a blistering run as he stopped the clock with a victorious a 5.28 at 276 MPH over Stevens’ respectable 5.37 at 266 MPH to advance to the semifinals.

In the semis, Duane took on Shawn Cowie who knocked off Johnny Ahten in round one. As the lights came down, both cars left together with Cowie getting a slight edge with a .065 reaction time to Duane’s .066. It was a great side-by-side race with Cowie holding on for the win as he rang up a 5.24 at 275 MPH to Duane’s valiant 5.29 at 275 MPH. “Shawn ran well and deserved to win. He went on to win the race and congrats to him. His tuner, Norm Grimes knows how to tune a car very aggressively” Duane said.

The PEAK team now heads east for two races in Florida beginning with a regional event in Gainesville followed by the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. “We run well in Gainesville and I hope to have better results at the regional event next weekend. The wins will come if we keep running well” Duane said.

Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support in 2017.

Duane Shields Glad to be Back in the Driver’s Seat at 2017 Winternationals

After a five month absence from NHRA national event competition, Duane Shields returned for the 57th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, CA. “It feels good to be back after a long break and I want to thank our sponsors PEAK Antifreeze, NGK Spark Plugs and GRP Connecting Rods for their continued support in 2017” Duane said.

Duane qualified tenth with a 5.52 at 272 MPH and was paired up with Casey Grisel in the first round of eliminations. As the lights came down, Grisel was a fraction of a second too quick off the starting line and went red. Meanwhile, Duane was on a good run but still had to pedal on the way to the finish line. Duane posted a 5.40 at 275 MPH for his first round win of the 2017 season.

In round two, Duane was scheduled to race against Randy Eakins but in a rare occurrence Duane’s A/Fuel dragster was unable to start due to an error. “We’re a much better team than the results indicated and we’re disappointed the car did not start because our performance had improved on every pass. But keep in mind, it’s the beginning of the season and it’s only one race” Duane said.

Next, the team plans to do some testing prior to their first regional race in Phoenix at the Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park on March 3-5.

PEAK Team Takes Semifinal Finish at NHRA Carolina Nationals

Charlotte - Duane Shields hoped to improve on his runner up finish last week at Tri-State Raceway but had to settle for a semifinal finish at the NHRA Carolina Nationals held at ZMax Dragway near Charlotte. Duane qualified his PEAK A/Fuel dragster in the no. 2 position with an impressive 5.27 at 278 MPH.

In round one, Duane raced Tom Fox Jr. who qualified 15th. Fox got the starting line advantage but it didn’t matter as the Dana Hopewell horsepower in the PEAK entry kicked in and carried Duane to a decisive 5.34 at 276 MPH to Fox’s 5.49 at 261 MPH.

In the quarter-finals, Duane met up with Mia Tedesco. As the lights on the tree came down it was Tedesco out first but Duane’s PEAK Dragster ran like a rocket ship and scored the win with a 5.36 at 274 MPH to her 5.54 at 267 MPH to advance to the semifinals.

In the semis, Duane took on Shawn Cowie who traveled all the way to Charlotte from Western Canada. At the hit, both cars left nearly together with Cowie getting a very slight advantage with his .073 to Duane’ s close .075 light. It continued to be a tight side-by-side battle as both cars approached the finish line with Cowie taking the stripe by less than a car length. Cowie rang up a 5.31 at 272 MPH to Duane’s close 5.34 at 273 MPH.

Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support in 2016.

Duane Shields’ Surprise Visit to Iowa Yields a Pole Position and a Runner Up Finish

Duane Shields made a surprise visit to the Midwest in order to compete at the NHRA Lucas Oil Regional event being held at Tri-State Raceway in Earlsville, Iowa. In the pits there was an impressive line up of professional looking teams in both the Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car class and the PEAK team’s unplanned visit complimented the big row of semi trailers.

Duane qualified on top with a 5.32 at 278 MPH and would face James Stevens, of Gothenburg, Nebraska who qualified with a 5.57 at 262 MPH to place him sixth on the ladder going into the first round.

As the cars launched, Stevens got a little too eager and red lit. Even though the race was already won for Duane, both cars made a race out of it and Duane stopped the clock with a 5.32 at 275 MPH to Steven’s 6.18. In round two, Duane received a single because it was a short field. On the second round bi-run Duane rang up a strong 5.31 at 274 MPH.

In the finals it was USA vs. Canada as Duane took on Gord Gingles from Winnipeg MB. Unfortunately for Duane, the PEAK Dragster lost traction on the run which allowed Gingles to cross the finish line first and win the event. “We spun the tires out there aways but congrats to Gord Gingles and to Rich McPhillips for clinching the Eastern Region Championship” Duane said.

Duane would like to thank his great sponsors: PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support in 2016.

PEAK Team Enjoys a Strong Performance at the Chevrolet Performance NHRA US Nationals

Indianapolis - Everything was pointing towards another trip to the winner’s circle at the Chevrolet Performance NHRA US Nationals for the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team. They took the number three qualifying position, made plenty of sub 5.30 runs and the PEAK Dragster set low ET of the first round. But sadly Duane’s good karma ended in round two when he was stopped by Shawn Cowie.

Duane began the marathon race known as Indy by qualifying third with a 5.26 at 278 MPH which is usually a good position on the ladder to start from but this was Indy after all so there were no easy rounds.

In round one, the Nevada veteran took on Buddy Domingue who qualified in the 14th position. At the start Duane got the lead on Domingue right out of the box with an 0.069 reaction time to his 0.089. Duane was on a lightning quick pass and scored the quickest run of the round, a sizzling 5.25 at 280 MPH to Domingue’s very respectable 5.31 at 270 MPH.

In the quarter finals, Duane took on Canadian Shawn Cowie who was behind the wheel of a blown alcohol dragster. Both cars left together with Cowie getting a slight 0.081 lead to Duane’s close 0.085. Cowie maintained his lead with Duane in close pursuit all the way to the finish line but Cowie was able to reach the stripe first and took the win with a 5.28 at 275 MPH to Duane’s close 5.30 at 278 MPH. “No win at Indy this year. We dropped a cylinder at 5. seconds into the run which slowed us down but the car’s still running good” Duane said.

Next, the PEAK team moves on to Charlotte for the NHRA Carolina Nationals. Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support in 2016.

Duane Shields Goes to Final Round at Brainerd

Brainerd MN - While it might have been a short field where just ten cars entered the Top Alcohol Dragster class at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, it wasn’t a short field on Duane Shields’ side of the ladder as he had a tough opponent every round before he was eventually stopped by Joey Severance in the finals. “Everyone there was tough so you had to bring your A-game to this race. You couldn’t take anyone lightly” Duane said. Duane’s PEAK A/Fuel Dragster qualified third with a highly competitive 5.29 at 273 MPH.

In round one, Duane took on Mia Tedesco who is enjoying a respectable season going into this race. At the launch Tedesco had the better reaction time but she immediately lost traction and shook the tires giving Duane an easy trip to the finish line. Duane won the round with a 5.28 at 276 MPH to move on to the second round. “These A/Fuel Dragsters are very touchy and we all have to go out there with a very competitive tune-up. But that also increases your chances of overpowering the track and losing traction like Mia did” Duane said.

In the second round, Duane met up with Robin Samsel. As the cars rocketed off the starting line, it was Duane who was out first with an 0.065 to Samsel’s 0.091. Duane shook violently but was able to maintain his lead and take the stripe. Duane clocked a 5.55 at 274 MPH to Samsel’s off pace 5.98 at 269 MPH. “That was our lucky round win. The car shook really hard and I had to pedal twice but we still won the round” Said Duane.

In the semi-finals, Duane raced new comer Megan Meyer who is the daughter of former World Champion Randy Meyer. Duane was out first with an 0.074 to Meyer’s 0.083 but once again traction problems played into the race. Meyer had to coast as she blazed the tires while Duane made his best pass of the weekend with a sizzling 5.25 at 279 MPH to Meyer’s 10.24 at 74 MPH.

In the final round, Duane faced the reining World Champion Joey Severance. As the lights came down Severance got off the line first with an 0.045 to Duane’s 0.071. Duane was on the start of another great pass while out of nowhere he smoked the tires and had little choice but to concede the race. Severance recorded a winning 5.27 while Duane idled to the finish line. “We were totally shocked since the car never smoked the tires all weekend and here we were in the final round and it did it. We had a short turn around time before the finals and we never changed a thing from the prior run. Joey will probably win the Championship this year so it would have been nice to have made a good run against him” Duane said.

While the team was obviously disappointed, Duane remained optimistic that the final round appearance will make for a good springboard into the historic US Nationals held on Labor Day weekend. “This was our first national event final of the year and the PEAK Dragster is running consistent so this should give us some momentum going into Indy” Duane said.
Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support in 2016.

Duane Shields Goes to Semis at Atco After Dramatic Qualifying Start

Atco NJ - It was one of those do or die situations as Duane Shields was on the outside looking into an eight car field that so far didn’t include his PEAK A/Fuel Dragster. On the third and final qualifying session the PEAK team did what Champions do and that is overcome adversity and make it into the field on a Hail Mary pass. The PEAK team put together a 5.36 at 275 MPH package to qualify 5th at the NHRA Lucas Oil Regional event at Atco Dragway. “It was a nail biter and a little bit stressful but we got our car into the show in the final session” Duane said.

In round one, Duane faced Dan Mercier who qualified fourth. As the tree lights came down, it was Mercier out first but Duane had him covered by over a tenth of a second. At the finish line it was Duane taking the win with a decent 5.34 at 274 MPH to Mercier’s respectable 5.45 at 260 MPH.

In the semifinals, Duane drew another tough competitor, Josh Hart who qualified on the pole with a strong 5.27. As the dragsters rocketed off the line, it was Duane out first with an 0.049 reaction time to Hart’s 0.063 but Hart had a slightly quicker ET and was able to take a very narrow four foot victory as he stopped the clock with a 5.33 at 270 MPH to Duane’s valiant 5.36 at 272 MPH. “We lost a another close race which seems to be the story of my life this season. The car ran good, we just needed a little bit more. I felt confident going into the semis and would have liked to have won it since we need all the points we can get for the Eastern Regional Championship” said Duane who is currently second behind Rich McPhillips in the points standings.

Next, the team heads to Brainard for the Lucas Oil Nationals, August 18-21. “Our schedule switches over to mostly national events now and I’m hoping we can get a win at some of them beginning in Brainard” Duane said. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their ongoing support.

Duane Shields Experiences a Rare First Round Loss in Epping

Epping NH - Duane Shields suffered a rare first round defeat in spite of making a competitive run and leaving the line on time. Duane qualified third with a 5.34 at 275 MPH and faced Dan Page in round one. Page had qualified sixth with a 5.45 at 265 MPH.

At the hit, Page played with fire and deep staged to cut an impressive .10 light. Duane in the other lane played it safe and had a decent .068 light which in most cases is right in the ball park. However, in this particular case Page was able to step it up by nearly a tenth and when combined with the quick reaction time, Page had the right combination. Page was able to stop the PEAK A/Fuel dragster with a 5.38 at 271 MPH to Duane’s very competitive 5.34 at 274 MPH. “We went into first round confident and the car ran the ET we expected and wanted it to run. What we didn’t count on was his good reaction time and that he ran better than he had all weekend by almost a tenth. It just didn’t go our way this time, even though we made a good run” Duane said.

