Story by Rich Bailey

Las Vegas - Madison Payne and the Muscle Milk team took on a challenging field of Alcohol and A/Fuel cars at the NHRA Fourwide Nationals, held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. For those needing a "four wide refresher course" the field is divided into four quads of four cars and the first and second place winners advance from each quad to the next round until the finals where there is just one quad left from the previous rounds. The winner of the final round quad wins the race.

Madison qualified the Muscle Milk A/Fuel Dragster fourth in a field of 21 cars with a strong 5.27 at 275 MPH.

In the first stanza, Madison was included in a foursome made up of Taylor Januik, Mike Quayle, and Mike Austin. Madison came out on top with a 5.27 at 276 MPH win to advance into round two along with second-place finisher Taylor Januik, who recorded a close 5.33 at 271 MPH. Quayle and Austin were eliminated from further competition finishing third and fourth respectively.

In the second round, Madison faced an even tougher group of competitors which included World Champion Shawn Cowie, Matt Cummings, and Januik from the previous round. As the lights came down Madison was in the middle of the pack with a .089 reaction time and rang up a respectable 5.30 at 276 MPH pass but it wasn't enough to top Cowie who finished first with a 5.23 at 276 MPH and second place finisher Cummings who ran a 5.32 at 268 MPH but had a slightly better .071 reaction time. Madison had to settle for third after failing to reach the final quad by just .001. Januik who came in fourth was also eliminated.

Next, the Muscle Milk team heads to Dallas, Texas for an NHRA Lucas Oil Regional event, May 16-17. Both Madison and car owner, Duane Shields would like to thank Muscle Milk, NGK Spark Plugs, GRP Connecting Rods, BAE, and Clean Boost for their support in 2025.

Madison Qualifies Well but Narrowly Lost After Long Staging Battle

Story by Rich Bailey

Pomona - Madison Payne in the Muscle Milk A/Fuel Dragster qualified well at the historic Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals held at the Los Angeles County Fairplex. Madison posted a strong 5.17 at 279 MPH run during the first qualifying session which was good for the number two position but was later knocked down to third at the end of qualifying for the Top Alcohol Dragster class.

In round one, Madison raced number 14 qualifier Garrett Bateman. As the cars approached the starting line, a long staging duel ensued where neither car moved into the staging beams to activate the tree. Finally, Madison moved in and staged at the direction of car owner Duane Shields followed by Bateman. At the hit, Madison got off the line first with a great 0.030 reaction time to Bateman's 0.040. As the A/Fuelers charged down the track, Bateman gained the lead and never relinquished it. Bateman rang up a 5.23 at 272 MPH to Madison's competitive 5.30 at 273 MPH.

After the run Madison was dismayed by the surprise battle at the startingline but chose to focus on the positives that came out of Pomona. "We learned a lot this weekend and qualified well. Now, we are looking forward to racing in Vegas" She said. Next, the team moves on to the first four-wide race of the year held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, April 11-13. Madison and Duane would like to thank Muscle Milk, GRP, NGK, Clean Boost, and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support in 2025.