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Shields Remains Optimistic After Recent Early Round Losses Story by Rich Bailey Charlotte - Muscle Milk A/Fuel Dragster car owner Duane Shields remains optimistic in spite of some early-round losses in Reading, Charlotte, and a DNQ in Indy where they were the defending champions. The former NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster World Champion knows how to win but also understands both the highs and the lows of the often humbling sport of drag racing. "We are not too far out of range at all. It's just that in A/fuel there are a lot of little minute things that can slow you down and end your weekend sooner than would have wanted" Duane said.
In Reading, the Madison Payne driven machine was competitive in a very tough field and qualified ninth with a decent 5.30 at 278 MPH. In round one, Madison raced Jeff Veale who made his best run of the weekend with a 5.24 at 277 MPH to defeat Madison's valiant 5.33 at 277 MPH.
In Charlotte, the Muscle Milk team qualified tenth with a 5.35 at 276 MPH and took on Joe Maynard in round one. Madison lost traction and smoked the tires while Maynard was on a clean run and crossed the finish line with a 5.28 at 272 MPH. "We were just too aggressive on that run. But you know, we can tune the car to run 5.30's all day but we will never win doing that so you have to get aggressive to win. That said, we are heading to Virginia next for a regional event. We will see if we can get a little more conservative with the tune-up while running some competitive numbers" Duane said.
Going into the final Fall quarter of the season the team is focusing on both improvement and having fun. Their next race is scheduled for September 27-28 in Richmond. Duane and Madison would like to thank their sponsors Muscle Milk, GRP Connecting Rods, NGK Spark Plugs, Clean Boost, and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support in 2024.
Muscle Milk Team Makes It to Final Round at NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals
Brainerd MN - Madison Payne and the Muscle Milk team went all the way to the Top Alcohol Dragster final round at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd. Madison qualified seventh with a decent 5.32 at 275 MPH in a race that had changing weather conditions from rain to sun most of the weekend.
In round one, Madison faced former National Champion Joey Severance. At the hit, Severance red-lit, and Madison was off to the races with the automatic win. She flew through the finish line with an impressive 5.25 at 276 MPH.
Advancing into the second round, the Muscle Milk team took on Dean Dubbin. At the start, Madison was on her game with a 0.012 reaction time to Dubbins' 0.077. Madison was then on a clean run while Dubbin lost traction and had to abandon the run. Madison stopped the clock with a 5.36 at 275 MPH to take the win.
Next up, Madison drew reigning series Champion Julie Nataas in the semi-finals. Nataas left the starting line first with an 0.093 to Madison's 0.107 but the Dana Hopewell tuned machine made up for the starting line deficit quickly as Madison drove around Nataas just past the starting line. Madison rang up a 5.27 at 275 MPH win over Nataas' valiant 5.32 at 274 MPH effort.
In the finals, Madison raced against Hunter Green. As the lights from the tree came down it was Madison out first with a 0.065 to Green's 0.072. Both cars were neck and neck all the way to the finish line but it was Green securing the Lucas Oil Nationals title by just six thousands of a second and a margin of victory of just two feet. Later, after the finals Madison had a moment to reflect on the race. "It was a good weekend. We needed to win a couple of rounds to get our confidence back and I am happy we were able to get some momentum going into Indy. We are looking forward to it" she said.
While car owner Duane Shields would have loved for the team to have taken the Wally back to the West Coast, he was happy to have made it to the finals. "We hate to lose in the finals because the anticipation is high but Madison did well and we only lost by six thousandths so I can't complain. We are having fun again after a six week break and are ready to take a swing and hit it hard through the rest of the season" he said.
Next, the team moves on to Indianapolis for the coveted NHRA US Nationals on Labor Day weekend where Madison is the defending Champion. Madison and Duane would like to thank their sponsors, Muscle Milk, NGK Spark Plugs, GPR Connecting Rods, Clean Boost, and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support in 2024.