The PEAK team will take a couple of weeks off and will return to action in Atco, NJ on August 5-7. Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their valued support in 2016.

PEAK Team Scores Quickest ET of the Event at the K&N Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago

Chicago, IL - The K&N Route 66 NHRA Nationals and the Jegs All Star race is a special event for Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team. Not only is the Jegs All Star event important, but the race itself is in the same market as the headquarters for Old World Industries the parent company of PEAK, so naturally Duane would have liked nothing better than to score a big win in front of his marketing partners in their home town.

Duane started the weekend off with a dinner on Thursday night with PEAK’s executive team before qualifying and racing simultaneously in the Jegs All Star race on Friday. In the first round of the Jegs All Star event, Duane faced Mia Tedesco from Pittsburg, PA. At the launch, Duane was out first by a tenth of a second over Tedesco. But Tedesco was on a great pass and scored the win with a 5.22 at 277 MPH to Duane’s valiant 5.34 at 274 MPH. “We struggled a little bit but ran okay. The car shook and Mia was on a good run. We were very disappointed we didn’t go further in the Jegs All Star race but we still had a shot at the national event competition the following day“ Duane said.

In round one of the K&N Route 66 NHRA Nationals, Duane who qualified third with the 5.34 he posted in the Jegs All Star Race faced Randy Meyer who qualified ninth. At the hit it was Duane out first with his best reaction time in recent memory. Duane cut the tree down with an 0.008 light! Meyer in the other lane trailed immediately with an 0.081 light. The PEAK machine went on to dominate the race as Duane had a perfect run as he scored a nearly unbeatable 5.20 at 276 MPH when packaged with his 0.008 reaction time. Meyer posted a 5.36 at 257 MPH in a losing effort.

Moving into the second round, Duane appeared to be the favorite after scoring low ET for the event in round one. His opponent would once again be Mia Tedesco. As the lights came down Tedesco got the starting line advantage with a 0.059 to Duane’s 0.076. Tedesco was able to extend her lead down track and took the win with a 5.27 at 276 MPH to Duane’s 5.36 at 274 MPH. “Our car fell off a little bit and she outran us. It was a tough match up. Overall, The PEAK Dragster ran good this weekend but we didn’t get the results we were looking for. We will take a week off and try to rebound at our next regional event in two weeks” Duane said.

Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support in 2016.

Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster Goes to the Final Round in Lebanon Valley

West Lebanon New York - Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster made it to the final round of the NHRA Lucas Oil Regional at Lebanon Valley Dragway. Duane joined the who’s who of east coast Top Alcohol Dragster racers for one of the most competitive regional races of the season where twelve cars were trying to get into a tough eight car field. Duane qualified in the number two position with a very competitive 5.33 at 273 MPH.

In round one, Duane faced Richard St. Pierre. As the lights came down it was St. Pierre out of the gate first but his lead didn’t last as Duane out powered him and rung up the win with a stout 5.32 at 273 MPH to St. Pierre’s 5.70 at 245 MPH.

In the semifinal round, Duane took on Richard Bourke. At the hit, Bourke moved out of the box first but then abandoned the run after losing traction. In the other lane, Duane was on a flawless pass and stopped the clock with an impressive 5.34 at 268 MPH to advance to the final round where he would face Rich McPhillips who was hot off a national event win last week in Norwalk, Ohio.

As both A/Fuel Dragsters staged in the final round the cars left virtually together with McPhillips getting a very slight lead by only 2,000th of a second with a 0.082 to Duane’s ever so close 0.084. As both dragsters were traveling down track they were side by side in a race too close to call. At the finish line it was McPhillips taking the win by less than a car length. McPhillips posted a 5.37 at 271 to Duane’s close 5.44 at 270 MPH. “We believe we had an ignition problem in the finals which caused the car to slow down” Duane explained.

At the conclusion of the event, the PEAK team packed up and headed towards Chicago for the JEGS All Star race which is held in conjunction with the NHRA Route 66 Nationals this coming weekend. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support.

Duane Shields Takes Pole Position Goes to Quarter Finals in Norwalk

Norwalk, Ohio - Overall it was a good weekend for Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. They were the top qualifier in the Top Alcohol Dragster class and the car is running stellar. It was all good except for and unexpected change of plans in round two when the car smoked the tires at the wrong possible time thus ending the weekend early for the popular Nevada driver.

Duane qualified on the pole with a 5.30 at 271 MPH which set up a first round appointment with John Gutierrez in round one. It was not an easy race to win even though it appeared to be on paper. Gutierrez got the starting line advantage with an 0.032 to Duane’s 0.087 which gave him an early lead. However, the PEAK Dragster was able to quickly regain the lead and passed Gutierrez in time to grab the finish line stripe. Duane recorded a winning 5.39 at 271 MPH to Gutierrez’s 5.53 at 258 MPH.

In round two, Duane drew Rich McPhillips. At the hit both cars left evenly with McPhillips getting a slight edge. Both cars were side by side when suddenly the PEAK dragster started to lose traction 100 feet out allowing McPhillips to get past him to take the win with a 5.35 at 268 MPH to Duane’s 6.99 at 134 MPH. “It came as a total surprise to us, we did not expect to smoke the tires. Rich went on to win the race so congratulations to him. The PEAK car is running good even in challenging weather conditions like the heat we experienced here in Norwalk. We are confident the car will run good at the next two races in Lebanon Valley and then the JEGS All Star Race in Chicago the following weekend” Duane said.

Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support in 2016.

PEAK Dragster Goes to the Final Round at Maplegrove Regional

Reading PA - Duane Shields, the Defending Champion of both the NHRA national and regional events held at Maplegrove Raceway just missed another trip to the Winner’s Circle at this year’s Lucas Oil Regional where he lost to Rich McPhillips in the final round. Duane qualified third with a 5.34 but was on the outside looking in at the beginning of the final qualifying session. This added a lot of excitement in the grandstands since there was a good turnout of friends and family rooting for Duane. Fortunately, the PEAK team didn’t disappoint the fans as they got the PEAK Dragster into the show during the final session.

To add to the qualifying excitement, the first round was a real squeaker as Duane beat John Finke in a hole shot! Duane had an .062 reaction time to Finke’s .090 and that’s what won the round for Duane even though Finke had a slightly quicker 5.381 to Duane’s ever so close 5.386. “That was a very competitive and close race in the first round especially after being under a lot of pressure just to qualify” Duane said.

In the semifinals, Duane took on Jeff Veale. At the hit, Veale was off the line first with an 0.066 to Duane’s 0.070. As the cars roared down track, the PEAK dragster over powered Veale’s car and took the win with a stout 5.30 at 274 MPH to Veale’s 5.43 at 268 MPH to make it to the finals.

In the final round matched up, Duane faced familiar east coast opponent Rich McPhillips. At the hit Duane struck the tires and went up in smoke. Meanwhile, McPhillips was on a clean pass and took the win. While Duane was glad to have made it to the final round, he was disappointed that his car abruptly lost traction. “We always want to win so I’m obviously disappointed but overall I can’t complain. We qualified for a very tight field and we won the first round on a hole shot and we also had a great run in round two. So, it was still a pretty good weekend for the PEAK team” Duane said.

The PEAK team now moves on to Norwalk, Ohio for the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals, June 23-26. Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support in 2016.

Duane Shields in the PEAK Dragster Takes First Win of the Season

Richmond, Virginia - After some great performances but no recent trips to the winner’s circle, Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster finally broke through to claim his first victory of the season by winning the NHRA Lucas Oil Regional event in Richmond, Virginia. “So far this year, the results have not matched the performance of the car. For an example, last weekend it was a bad set of tires that caused us to lose the round. So, this weekend there were no obstacles and everything came together. It’s good to finally get the results we know the car is capable of” Duane said.

Duane was on a roll right from the beginning by taking the pole position over a tough eight car field with a very competitive 5.24 at 275 MPH. In the first round, Duane faced the number eight qualifier Richard St. Pierre. At the hit it was St. Pierre out first and he was on a decent run but Duane relied on another incredible performance to seal the win as he ripped off a 5.25 at 276 MPH over St. Pierre’s 5.79 at 245 MPH.

Next, Duane faced another familiar east coast challenger, Dan Mercier, in the semi-final round. As the lights came down both cars left together with Mercier getting a slight 1000th of a second lead. But again, Duane and the PEAK Dragster was no match for his opponent as he scored low ET of the round with a 5.24 at 278 MPH over Mercier’s losing 5.54 at 266 MPH.

Before the final round Duane’s opponent, Rich McPhillips, had to swap engines and the PEAK team patiently waited as long as they could for the McPhillips team to reach the staging lanes. Finally, McPhillips’ dragster came to life and did the burnout but something was wrong with the car and McPhillips was shut off. Duane then was awarded a single for the win. On the final round pass the car launched hard and carried the wheels before it began to shake so Duane lifted and coasted to the finish line for his first win of the year. “If I had to I could have pedaled and saved the run but because it was a single there was really no point in doing that since we already had won” Duane said after the event.

The team now takes a short break until they return to competition May 27-29 for a regional event at Maplegrove Raceway. “Its great to have grabbed a win going into the break. It was a fun race and everyone on my crew did a good job of getting the car ready in time before every round” Duane said. Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their incredible support this season.

Loss of Traction Eliminates Duane Shields Early at Four-Wide Nationals

Charlotte, N.C. - So far this year the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster has been running consistent and has mades some very impressive runs in the 5.20 zone. This weekend at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Foods was no exception as Duane Shields made a sizzling 5.27 at 275 MPH pass to take the number one qualify position in the first round of qualifying.

On the second qualifying stanza the car smoked the tires and the PEAK team dropped down to the third position going into eliminations. Because of some rain in the afternoon on Friday, the Top Alcohol Dragster class only received two qualifying rounds so the PEAK team was unable to get a third pass to see if they had the traction problem sorted out prior to eliminations.

In the first round, the PEAK team faced east coast veteran Richard Bourke. At the hit it was Bourke out first as Duane smoked the tires and had no choice but to lift and idle down track while Bourke made his best run of the weekend to take the win.

The good news for Duane and the PEAK team is they only have a few days to ponder the loss before they move on to Richmond, Virginia next weekend for an NHRA Lucas Oil Regional event. Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support in 2016.

The PEAK Dragster Displayed at SRI Performance Until the NHRA 4 Wide Race!

Duane Shields' PEAK A/Fuel Dragster was on display at SRI Performance until shortly before the NHRA 4 Wide Nationals. Located in Mooresville, NC right in the heart of NASCAR country, SRI customers and the general public were welcomed to get a close up look at the nitro burning dragster on the showroom floor!

PEAK Team Experiences a Tough Break at the NHRA Gatornationals

Gainesville - Duane Shields didn’t have quite the weekend he was expecting at the Amalie NHRA Gatornationals after losing in the second round. Historically, the Gainesville track has been very good to the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team as they have won the Gatornationals three times as well as three regional events including a sweep of the Gatornationals and the regional event before it in 2014.

The weekend started out well as Duane qualified on top during the first qualifying stanza but eventually had to settle for third with a very strong 5.25 at 278 MPH.

In round one, Duane took on Richard Bourke who qualified 14th with a decent 5.43. At the hit it was Bourke out first with an .059 reaction time to Duane’s.104. Bourke’s lead didn’t last long as Duane overpowered Bourke and got to the finish line first with a 5.34 at 276 MPH to Bourke’s losing 5.40 at 271 MPH.

In the second round, Duane raced Jerry Powell. As the lights came down it was Duane out first with an .078 reaction time to Powell’s .110. When the cars began to move down track, Duane lost traction and had to pedal when the dragster went up on the wheelie bar and hit a centerline cone which cost him the race. Powell was already long gone and won the round. No time was recorded in Duane’s lane. “That was the first time I have ever hit a cone. When I pedaled the car got away from me. Other than that, it was a good weekend as the car is running strong. We’ll move on to the next race and hope we do much better” Duane said.

Next up is the NHRA Four Wide Nationals, April 22-24 at ZMax Raceway in Charlotte, NC. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting the team in 2016.

Duane Shields Gets Back in the Teens at Gainesville Regional Event

Duane Shields has a good tune up in store for the NHRA Gatornationals field thanks to the NHRA Lucas Oil Regional held at Gainesville the week before one of NHRA’s most historical events. Duane shattered the clock with an outstanding 5.19 at 276 MPH to earn the pole position in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster. “That was our quickest pass since we ran a 5.17 in Seattle eight years ago. The car is running very consistent this year and we really like these Regional events that are contested the week prior to the nationals at the same track” Duane said.

In round one, Duane raced number eight qualifier Dan Mercier. At the hit it was Mercier out first but he was riddled with traction problems and had to idle through. Meanwhile, it was smooth sailing for Duane as he made another good run and posted a 5.29 at 275 MPH for the win. “We backed it down a little bit before eliminations to make sure we could get from point A to point B without smoking the tires so that was the ET we were expecting” Duane explained.

The semifinal match up was between Duane and Mia Tedesco. As the lights came down on the tree it was Tedesco out first with an .032 to Duane’s .070. Tedesco continued to stay out in front of Duane and crossed the finish line first with a 5.26 at 274 MPH to take the victory. In a valiant effort, Duane posted a 5.30 at 273 MPH but he was just short of getting around Tedesco. “Mia did a great job. They made a very good run when they needed it so hats off to them” Duane concluded.

Duane has an enormous amount of respect for the entire Top Alcohol Dragster field that was in Gainesville for the regional and is excited to return for the Gators this coming weekend. “Everyone that was here was very competitive which makes for great racing. I’m looking forward to coming back next weekend because we have had a lot of success in Gainesville” he said.

Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support in 2016.

Duane Shields Gets Back in the Teens at Gainesville Regional Event

Duane Shields has a good tune up in store for the NHRA Gatornationals field thanks to the NHRA Lucas Oil Regional held at Gainesville the week before one of NHRA’s most historical events. Duane shattered the clock with an outstanding 5.19 at 276 MPH to earn the pole position in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster. “That was our quickest pass since we ran a 5.17 in Seattle eight years ago. The car is running very consistent this year and we really like these Regional events that are contested the week prior to the nationals at the same track” Duane said.

In round one, Duane raced number eight qualifier Dan Mercier. At the hit it was Mercier out first but he was riddled with traction problems and had to idle through. Meanwhile, it was smooth sailing for Duane as he made another good run and posted a 5.29 at 275 MPH for the win. “We backed it down a little bit before eliminations to make sure we could get from point A to point B without smoking the tires so that was the ET we were expecting” Duane explained.

The semifinal match up was between Duane and Mia Tedesco. As the lights came down on the tree it was Tedesco out first with an .032 to Duane’s .070. Tedesco continued to stay out in front of Duane and crossed the finish line first with a 5.26 at 274 MPH to take the victory. In a valiant effort, Duane posted a 5.30 at 273 MPH but he was just short of getting around Tedesco. “Mia did a great job. They made a very good run when they needed it so hats off to them” Duane concluded.

Duane has an enormous amount of respect for the entire Top Alcohol Dragster field that was in Gainesville for the regional and is excited to return for the Gators this coming weekend. “Everyone that was here was very competitive which makes for great racing. I’m looking forward to coming back next weekend because we have had a lot of success in Gainesville” he said.

Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support in 2016.

Winternationals a Good Beginning for Duane Shields and the PEAK Team

Pomona CA - Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel team returned to contender status at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals with a great performance which lasted through the semi-final round. Pomona was a welcome distraction for Duane who sadly lost his son Adam in a tragic motorcycle accident in January. “I’m happy the season has begun so we can start to move forward. Each day has been a struggle but we have to keep going and stay busy, we really have no other choice” Duane said.

Duane qualified fourth with a 5.23 at 271 MPH and found himself on the tough side of the ladder. In round one, the PEAK team received a single when their opponent, Casey Grisel was a no show after breaking a crankshaft in qualifying. Duane got a little off pace on the run after losing traction and had to shut off early. He coasted to a 6.30 at only 165 MPH.

In round two, Duane took on the 2015 NHRA Series Champion Joey Severance. Severance had posted a 5.27 in round one so the PEAK team had to bring their A game to the starting line. At the hit it was Severance with the advantage off the line with an 0.036 reaction time to Duane’s 0.051. Severance began to lose traction on the run while the PEAK dragster was on a nearly perfect pass and stopped the clock with an impressive 5.24 at 275 MPH to advance to the next round.

In the semi-finals, Duane faced Don St. Arnaud, who made headlines with some stout performances all weekend including a 5.18 in qualifying. As the lights came down it was Duane who was out first with an 0.041 reaction time to St. Arnaud’s 0.057. At about 100 feet down track Duane began to lose traction and had to pedal while St. Arnaud was on another good run. At the finish line it was St. Arnaud scoring the win with a 5.24 at 284 MPH to Duane’s valiant 5.35 at 269 MPH. “Don always runs well at Pomona so we had to step it up but we were just a hair too aggressive. But you know what? The car performed well even in the unseasonably hot weather. I am very happy with how strong the car ran in the second and even the third round. And a semi-final round finish isn’t a bad way to start the season before we move on to Gainesville” Duane said.

Even though Duane missed a visit to the final round, the Winternationals was therapeutic for popular Nevada driver. “We’re a big family out here and when something negative happens to someone we all support each other. A lot of the same people who stepped up to give our family comfort through this difficult time came over to visit us this weekend so there was no better place for us to be than here” Duane said.

Duane would like to thank the loyal NHRA fans, racers, crew members, officials and sponsors for their continued support of the Shields family.

2015 Coverage

PEAK Team Experiences a Tough Way to End a Great Season in Pomona

It was a hard way to end a great season as Duane Shields, the Defending Champion in Top Alcohol Dragster, did not qualify for the Auto Club Finals, the last NHRA event of the season. Auto Club Raceway in Pomona was the scene of another tough field where 24 cars were gunning to get into a 16 car field. Historically, even some of the toughest fields have not been a problem for the popular driver from Las Vegas but this weekend the traction gremlins were out in force every time the PEAK Dragster approached the starting line.

In the first stanza, the PEAK Dragster shook the tires causing Duane to pedal. Duane recorded a 5.47 at 268 MPH on the run which put him in the ominous thirteenth position. In the second round, Duane shook the tires again and slid down to the fifteenth position with an ironically quicker time of 5.39 at 271 MPH. While a 5.39 is usually quick enough to qualify at most national events, this was an exceptionally quick field and the PEAK team knew the 5.39 likely wouldn't hold by the end of the third and final round of qualifying.

As expected, the final qualifying round was do or die for the PEAK team but they were confident that they would make a good enough pass to stay in the show but sadly it wasn't to be. The car launched hard but then shuttered and blew the tires off just before mid track, ending a year long streak of qualifying at each race the PEAK team entered.

All things considered, the PEAK team had a very good year by winning two national events back to back in Charlotte and Reading. They also clinched the Eastern Regional Championship by winning four races in Gainesville, Virginia, Reading and Epping. Overall, the team finished in third place nationally. Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting the team in a big way in 2015.

PEAK Team has Another Good Outing - This Time at the Las Vegas Lucas Regional Event

The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event held in Las Vegas is the last NHRA regional event of the year and one of the biggest with over 840 cars competing. In additon, most of the Top Alcohol teams stay over from the Toyota NHRA Nationals held the weekend prior to compete one last time on the regional level whether they are in the points hunt or not.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway is Duane Shields’ home track and the PEAK team pulls out all of the stops to qualify for this difficult eight car field where it’s not unusual to see two dozen Top Alcohol Dragsters trying to squeeze into an eight car field. “This is a very tough race. There were teams that went to the final round last weekend that didn’t even qualify for this race” Duane said. To add to the pressure there was a good turn out of local fans and friends that picked up free tickets to the race from Shortline Express stores.

Duane qualified 4th with a 5.320 at 272 MPH and drew Championship contender Joey Severance in the first round. Severance qualified 5th with a nearly identical 5.329 at 266 MPH. As the lights came down Duane was off the line first with a stellar 0.021 reaction time to Severance’s respectable 0.030. As both cars moved off the concrete pad, Severance experienced some tire shake which increased Duane’s lead which he would never relinquish. At the finish line it was Duane taking the win with a 5.34 at 271 MPH to Severance’ 5.76 at 207 MPH.

In round two Duane faced Shawn Cowie, another tough blown alcohol racer from the Northwest Division. At the hit, it was Cowie off the launch pad first with an 0.081 to Duane’s 0.104. Both dragsters were side by side all the way down the Las Vegas strip in an exciting race. At the top end of the track Cowie nipped Duane at the stripe by just inches! “It was a great race. I wish that I would have had a better light but you know what? I’m very happy with the car’s performance and that’s what I look at. We had to sit out the third qualifying session due to a malfunction but we still qualified fourth and we could have easily been bumped out of eliminations had the car not ran so well in the other qualifying sessions” Duane said.

Duane and the PEAK team will now head west to Southern California where they are the defending Auto Club Finals Champions. “The car ran respectable here both weekends and now we’ll move on to Pomona and see if we can finish off the year on a high note. We always seem to do well in Pomona. Then we will start getting ready for next year” Duane explained. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting his team this season.

PEAK Team has a Good Weekend in Vegas

The PEAK team had a great weekend overall at the Toyota NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas. While Duane Shields wasn’t the high roller in the Top Alcohol Dragster class he was happy about how well the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster ran. “We brought out our 2008 car which we have been trying to sell. We wanted to demonstrate to any interested buyers that the car is for sale and it’s still competitive” Duane said. Competitive it is! The car qualified sixth out of 23 cars with a strong 5.36 at 269 MPH. In addition, the PEAK Team hosted a dinner for all of the Top Alcohol competitors which attracted over 100 people on Friday night.