Madison Payne Competes at
Madison Payne and the Muscle Milk team competed at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals and a Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event the weekend before in Norwalk, Ohio. Both races attracted good crowds to the well-maintained Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. Even though some heavy rain fell on the nationals on Saturday, the event still took place later in the afternoon. On Sunday the weather improved and was perfect for racing.
NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals Madison qualified sixth with a 5.30 at 277 MPH in a field that included some of the best teams in the country. In the first round, she took on John Ausherman. At the hit, it was Madison out first with a .069 light over Ausherman's .087. Madison held the lead to the finish line and rang up a 5.39 at 271 MPH victory over Ausherman's 5.64 at 240 MPH. In the quarter-finals, Madison faced Shawn Cowie. Cowie lost traction on the run but Madison left too soon, so Cowie got the win as a result of Madison's red light. NHRA Lucas Oil Regional Madison qualified on the bump in a tough eight-car field. As a result of qualifying in the eighth position, Madison drew the number one qualifier, Rich McPhillips Jr. in round one. At the launch, it was McPhillips out first by just three-thousandths of a second as both cars virtually left the starting line together. At the finish line, it was McPhillips with a 5.26 at 278 MPH victory over Madison's close 5.31 at 275 MPH. Next, the Muscle Milk Team will take their annual mid-season break before competing at the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, August 15-18. Madison and car owner Duane Shields would like to thank Muscle Milk,NGK Spark Plugs, GRP Rods, Clean Boost, and Brad Anderson Enterprises for all of their support this season.
Madison Loses Traction at Charlotte Four-Wide Nationals
Charlotte - Madison Payne and the Muscle Milk team took a tough first-round tumble at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. Madison qualified the Muscle Milk A/Fuel Dragster in the eleventh position with a respectable 5.33 at 277 MPH.
As was the case in Las Vegas, the format at the Four-Wide events is different than a traditional drag race as four cars race together in "quads" and the first and second-place finishers in each of the four quads move on to the next round until only four cars remain and in that final race only the car that crosses the finish line first wins the event. In the first round, Madison raced against Kirk Wolf, Sarah Allen, and Mike Lewis. Kirk Wolf made a good run and reached the finish line first followed by Sarah Allen to advance. Madison and Mike Lewis both lost traction and did not move on to the semifinals.
While it was a tough loss, Duane Shields is optimistic that the team will be back in the hunt after a couple of disappointing losses. "We have been struggling at the last few races to get the car to transition past the shake zone. After the race we have found a few things and hope to have better results going forward" he said. Duane and Madison would like to thank their sponsors Muscle Milk, NGK Spark Plugs, GRP Connecting Rods, Cleanboost, and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support this season.
Team Comes Up Short at NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas
Las Vegas - Madison Payne and the Muscle Milk team struggled a little bit this past weekend and came up with plums, oranges, and bells to use an analogy from what Las Vegas is best known for. Even so, the Muscle Milk team still qualified well, landing in the 6th spot in a tough 16-car field.
The format at the Four-Wide events is a little different than your typical drag race as four cars race together in "quads" and the first and second-place finishers in each of the four quads move on to the next round until only four cars remain and in that final race only the car that crosses the finish line first wins the event. In the first round, Madison faced Prescott Dean, Casey Grisel, and Juan Cantau-Pompa. At the finish line, it was Dean taking first place followed by Grisel finishing second. Both drivers moved on to the semi-final round. Madison slowed to a 5.53 at 263 MPH to finish third. Cantau-Pompa was also eliminated and finished fourth.
Car owner Duane Shields explained what happened to the car's performance at his hometown race. "We underestimated the track and lost a cylinder 1.4 seconds into the run which makes it hard to win. The car almost never drops a cylinder and we struggled all weekend. The weather was different every day so there were three different tuning conditions which made it hard to judge the track. We will move on to Charlotte, the next Fourwide race, and see if we can have better luck than we had in Las Vegas" Duane said.
Duane and Madison would like to thank their sponsors Muscle Milk, NGK Spark Plugs, GRP Connecting Rods, Cleanboost, and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support this season.
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