Duane’s first round opponent was Al Moeser who qualified 10th with a 5.38 so it appeared to be a fairly competitive match up. As the lights came down Duane was off the line first with a 0.065 to Moeser’s 0.093. Duane gained momentum all the way down the Las Vegas strip. Moeser meanwhile did a spectacular wheelstand and wasn’t even close to replicating his qualifying time. Duane stopped the clock with a respectable 5.44 at 263 MPH to take the win. Moeser recorded an 8.20 for the wheelstanding loss.

In round two, Duane went up against Michael Manners who is a familiar competitor which the PEAK team had not raced against all season. At the hit, Duane was out of the box first with a 0.067 to Manners’ close 0.068. It was a close side-by-side race all the way to the finish line but Manners continued to stay ahead by half of a car length to take the win. Manners ran an impressive 5.29 at 264 MPH over Duane’s 5.36 at 270 MPH. “He runs on the edge and smoked the tires in the next round. Our tune up was less aggressive because we wanted to be sure and get down the track on every pass. It would have been nice to have gone a couple more rounds for our hometown fans but I’m happy the car ran well. It responded to our adjustments and we have a good baseline to work with next weekend” Duane said.

Next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the final Lucas Oil Regional Drag Racing Series event of the season and most of the Top Alcohol teams stick around for this exciting race. All Shortline Express Stores in the Las Vegas area have free tickets at the counter for Saturday’s qualifying! Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting the team in 2015.

PEAK Team Unable to Pull Off a Trifecta in Dallas But Locks Up 3rd Place Nationally

After two national event wins in a row in both Charlotte and Maple Grove, Duane Shields and the PEAK team tried to pull off a trifecta in Dallas at the AAA NHRA Fall Nationals but it wasn’t meant to be this time around. On the bright side, the PEAK Team qualified for the quickest Top Alcohol Dragster field in history with a sizzling 5.27 at 275 MPH which was good for third out of the 20 cars that were vying for a position in the 16 car field. And the team sewed up third place in the national points standings.

In round one, Duane drew Blown Alcohol dragster journeyman Marty Thacker who qualified 14th with a 5.35. At the hit, Thacker was able to pull a rabbit out of his hat with an 0.012 reaction time compared to Duane’s 0.072. Thacker then stayed glued to the famed Texas Motorplex track and crossed the stripe first as Duane was quickly closing the gap but lost by a distance of only 18 feet. Thacker recorded a 5.332 at 265 MPH for the hole shot win over Duane’s slightly quicker 5.317 at 272 MPH. “Thacker is no easy draw in the first round as we learned in Indy. I had a decent light but he had a great light and he made one of his best runs of the weekend against me. He went on to red light in the semifinals so you live by the tree and die by the tree. It just shows you how competitive our class is” Duane Said.

While the first round loss stung a little bit, it didn’t take long for Duane to put the loss behind him and get ready to move on to the final events of the season closer to home. “It’s been a good season. We just locked up third place nationally and we won the Eastern Regional Championship. I look forward to finishing up the year in Las Vegas and then move on to Pomona for the FInals”. Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting the team in 2015.

PEAK Team Wins Keystone Nationals! Second NHRA National Event in a Row

Reading, PA - Duane Shields won his second straight national event in a row by winning the NHRA Keystone Nationals which compliments his last win in Charlotte just two weeks ago. Duane and the PEAK crew headed up by Dana Hopewell qualified and won the event all in one day because of wet weather conditions that postponed most the classes until Sunday including qualifying. “It was a challenging race and my guys worked very hard. We made five runs between 10 this morning and 6 tonight. That’s a lot of racing in just one day” Duane said.

It was one shot qualifying with 19 cars trying to squeeze into a 16 car field and those that lost traction at the starting line would not have a second chance to make the field. Duane qualified in the middle of the pack with a 5.46 which was good for the ninth seed.

In round one, Duane faced Rich McPhillips who qualified eighth with a 5.45, so on paper it looked to be anyone’s race. Duane was off of the starting line first with an 0.072 to McPhillips’ 0.093. McPhillips gave Duane everything he had but Duane was on the quickest pass of the event so far and took the win with a blistering 5.26 at 272 MPH to McPhillips’ 5.33 at 273 MPH. “It was a good competitive race. Rich was chasing me for the Eastern Championship so I knew how good of a racer he is and I had to bring my A game. He is a tough opponent to have to race against in the first round” Duane said.

The competition continued to get tough as Duane faced the reining national champion, Chris Demke, who ran a 5.27 in round one. At the hit it was again Duane off the line first with an 0.062 to Demke’s close 0.064. It continued to be a close race all the way down the quarter mile track. But the two hot shots from round one both had some mechanical problems and were unable to repeat their prior performances. Duane suffered the least impact and took the win with a 5.50 at 262 MPH to Demke’s 5.56 at 267 MPH. “We had good rounds and a lucky round and this was my lucky round since Chris had mechanical problems at about the same time I did” Duane said.

Before the semi finals the PEAK team had to quickly replace one of the heads before racing John Finke. As the lights came down Duane once again left on his opponent with an 0.049 to Finke’s 0.091. Duane then charged to the finish line with an impressive 5.25 at 272 MPH to Finke’s respectable 5.32 at 259 MPH to grab the win.

In the final round the conditions had changed and the track was getting tight just as Duane took on Mia Tedesco for the victory. As has been the case throughout eliminations, Duane left on his opponent with a consistent 0.054 to Tedesco’s 0.059. Due to the changing conditions, Duane had to pedal but the car recovered nicely and he took the Keystone Nationals title with a 5.40 at 272 MPH to Tedesco’s 5.51 at 259 MPH. “The car shook real hard and I had to pedal it. But I was ready for it because I knew the conditions had changed. We won here in May at the regional event so it was good to come back and win here again at the nationals” Duane said.

Duane won the race in front of his cheering section, a group of friends and local fans who regularly come to each of his races at Maple Grove Raceway. “They were all here this weekend but it has been quite a long, drawn out event because of all the weather delays until today. But I’m glad they got to see us win” he said. Besides thanking his cheering section, Duane thanked his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting the team in 2015.

PEAK Team Wins Big in Charlotte

With the National Championship now mathematically out of reach, Duane Shields and the PEAK team came into the NHRA Carolina Nationals looking for a victory and scored big by winning their first national event of the year. “We knew coming into this race that our title hopes were over for the season so we had nothing to loose by going after the win in Charlotte and we made it happen” Duane said.

On his way to the winner’s circle, Duane qualified second with a sizzling 5.27 at 271 MPH to face Tom Fox Jr. in round one. At the hit it was Fox out first but the lead didn’t last long as he went up in smoke. Meanwhile, Duane had a decent opening round win as he stopped the clock with a 5.40 at 271 MPH.

In round two, Duane raced against Tripp Tatum. Duane won both ends of the race beginning at the starting line where he edged out his competitor with an 0.059 reaction time to Tatum’s 0.079. Duane maintained his lead and crossed the stripe with a winning time of 5.65 at 259 MPH to Tatum’s 6.01 at 218 MPH.

Next up was the semi-final round and the competition got dramatically tougher as two former National Champions, Alan Bradshaw and Duane Shields squared off for a trip to the final round. As the lights came down, Bradshaw was out of the gate first and started the clock with an 0.057 reaction time to Duane’s close 0.064. Both cars were side by side all the way down Broadway when Duane was able to close the gap on Bradshaw’s slight lead and win the round by a whisker. Duane’s winning time was a 5.399 at 268.49 to Bradshaw’s valiant 5.408 at 258.12 MPH. “That was my lucky round. I saw him next to me the whole way down the track. I thought I had won but I wasn’t sure until my win light came on” Duane said.

Between rounds the PEAK team chose to tune-up the car and were ready for the final round showdown against Brandon Booher who was competing in a blown alcohol dragster with an automatic style transmission. At the hit it was Booher out first with a great 0.015 light to Duane’s 0.066. Duane was able to make up Booher’s starting line advantage by overpowering him by more than a tenth of a second and crossed the finish line with a victorious 5.31 at 273 MPH to Booher’s 5.44 at 268 MPH. “He was driving a converter car so I expected he would have a great light and he did, but so did I. We wanted to be sure we had enough power to beat Brandon and I didn’t want to lose a close race so our decision to hop up the car before the finals was a good one” Duane said after the win.

Duane was very happy to have won the Carolina Nationals in the Top Alcohol Dragster class. “We have gone to a couple of finals here but have never won so we are very happy with the win and I would like to recognize PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support in making all of this possible” Duane said.

Duane Loses a Close One in the Opening Round at Indy

Indianapolis - For racing fans at the Chevrolet Performance NHRA US Nationals it doesn’t get much better than the first round of Top Alcohol Dragster between the PEAK injected nitro dragster of Duane Shields and the blown alcohol dragster of Marty Thacker. Regardless of who won, it was world class drag racing competition at its finest which is what you expect at the “Big Go”.

Duane, who qualified second with a 5.24 at 271 MPH looked like the driver to beat after the final qualifying round. He had just posted the second best run in the last session and looked strong going into round one on Sunday where he was matched up with midwest veteran Marty Thacker who qualified 15th with a 5.39.
As the cars roared off the stating line, Thacker got the reaction time advantage with a 0.050 to Duane’s 0.074. Both cars were nearly side by side down Indy’s historic quarter mile when Duane dropped a cylinder. Thacker meanwhile was able to maintain his slight lead. At the finish line it was Thacker who held on to take the win as Duane was gaining momentum but not soon enough. “It was a tough loss but Indy can be a strange race. We smoked the tires a couple of times in qualifying which we haven’t done in a long time. As a result, we were not confident going into eliminations and feared we might smoke the tires again so we took some power out of it. The dropped cylinder together with backing the car down were contributing factors of why we lost. You have to race with confidence that it won’t loose traction which we didn’t do”. Duane said.

The PEAK team has little choice other than to put the loss behind them and move on. “Our next race is in Charlotte and I’m anxious to see how things will play out there. This was our only first round loss of the season so we’re still having a pretty good year. Indy’s just not the race you want to lose in the first round” Duane added. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting the team in 2015.

Tough Weekend Ends in Round Two at Brainerd

It was a rare problematic race for Duane Shields and the PEAK team at the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd. The crew worked extra hard having to replace two engines over the course of the weekend. The team started qualifying with a new engine after the crank in the original motor was discovered to be cracked from the prior race in Atco, NJ. The replacement engine performed well enough to get the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster into the middle of a short field with a 5.36 at 264 MPH to qualify 6th.

In round one, Duane raced Canadian racer Gord Gingles. At the launch Duane was out of the gate first before Gingles shook the tires and then got out of the groove and hit a cone. Duane was already charging towards the finish line when he dropped a cylinder but still grabbed the easy win with a 5.44 at 255 MPH.

After winning the first round on Saturday, the PEAK team took advantage of some extra time before round two on Sunday and swapped engines again including a new set of heads.

On Sunday morning with a fresh engine in place the team was ready for the second round of eliminations but morning showers delayed racing until later in the day. Eventually, Duane faced Joey Severance from Woodburn, Oregon who was driving for Norm Grimes. At the hit, Duane was out first with an 0.063 reaction time to Severance’s 0.072. Unfortunately, a clogged nozzle on Duane’s car caused a hose to get loose spilling fuel all over one of Duane’s tires causing him to loose traction and smoke the tires. While the clogged nozzle cost Duane the race, the good news is that it happened at the starting line and not down track where it could have caused a crash.

While Duane was obviously disappointed, he is optimistic that he will have a much better performance at the Chevrolet Performance NHRA US Nationals coming up on labor day weekend. “It was a difficult weekend and going out early hurt us in the national points chase but I’m looking forward to Indy and winning the race with the support of our great sponsors including PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and everyone at Brad Anderson Enterprises” Duane said.

Duane Shields Clinches Eastern Regional Series at Atco

Atco NJ - It’s hard to believe that at least one of the NHRA Lucas Oil Regional Drag Racing Series is now in the books even as the dog days of summer continue to drag on. Now, with the eastern regional series wrapped up, Duane Shields was able to clinch the Eastern Top Alcohol Dragster title at Atco Dragway. Even though his closest competitor, Rich McPhillips, won the Atco event he is unable to catch Duane since the PEAK team owns the tie breaker. “The eastern regionals has been a great series this year since there has been a large number of cars at every event. First, you have to qualify well just to get in the show and then in eliminations you have to face the eight quickest cars. We will miss the tough competition” Duane said.

Duane qualified on the poll at Atco with a 5.29 at 273 MPH to take on Earl Nichols in round one. At the hit, Nichols was out of the gate first but he had traction problems and idled down the track. Meanwhile, Duane made a convincing 5.35 at 272 MPH blast to ring up an easy first round win.

In round two, Duane raced against East Coast power house Dan Mercier. As the lights finally came down on the tree, Duane was out first with a 0.067 to Mercier’s 0.072. Both cars were side by side all the way down Atco’s quartermile track. At the finish line it was Mercier with a margin of victory at only 0.0030 of a second. “It was a close finish. I was really hoping to race Rich McPhillips in the finals to solidify the Championship. But Dan ran good enough to prevent a final round match up with Rich from happening” Duane said.

With the eastern regional series concluded, the PEAK team will now turn their attention to national events. “We will still race at our hometown regional in Las Vegas but until then we’ll be focusing in on national events. The car is running well and we’re very competitive so I see more good things ahead for the PEAK team” he said. Duane would like to thank his sponsors PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting the team in 2015.

Shields and PEAK Team Grab Fourth Regional Win

EPPING, N.H - Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team won their fourth Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series regional event in the Northeast Division where they have experienced large fields of highly competitive cars in the Top Alcohol Dragster class. Duane set the tone early by qualifying on the poll with a 5.32 at 272 MPH to lead the 14 cars vying to get into an eight car field.

In round one, Duane dispatched Frank Schuster from eliminations in a satisfying win. Schuster had the advantage on the starting line but was unable to out run Duane’s 5.43 at 271 MPH blast. Schuster rang up a 5.64 in the first round loss. “It was a nice win for us since Frank beat me with a hole shot a couple of week ago in New York” Duane said.

In round two Duane raced Karen Stalba. At the hit Duane got out of the gate first with an 0.52 to Stalba’s 0.125. Duane was able to maintain a short lead to the finish line and stopped the clock with a 5.34 at 272 MPH to Stalba’s valiant 5.43.

The final round had to be postponed until Sunday due to an accident that delayed racing. The weather improved overnight which changed the conditions. Duane’s opponent in the finals was Rich McPhillips who has had a great deal of success in the past couple of seasons. When the lights came down it was Duane out first with a great. 0.025 reaction time to McPhillips 0.067. Just then McPhillips began to lose traction and Duane made a clean run to the finish line and took the win with a 5.34 at 272 MPH. “The track conditions were trickier on Sunday because it was quite a bit warmer but we figured it out and made a good pass. Epping is a fun track and we love the people but we haven’t done real well here so it’s a gratifying win” Duane said.

After four races in a row, the PEAK team will take a well deserved break before returning to action in two weeks for another Lucus Oil regional event July 31-August 2 in Atco NJ . Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting his team this season.

Duane Shields Goes to Jegs All Star Finals

Chicago - The Route 66 Nationals is a special stop on the tour for Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team because in conjunction with the nationals, a sportsman All Star race is also included in the event. This year, Duane Shields represented the eastern region of the country. Also, Chicago is the headquarters for PEAK so there was a lot of special activities prior to the race at the Old World Industries headquarters. “It was good to see their headquarters. I had a great time with everyone there. They have a great group of employees” Duane said.

JEGS ALL STAR RACE

In round one, Duane driving the beautiful blue and white PEAK Dragster took on Chase Copeland driving for drag racing legend Gene Snow. Duane took the win with a 5.42 at 261 MPH but dropped a cylinder at 1.5 seconds into the run.

In round two, Duane raced Midwest powerhouse Randy Meyer. Duane got by Meyer in squeaker as both racers had nearly identical reaction times but Duane got the edge off the line with an 0.061 to Meyer’s 0.063. At the finish line Duane posted a 5.35 at 271 MPH to Meyer’s close 5.36 at 269 MPH.

In the Jegs All Star finals, Duane was matched up with Oregon’s Joey Severance who was representing the west. At the hit Severance was out first with an 0.049 to Duane’s 0.060. At the finish line it was Severance getting the victory with a 5.28 at 270 MPH to Duane’s 5.36 at 270 MPH. “I was happy to get in the final round but you go to the Jegs All Stars race to win it. We knew Joey would be tough to beat and sure enough he ran a 5.28 against us” Duane said.

ROUTE 66 NATIONALS COMPETITION

In round one, Duane once again faced fellow Jegs All Star finalist Joey Severance. At the start, Severance red lit which gave the win to Duane who made a great run and posted a fine 5.30 at 270 MPH for the win.

In the second round, Duane took on another Jegs All Star, Randy Meyer. At the hit, Duane’s car shook violently, he then pedaled and the crank trigger broke from the vibration which shut off the car. Meyer went on to grab the win with a 5.58 at 236 MPH. “We got greedy in round two and lost the second race we had against Randy. But the car ran good this weekend in front of PEAK’s home town crowd. In the past we haven’t run real well in Chicago and we ran much better this time so we’re happy” Duane said.

Duane went on to thank Old World Industries for their hospitality this weekend. He also thanked PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting the team in 2015.

PEAK Team Looks to Chicago After Tough Second Round Loss in Norwalk Ohio

Norwak OH - Duane Shields didn’t have quite the weekend he was looking for in Norwalk, Ohio but the PEAK team still won a round and stayed alive for Sunday’s eliminations at the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals.

Duane qualified 9th with a 5.39 at 269 MPH to make it a classic injected nitro vs. blown alcohol match up in round one as Duane drew Marty Thacker. Duane’s injected nitro car grabbed the win over the blown alcohol car when Thacker blew a burst panel on the supercharger which allowed the PEAK dragster to sail by for the win. Duane stopped the clock with a 5.40 at 267 MPH to Thacker’s 5.49 at 222 MPH.

In round two, Duane took on Mia Tedesco. At the hit, Tedesco had a slight advantage off the starting line with an .055 to Duane’s close 0.061 so it was anyone’s race down the rest of the quarter mile course. At the finish line, Tedesco took the win as she rang up an impressive 5.27 at 275 MPH to Duane’s 5.38 at 272 MPH. Duane reflected on the second round loss “We are seeking more power and the car is not transitioning well. I had to pedal 1.64 seconds into the run and you are not going to beat a 5.27 if you have to pedal. She was on a great run and it was low ET for the event. We just need to find the right mix and it might take a couple of races.”

Duane is looking forward to the next stop in Chicago. “This coming weekend is the Jegs All Star race and we are racing near PEAK’s headquarters and a lot of good things will be happening so we want to have the car ready to go.” Duane would like to recognize PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support in 2015.

Duane Shields Takes Semi Final Finish in New York

West Lebanon Valley - Duane Shields got cooled off of a hot winning streak where he had won three consecutive NHRA Lucas Oil Eastern Regional Events. Still, the popular racer who came all the way from Nevada to Lebanon Valley Dragway in Upstate New York had a good weekend over all. In qualifying, Duane qualified the PEAK A/Fuel dragster second out of 14 cars with a 5.44 at 270 MPH. “It was one of those races decided by a few thousands of a second that could go either way. For an example, one thousandths of a second was the difference between the number one qualifier and our PEAK team qualifying in the number two position” Duane said.

In round one, Duane took care of Richard St. Pierre who qualified seventh with a 5.69 at 247 MPH. As the lights came down on the tree, Duane got a significant lead off of the starting line with a .077 light to St. Pierre’s 0.415. As it would turn out, Duane beat St. Pierre significantly at both ends of the track as he posted a victorious 5.37 at 269 MPH to St. Pierre’s 5.57 at 250 MPH to move into the next round.

In the semi finals, Duane faced Frank Schuster who was sharp on his lights all weekend and had an .009 light in round one. Sadly for Duane this trend continued in the semis as Schuster was off the line first with an .007 to Duane’s .076. Duane was able to get within striking distance with a quicker 5.37 at 269 MPH to Schuster’s slower 5.44 at 260 MPH. However, Schuster was able to win the round by a whisker, crossing the finish line by just .003 of a second ahead of Duane. “Schuster had a good light in round one and then another good reaction time in round two against me but he red lit in the final round. You live by the light and die by the light. I wouldn’t have done anything much different. I just want to continue to drive consistently and have a good car that continues to perform well” Duane said.

The PEAK team is now off to Norwalk, Ohio for the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals July 2-5. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting his team in 2015.

Duane Shields’ PEAK Team Wins Again!

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 sizzling 5.24 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.

Shields Trades Vacation Time for a Big Win in Virginia

Dinwiddie, Va. - The Virginia Motorsports Park Lucas Oil Regional event rained out on April 25th and officials had no choice but to postpone the event until the weekend of May 8-9. Unfortunately for Duane Shields, the rain date landed on the last half of his hawaiian vacation with wife Betsy, so a difficult decision had to be made. Since the postponed event cut into Duane and Betsy’s vacation, Duane was determined to make the best of it and win his second regional event of the year.

Duane had qualified third on the original weekend with a 5.34 at 271 MPH. This set up a first round match with Jake Allen, who was the first alternate. At the hit, Allen smoked the tires and recorded an 11.78 in a loosing effort. Meanwhile, Duane was on a clean pass and stopped the clock with a decent 5.48 @266 MPH to advance into the second round.

In round two, Duane took on Wayne Morris in his closest race of the day. Duane got out of the gate first with a .058 to Morris’ .161. At the finish line it was a close race with Duane winning on a hole shot with a 5.41at 270 MPH to Morris’ quicker 5.38 at 266 MPH.

The final round was a classic match up between Duane and Rich McPhillips. Once again, Duane was first off the line with a .058 reaction time to McPhillips’ .071. At the finish line it was all PEAK with Duane winning the battle on both ends of the track with a victorious 5.37 at 271 MPH to Rich McPhillips 5.53 at 268 MPH. Duane was happy to score another big win for PEAK. “For being a rainout weekend we couldn’t have asked for more, it turned out great! This win was worth coming back from my vacation early. Go PEAK!!” In the winner’s circle, Duane dedicated his win in memory of Storee Verchick who recently passed away.

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 all of their support in 2015.

Duane Shields Takes a Semifinal Finish at NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte

It was a hectic race for the PEAK team after breaking a crank during round one of qualifying
Charlotte - Duane Shields showed plenty of promise that big things are yet to come this season for the PEAK A/Fuel team. Duane and the PEAK team qualified second and landed a semifinal finish at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals held at zMax Dragway this past weekend.

After a rain delay that canceled racing on Friday, Duane started Saturday’s qualifying session off in style by qualifying at the top of the field with a sizzling 5.27 at 272 MPH. The pole position didn’t last however as Mia Tedesco grabbed the pole away from Duane in the second session so he had to settle for the second qualifying spot. “This was a hectic race for us. We lost a crankshaft after the first round of qualifying and had to switch engines. On the second pass something was out of adjustment but luckily we got it corrected before the first round of eliminations” Duane explained.

In round one, Duane faced a familiar opponent, Jackie Fricke. At the start, Fricke was out of the gate first but it didn’t take long for Duane to kick in the horsepower to get around her and pull ahead for the win. Duane recorded a 5.35 at 270 MPH win over Fricke’s 5.67 at 262 MPH. “We felt confident going into the first round that we would win but at the same time she had beat me twice so we didn’t take her lightly” Duane said.

Moving on to the second round, Duane took on his next foe, Wayne Morris. At the hit, Morris got a slight lead off the line but that didn’t last long as his third member broke. Meanwhile, Duane was off on another clean run and once again dropped into the 5.20 zone with a stellar 5.29 at 275 MPH for a birth into the semifinals. “We felt the car could have run quicker in round one so we stepped it up between rounds and the car responded well in round two” Duane said.

In the semis, Duane took on Jake Allen who had a thrash of his own as he had also broke a crank and didn’t have time to start his car in the pits. As the lights came down Allen got off the line first with a very good 0.010 reaction time to Duane’s 0.099. Both cars were almost side by side as they approached the top end with Allan about a half of a car length ahead. At the finish line it was Allen scoring a hole shot victory with a 5.41 a 262 MPH over Duane’s quicker 5.36 at 271 MPH. “Since they had broke a crank in round two and didn’t have time to start it I was confident that we would likely win. But as we have seen before, our opponents always seem to run their best against us when they are in these types of situations. Our tune up was still a little too soft and we should have hopped it up more” Duane said.

Duane was certainly disappointed that he lost on a holeshot, but was philosophical about what had happened “We win together and lose together but obviously a holeshot is pinned on the driver. Every race is different and I was a little off this weekend but we will come back strong. We have one of the top cars in the class and I’m already looking forward to another chance at getting a win for PEAK at the next race” Duane said.

Gatornationals Hot Streak Ends for Top Qualifier Duane Shields and PEAK Team

Gainesville, FL - Red hot Duane Shields who was arguably favored to reach another final round appearance at the NHRA Gatornationals lost in the second round. The defending Gatornationals Champion who has won the last four national and regional titles in Gainesville was again on his game until the parachute shook loose which slowed Duane enough to get knocked out of eliminations early. “We overestimated the track and gave the car to much power when it didn’t need it. That lead to the chute vibrating out” Duane explained.

In qualifying, Duane once again served notice that the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster was the car to beat as he qualified in the number one position with a remarkable 5.24 at 275 MPH to lead the field. This set up a first round meeting with Cherissa Griffis-Smallwood who qualified in the sixteenth position.

As the lights came down in the opening round, Griffis-Smallwood crossed the starting line but then lost traction and smoked the tires. Meanwhile, Duane made another clean run as he stopped the clock with a 5.40 at 271 MPH to move into the quarterfinal round.

In between rounds, the PEAK team decided to get more aggressive with the tuneup before Duane faced Jackie Fricke. At the starting line both cars were virtually out of the gate together with Fricke getting the advantage by only .001 of a second. Duane quickly got in command of the lead and was ahead at half track when the chute vibrated out of the pack and slowed the car down. Fricke took over the lead and crossed the stripe first with a 5.31 to Duane’s 5.88. “The car left like a rocket but it shook real hard and when I went to pedal it was too late and the chute had already popped out because of the violent vibration” Duane said.

Duane defended his reasoning for going with a more aggressive tune up. “Most of the match ups were equal and you could not put a soft tune up in the car and expect to win. We were trying to get another win for PEAK. Right now, we have a very competitive race car and we’ll move on from this and get ready for the next race”.

Duane wanted to congratulate Randy Meyer for winning the event while thanking his sponsors: PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting the team in 2015.

PEAK Team Repeats Regional Win in Gainesville

A happy Duane Shileds fallowing a semifinal round win at the LODRS event in Gainesville

Alligators and palm trees must be Duane Shields’ good luck charm since he won another race in Gainesville, Florida for the fourth straight time! This time the win came at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series regional event which he also won last season. This race was a blockbuster for Top Alcohol fans as the full field produced an incredible 5.17 ET by Richard Bourke. “Any time someone lays down a 5.17 you know the track conditions are excellent and it sets the stage for a premier event to win” said Duane, who qualified second with a 5.25 at 272 MPH. “On the first qualifying run we wanted to make a good pass and get safely in the show. Once we did that we turned it up to see how quick we could go without smoking the tires” Duane explained.

In round one, Duane faced Top Alcohol Dragster legend Tom Conway who was driving John Finke’s new car. “The first round was a wild card. John Finke brought out a new car and we knew that Tom Conway can really tune a dragster so we really didn’t know what to expect” Duane said. It turned out that the PEAK team had little to worry about as Duane was first out of the gate and then Conway shook the tires while Duane posted a respectable 5.35 at 268 MPH to take an easy win.

In the semi finals, Duane faced another great driver, Rich McPhillips. Again, Duane was out first with a .042 to McPhillip’s 0.058 and just like in round one Duane’s opponent lost traction and shut down early while Duane zoomed to a 5.32 at 270 MPH win. “The track conditions were improving as the day progressed and we figured Rich was going to be tough to beat so we tuned it up a little bit” Duane said.

In the final round, Duane took on Richard Bourke, the driver that made the spectacular 5.17 pass in qualifying. However, Bourke slowed down in the second round while Duane ran quicker so the PEAK team decided to leave the car alone going into the finals. As the lights came down, Duane once again was off the line first with a 0.50 to Bourke’s 0.72 and unlike the previous two rounds Duane’s opponent gave him a run for his money. While it was close, Duane stayed in the lead the entire length of the track and scored the win. Duane’s winning time was a 5.32 at 271 MPH to Bourke’s 5.36 at 272 MPH. “It was a great event, the car ran consistent on every pass and it’s good to get PEAK back in the Winner’s Circle. We hope we can continue this streak at the Gatornationals in a couple of weeks” Duane said.

Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support.

PEAK Team Has a Solid Weekend in Pomona but Loses in the Quarter Finals

Pomona CA - Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team were looking to repeat the winning formula at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals which they had found on their last trip to Pomona in November. But sadly they came up a little short on this trip. Overall, it was a good weekend for the PEAK team which ended in a very close race in the quarterfinals on Sunday. “It was a good start to the season but we ended up on the losing end of the tightest race of the weekend” Duane mentioned.

At the start of qualifying on Thursday, Duane ripped off a 5.41 at 257 MPH right out of the box to qualify in the 6th position. But the PEAK Dragster eventually dropped to 13th by the conclusion of qualifying. This would match him up in the first round with local firefighter, Johnny Ahten, who qualified 4th with a 5.29.

As the start of eliminations rolled around on Saturday afternoon, the fans were about to see a showdown between two of the quickest A/Fuel Dragsters from the Southwest. When the lights came down, both cars left the starting line at the same time with Ahten getting a slight advantage with a .040 to Duane’s .048. Duane quickly took over the lead as Ahten dropped some cylinders down track. At the finish line it was clearly a PEAK victory as Duane stopped the clock with a sizzling 5.26 at 271 MPH to Ahten’s 5.38 at 261 MPH. While that was Duane’s quickest pass of the weekend, he wasn’t surprised by the great performance. “I told someone before the first round that the car would run a 5.27 and it ran a 5.26 with a 9. But the car still shook a little bit on the run” Duane said.

In the quarterfinals the PEAK team, faced another tough customer in Oregon’s Joey Severance. Severance who utilizes a blown alcohol combination, qualified fifth with a 5.29. At the hit it was Severance out first with a .030 to Duane’s.045. Both cars were side-by-side all the way down the track and ran nearly identical ET’s with Severance getting the win light. Severance recorded a 5.355 at 269 MPH to Duane’s valiant 5.356 at 267.64 MPH. “It’s always tough losing a close race like this. After the car shook in the first round, we tuned it down just a little bit and that may have been the difference” Duane said after the race.

Next, the PEAK Team moves to the east coast for a regional event in Gainesville, Florida, February 20-22. “I’m hoping that we’ll get a repeat win at our next regional event in Gainesville” Duane said. He then went on to thank Bryan Emrich and Brian Bohlander of Old World Industries for their support in Pomona. He also thanked PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting the team in 2015.

2014 Highlights

Duane Shields Wins 50th Annual NHRA Auto Club Finals and Earns 20th Career Victory

Pomona - Duane Shields won the 50th Annual NHRA Auto Club Finals which closed the book on a great season for the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team. The win marked Duane’s forth victory of the season, landing him in sixth place over all in the final Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series national point standings.

The Finals win stacks up as a career highlight and Duane’s 20th national event victory. Prior to Sunday, Duane had never won the Finals as it was always an illusive race so the team was happy to finally win the event . “This is awesome to go into the off season with a win at the 50th anniversary Finals. This win is for PEAK, NGK Spark Plugs, GRP Connecting Rods and Brad Anderson Enterprises along with all my guys including Ralph Freeman who passed away last year” Duane acknowledged.

Duane qualified 9th with a 5.33 @ 266 MPH and faced red hot Joey Severance who swept the last two races in Las Vegas. At the starting line Severance went red by .004 and then shut off after rattling the tires. Meanwhile, the PEAK Dragster shook hard but Duane still found away to get it done with a 5.41 @ 260 MPH to advance into the second round.

In round two, Duane got by Chase Copeland with a 5.59 at 256 MPH. Duane dropped a cylinder on the run but it didn’t matter as Copeland lost traction off the starting line and aborted the run.

Next up was a semi-final battle between Duane and Aaron Olivarez. At the hit, it was Duane out of the box first with an .058 light to Olivarez’s .076. As Olivarez began to lose traction, Duane was on his best pass of the weekend as he ripped open a 5.29 at 272 MPH for a trip to the final round. “It was a good pass but I had to pedal it” Duane said.

In the finals, Duane faced Cameron Ferre who ran consistently quicker on each of the prior rounds so Duane had to bring his “A” game. At the hit, Duane was again out first with a 0.052 to Ferre’s 0.061. As the cars thundered towards the finish line, both dragsters began to drop cylinders but Duane held a sizable lead and crossed the stripe for his first NHRA Auto Club Finals title. “I should have pedaled it but I was on an adrenalin rush. But, the way we won this race was to get down the track on every pass. Some days the breaks go your way which they did today and sometimes you can run really well but you don’t get the win” Duane said.

Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for a great year in 2014.

Duane Shields Takes Quarter Final Finish at Vegas

Las Vegas - After racing all over the country, Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team returned to their home track for the NHRA Toyota Nationals hoping to produce another win in front of their hometown friends and fans. Even though the team fell short of a win they still had a pretty good weekend qualifying well and making it out of the dreaded first round. “Over all it was a pretty good weekend. Executives from PEAK were at the race and we had our racer appreciation dinner which was fun and well attended” Duane said.

Duane qualified ninth for the Vegas field with a 5.405 at 262 MPH which was respectable considering that there were 22 cars fighting to get into a 16 car field.

In round one, Duane went up against Dan Mercier who qualified eighth with a nearly identical 5.406 so it was any one’s race. As the cars left the starting line it was Duane out first with a .077 to Mercier’s .086. Duane’s car shook but he was able to pedal it in time to recover and maintain his lead by a wide margin. In the other lane, Mercier smoked the tires and tried to get back in it but he was too late as Duane stopped the clock with a 5.42 at 256 MPH to grab the win.

In the quarter finals, Duane faced number 1 qualifier Johnny Ahten. As the lights came down it was Ahten out first with an 0.077 to Duane’s 0.087. As the cars began to gain speed, Duane began to lose traction and aborted the pass when Ahten’s lead became insurmountable. Duane, who never had lane choice was in the right lane where it shook once again. “The A/Fuel cars were having some trouble in the right lane at the transition. I might have been able to pedal and made a race out of it had I noticed the shake a little sooner. But it’s always a challenge to do real well at your home track” Duane said.

Next weekend, the PEAK Team will be back at Las Vegas for what is usually the largest and last Lucas Oil Series regional event in the country. “We will be bringing out our World Championship car to get it ready to sell so that should be fun” Duane said. Free admission tickets for Saturday are available at all Short Line Express Markets. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for all of their support this season.

Duane Shields and the PEAK Team Wins their Third Gainesville Event of the Year!

Hot off his impressive finish at the NHRA Nationals in Reading, Duane Shields won the NHRA Lucas Oil Regional event in Gainesville, Florida. It was a well deserved win for the PEAK Team and the third time they have won in Gainesville this year when you add in the NHRA Gatornationals and the Houston make up race which was also contested there.

Duane qualified sixth in the eight car field with a 5.49 at 264 MPH and faced Jared Dreher in the round one of eliminations. As the lights came down on the tree, Dreher was first out of the gate but his chances of a victory went up in smoke as he began to lose traction. Meanwhile, Duane was on a clean run and passed him before mid track. At the finish line, Duane stopped the clock with his quickest pass of the weekend a 5.42 at 269 MPH to Dreher’s 6.21 at 254 MPH.

In the semifinals, Duane’s opponent was Jeff Veale. Veale was out first with an impressive 0.021 light but Veale beat himself when his engine’s headers dumped too much raw fuel on the car’s slicks which caused traction problems. Duane made another clean and consistent run right down Broadway to earn a trip to the final round. The PEAK A/Fuel Dragster posted a 5.44 at 269 MPH to Veale’s aborted run. “The semifinal round was critical because we were able to leap over Jeff Veale for third place in the region and it decided the Regional Championship which Jackie Fricke won. Duane explained.

In the final round Duane raced against east coast regular John Finke. As the cars left the starting line it was Duane out of the gate first with Finke not far behind. Duane once again stymied the competition with another consistent cruise missile pass. Duane took the Gainesville victory convincingly with 5.48 at 266.64 to Finke’s 5.63 at 254 MPH. “We got a win and that’s always fun. But the track was marginal at best so the key was to motor down the track consistently without smoking the tires” Duane said.

Duane’s momentum and consistency has him optimistic as the NHRA tour heads to the southwest. “We are running better this year so we’ll see what happens at the next two events in Las Vegas which is our home track”. Duane would like to thank, PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for all of their continued support.

Duane Shields Nearly Reaches the "PEAK" as Team Makes it to Final Round in Reading

Reading PA - Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster had an impressive weekend making it to the final round of the NHRA Nationals held at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, PA. He also went three rounds in the Charlotte make up race which was contested during qualifying.

In the Charlotte portion of the event, Duane beat Rich McPhillips in the second round but lost a close race in the semifinals to Randy Meyer. Duane posted a very competitive 5.32 at 271 MPH to Meyer’s slightly quicker 5.28 at 271 MPH.

Duane qualified fourth in the tough Reading field with a 5.30 at 270 MPH. In the first round, Duane took on Wayne Morris. At the hit, Morris got the starting line advantage but Duane was able to over power Morris immediately when he lost traction. Duane took the win with a stellar 5.27 at 274 MPH to Morris’ 6.45 at 169 MPH.

In round two, Duane faced Mia Tedesco. As the lights came down on the tree it was Duane off of the first with a 0.052 to Tedesco’s 0.081. Duane then fought off a mid track charge by Tedesco and took the win with a sizzling 5.23 at 273 MPH to Tedesco’s impressive 5.24 at 272 MPH. “Mia ran really well today and I believe this was the quickest side by side race all year in Top Alcohol Dragster” Duane said.

In the semis it was a classic showdown between Randy Meyer and Duane Shields who have been battling it out all season. As the lights came down Meyer was out of the gate first and had the lead but began to smoke the tires. Meanwhile, Duane passed him and hung on for a trip to the finals posting a 5.26 at 273 MPH to Meyer’s 5.95 at 204 MPH. “Randy had beat us five times this year but we felt confident we would finally beat him” Duane said.

The final round pitted Duane Shields’ A/Fuel dragster vs. the quickest blown alcohol dragster in the land driven by newly crowned National Champion Chris Demke. At the start, Demke zoomed off the line with a nearly perfect 005. light. Duane was in hot pursuit but smoked a crank shaft at mid track which slowed him down. With the engine going away Duane was unable to catch Demke who crossed the finish line with a 5.26 at 272 MPH to Duane’s 5.39 at 255 MPH. “They had their lucky round in the semis and had to swap engines so Chris was wired on adrenalin by the time he got to the line and cut that .05 light. They had nothing to lose with the replacement engine and it worked well” Duane conceded.

Even though the PEAK team was disappointed they didn’t win the final round they were happy with how consistent the car performed. “We were very pleased with how well the car ran all weekend and feel good going into the last three races of the year. At this race we have a big cheering section full of friends and fans who we have gotten to know over the years so I was glad they could see us win some rounds and go to the finals” Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for all of their support this season.

Duane Shields and the PEAK Team Go Two Rounds at Indy

At the 60th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, it was two races in one for Duane Shields. Beside competing for the US National title, he had a little bit of unfinished business to attend too as the NHRA ran the final two rounds of the Lucas Oil Nationals from Brainerd during qualifying.

Duane was competing against Randy Meyer in the postponed semi-final round. At the start, Duane had to pedal the car but still had a super close race along side Meyer. At the other end it was Meyer taking the win with a 5.32 to Duane’s close 5.35.

Duane was then able to concentrate on winning the prestigious US Nationals title. In round one, Duane who qualified ninth with a 5.35 at 265 MPH faced Ashley Sanford. At the hit, Sanford red lit and then shook the tires. Duane went on to make a very smooth run after battling tire shake most of the weekend. Duane recorded a 5.37 at 263 MPH to advance to round two.

In the second round, Duane was determined to return the favor from his earlier defeat as he again faced Randy Meyer. As the lights came down, Duane was out of the gate first with an 0.050 to Meyer’s slower 0.094. Duane then experienced some early tire shake but was able to still make a race out of it. At the stripe, Meyer won a close one again as he rung up a 5.31 at 269 MPH to Duane’s valiant 5.37 at 268 MPH. The margin of victory for Meyer was just .0128 of a second.

Duane was very disappointed with the loss but happy with his team’s effort. “The only reason we go to Indy is to win and Randy Meyer got me twice this weekend. We gave it a good effort but Indy plays out differently than other races so you never know what’s going to happen. We faced some of the best competition out there so we had the tune up on the edge and it was either going to work or it wasn’t” Duane said.

Duane would like to congratulate Jay and Shelly Payne and the entire PEAK Top Alcohol Funny Car team on there big win at Indy as well as thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for all of their support in 2014.

Duane Shields Takes on Atco Field

Duane Shields didn’t have quite the weekend he was expecting after some extensive testing prior to the NHRA Regional event in Atco, NJ. The good news was that he qualified with a 5.43 at 267 MPH for a tough eight car field. Six other teams became spectators prior to Sunday’s eliminations.

Through testing and qualifying the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster made six good consecutive runs where the car made it down the track without smoking the tires. Then on the seventh pass which turned out to be the first round of eliminations, the car lost traction and smoked the tires which gave the win to Jerry Veale.

Duane was obviously disappointed but kept his spirits up. “We qualified which is always good when there are several great teams that didn’t make the field. And, the car is showing signs of improvement. We just have a little ways to go still” he said. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for all of their support this season.

Early Round Loss Leads to More Customer Interaction for PEAK in Chicago

(Chicago) Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster had an early round exit from eliminations at the 17th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries. The silver lining was that the loss allowed Duane to spend more valuable time in the PEAK suite where he interacted with many of the company’s valued customers who were on hand to experience the excitement and raw power of the NHRA Mellow Yellow Drag Racing Series.

Duane qualified ninth in the field with a solid 5.44 at 263 MPH. In round one, he drew Shawn Cowie who qualified eighth with a 5.40 at 266 MPH so it was an evenly matched pairing between Duane’s A/Fuel car and Cowie’s blown alcohol combination.

As the lights came down, Duane reacted first with an 0.063 to Cowie’s 0.075 but that was a far as the lead would go as Duane went up in smoke and Cowie was on a clean pass to take the win. “The conditions had improved so we thought we could give it a little more power since we were going up against someone as tough as Cowie. But we were a little over center and went over the PEAK in the tune up. Next, we are going to Norwalk so we will think about this one for a couple of days and then concentrate on the next race” Duane said.

Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze, PEAK Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their much appreciated support.

PEAK Team No. 1 Qualifier for Second Race in a Row

(West Lebanon NY) For the second race in a row, Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster was the number one qualifier. This time he sat on the pole at Lebanon Valley Dragway for the NHRA Lucas Oil Regional where 14 cars were competing to fill a tough eight car field. Rain plagued the event on Friday so qualifying was shifted to Saturday and eliminations took place on Sunday.

Duane ran a 5.34 in the first session to qualify in the top position. Then in the second and last session he hit the afterburners to record a blistering 5.28 at 271 MPH. “It’s great that we were able to qualify no.1 two races in a row. Division 1 has the best cars in the country so we are very proud of that accomplishment” Duane said.

Duane’s first round pairing was with Dan Mercier who had squeaked into the field in the eighth position. At the launch both cars lost traction. Duane was about to abort the run but hit the throttle when he realized Mercier had also lost traction but the car got crossed up and there was nothing he could do to recover. Meanwhile, Mercier was finally able to hook up and take the win with a 6.49 at 256 MPH while Duane idled though.

The PEAK team didn’t expect to lose traction at the starting line since it appeared that the conditions had not changed from the day before. “We were stunned. We have not smoked the tires in eliminations since the second race of the year and we backed it down expecting to run in the thirties to prevent this from happening. Normally, I can pedal it but this is the first time the car would not recover. But congratulations to Jackie Fricke for getting her first Lucas Oil Regional win” Duane said.

Next, the PEAK team heads to Chicago for the O’Reilly Route 66 NHRA Nationals. “This is also an All Star race which we are not in but we will still be competing against the best cars in the country and this is PEAK’s home territory so we want to do a good job representing them” he said. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze, PEAK Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.

PEAK Team Takes Pole Position at Maple Grove Lucas Oil Regional Event

Mohnton, Pa. - For the first time in three years Duane Shields qualified his PEAK A/Fuel Dragster in the number one position at an NHRA event. This time, the honor came at the historic Maple Grove Raceway during the NHRA Lucas Oil Regional event. Duane qualified his PEAK Motor Oil sponsored dragster on the pole in the Top Alcohol Dragster class with a blistering 5.26 at 273 MPH. Sixteen cars attempted to qualify for a tough eight car field which made being the top qualifier even more impressive.

In round one, Duane was matched up with Richard St. Pierre who qualified eighth. As the lights on the tree came down, Duane was out of the box first and had a sizable lead which he never relinquished in spite of having to pedal the car. He then crossed the stripe with a 5.35 at 268 MPH to take the win over St. Pierre’s 5.56 at 258 MPH.

In the semi finals, Duane faced Rich McPhillips. At the hit, it was McPhillips out of the hole first with Duane not far behind but he then lost some real estate when forced to pedal at the same place on the track as he did in round one. At the finish line it was a tight race but McPhillips got the narrow win and scored a 5.41 at 268 MPH to Duane’s close 5.43 at 270 MPH. “It was sort of frustrating because that was our slowest run of the entire event. We discovered after the race that we broke a valve spring in the semi finals or it would have run a .30 which could have won the race” Duane said.

Even though a mechanical issue slowed down the PEAK team, Duane was happy over all on how well the car performed. “The car is really coming around and we had our first number one qualifying position in over three years so we’re happy about that. We are now looking forward to our next Lucas Oil Regional event at Lebanon Valley” he said.

Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for all of their support this season.

Duane Shields Exits Early in Houston

(Baytown, Texas) Duane Shields experienced an early round loss in the Top Alcohol Dragster class at the 27th annual O’Reilly NHRA SpringNationals presented by Super Start Batteries. The loss was a disappointment considering all of the team’s recent success but it was still a close and competitive race.

Duane qualified in the middle of the pack with a respectable 5.37 at 268 MPH which was good for the ninth seed. This would set up a rematch with former Top Fuel racer Mike Strasburg who runner-upped to Duane at the Houston Regional event. Strasburg qualified eighth with a nearly identical 5.37 so it was an evenly matched race.

As the lights came down on the tree, Strasburg got off of the line first as Duane trailed early. At the finish line it was Strasburg scoring a close win with a 5.37 at 271 MPH to Duane’s valiant 5.39 at 267 MPH.

The team now has a little time to regroup before their next regional event in Reading, PA, May 23-25. Duane would like to express his many thanks to PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for all of their support.

Red Hot Duane Shields Cools Off Slightly in Round Two at Four Wide Nationals

(Concord, N.C.) The PEAK A/Fuel Dragster continued to perform in competitive style at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals until round two where Duane Shields lost a very close race to Jackie Fricke. The PEAK Team ran well throughout qualifying as Duane put the PEAK Dragster in the number two position with a 5.25 at 275 MPH. The success in qualifying naturally spurred confidence that the PEAK Team would do well in eliminations.

In round one, Duane faced number 15 qualifier Dan Page. At the hit, Page got a sizable lead out of the hole but the “PEAK Express” ran like a cruise missile and passed Page at the 330 foot mark and held on to win the round with a respectable 5.34 at 272 MPH to Page’s competitive 5.47 at 263 MPH. “The car shook a little bit so I had to give it a quick pedal” Duane said.

Duane then moved on to the second round to race Jackie Fricke. At the hit Fricke got a slight lead off the line with an 0.47 reaction time to Duane’s 0.60 but he was still right there with her as they raced all the way down the 1,320. Both cars were side by side but Frickie got the win by just four feet as both cars ran nearly identical ETs. Duane was just a fraction quicker and posted a 5.364 at 267 MPH to Fricke’s 5.368 at 264 MPH. “We both had good lights and she ran really well. Since the car shook slightly on the last qualifying pass and because I had to pedal in the first round we made a timing and clutch adjustment. The two adjustments slowed us down a little too much and it gave us our slowest run of the weekend. Only one adjustment was needed”.

Even though Duane lost in the quarterfinals he was still upbeat. “You know, when your 5.36 is your slowest run of the weekend you have to feel pretty good that you have a competitive and consistent car that can get down most tracks. We have never done real well in Charlotte even though we have made it to the final round here once before”. The PEAK team now moves on to Houston where they won the regional event earlier in the season. Duane would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.

Duane Shields Wins Big in Gainesville

(Gainesville FL) Duane Shields cleaned house in Gainesville and took home just about everything in the Top Alcohol Dragster class that wasn’t nailed down. It was a flawless double victory at the NHRA Amalie Oil Gatornationals for Duane driving the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster. “The car is now responding very well to our tuning and we are able to hop it up when needed and tune it to the track conditions. The car is running good which also gives us a chance to learn more” Duane explained.

On Friday, before setting his sites on his third Gatornationals title, Duane won the postponed Houston Regional Top Alcohol Dragster final. In that race, Duane took an easy win over Mike Strasburg who lost traction at the starting line. Duane posted a 5.28 which was also low ET for the second round of qualifying.

Duane qualified 4th overall with a 5.28 at 272 MPH which set up a first round meeting against Dan Page driving Art Gallant’s car. At the hit Duane was out of the gate first and scored a 5.36 at 272 MPH win over Page’s 5.43 at 263 MPH. “They made a very good run against us and we were side by side all the way down” Duane said.

In round two, Duane took on Matthew Cummings. Cummings was noticeably late off the line and again it was another total domination for the PEAK team as they advanced to the semi finals with a 5.38 at 272 MPH over Cumming’s 5.95 at 197 MPH.

In the semi finals, it was a race between two former National Champions, Bill Reichert and Duane Shields. Both drivers proved why they are former champs since they had identical reaction times as both cars left the line with 0.75 lights. Reichert managed a slight lead but Duane grabbed the lead at 330 feet out and never looked back as Reichert dropped a cylinder. Duane took the win with a 5.30 at 273 MPH over Reichert’s 5.43 at 262 MPH. “That was a critical race and we left at the same time. Bill had some slight problems but we were able to make it all the way down the track with a strong run” Duane said.

In the finals, Duane raced the Gatornationals’ defending event champion, Rich McPhillips. At the hit McPhillips got a sizable starting line advantage but then he began to drop cylinders. As was the case in the previous round, Duane was able to gain enough momentum to blast past his opponent and take the win with another consistent and highly competitive run. Duane won the Gatornationals title with a 5.33 at 266 MPH over McPhillips’ 5.47 at 261 MPH. “Rich was my toughest opponent all weekend. I saw his car next to me for a long time. I dropped a cylinder and I was holding on to the steering wheel hoping he wouldn’t pass me at the finish line” Duane said after the win.

Duane is not only happy that he now has a consistent car, he is excited that some of his new crew members finally got to celebrate a win. “Some of my newer crew members have never won a Wally before so this win is for them to enjoy” he said. Duane would would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.

Duane Shields Competes at Phoenix Regional to Start Three Race Road Trip

(Phoenix) Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team competed at the Phoenix NHRA regional event held at the recently refurbished Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park to start a three race road trip.

In qualifying, the bump spot in Top Alcohol Dragster was a stout 5.45 so everyone in the class had to bring their “A game” just to qualify. Duane got in the show with a respectable 5.37 at 259 MPH to qualify 6th. Duane’s 5.37 sealed the deal during the final qualifying session as the two previous runs, a 5.59 and 5.58 were slowed by mechanical malfunctions and were not quick enough to get in the field.

On Saturday night it had rained so the track would be a guessing game for not only the PEAK team but the rest of the field during the first round of eliminations. Duane faced number 3 qualifier Joey Severance who had qualified with a strong 5.31 at 265 MPH. Unfortunately for Duane, Severance had lane choice and naturally took the best lane which would ultimately be a factor in the race.

At the hit, both drivers left close to the same time with Severance getting a slight advantage off the line with a .052 to Duane’s .055. But at .65 seconds into the run Duane smoked the tires while Severance was on a clean run and won the round. “The computer showed we almost made it but we were a hair too aggressive and we were just over center or we would have made a good run” Duane explained.

Even though it was a challenging weekend, Duane is happy that the car is running well to start off the three race trip which will take the team to Houston next weekend for another Regional event and then on to Gainesville the following week for the NHRA Gatornationals.

Duane would like to thank his marketing partners PEAK Antifreeze, Peak Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support.

Strong Performance and Consistency Returns for PEAK Team at NHRA Circle K Winternationals

(Pomona CA) After struggling last year it appears that the PEAK team’s hard work and testing during the off season has paid off. At Bakersfield during a two day test session, Duane Shields ran a sizzling 5.29 at a non-national event prepped track “I feel encouraged and looking forward to the season for sure. We are getting good at collecting data and we’re quickly adapting to the rules that have made both the A/fuelers and the alcohol cars equally competitive” Duane said.

In qualifying, Duane was back in the top half of the field at Pomona. He qualified sixth with a strong 5.36 at 266 MPH.

In round one, Duane was matched up against Ross Stickler who qualified eleventh with a respectable 5.54 at 256 MPH. At the hit, Stickler got out of the gate first and maintained the lead to half track but the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster was gaining momentum and took the lead the rest of the way. Duane posted a winning 5.34 at 270 MPH to Stickler’s 5.82 at 179 MPH.

In the second round, Duane faced the no. 3 qualifier Don St. Arnaud who had lane choice. As the lights came down, St. Arnaud was out of the gate first with a good light. Duane was in hot pursuit and nearly ran St. Arnaud down. But, St. Arnaud was on one of his best passes of the day and was able to maintain a slight four foot lead to take a narrow victory. St. Arnaud recorded a 5.29 at 278 MPH to Duane’s quicker 5.26 at 270 MPH. “He had a good light against my average light. This class is too competitive to have an average light. But he ran well against me and got a hole shot win” Duane said.

Even with the quarterfinal finish the PEAK team’s 5.26 was the best ET of the weekend for the A/Fuel dragsters which gives the team some renewed optimism. This season there have been some fresh changes in the crew and the car has been rebranded PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil. In addition, Duane welcomes back Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises.