Shortline Express 2007 News & Archives

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Shortline Express Stopped in the Final Round at Pomona
Pomona - With an incredible 5.43 bump, it was once again demonstrated by the top racers in the country as to why the NHRA Auto Club Finals is one of NHRA's prized events. The competition just doesn't get much tougher on the tour then it does at Pomona. Just qualifying is an accomplishment for most top alcohol teams. In fact, some great west coast teams didn't qualify for the potent 16 car field.

Hot off of securing his first NHRA Division Seven Championship title, Duane Shields was looking for more as he had the chance to finish in the top five nationally for a second year if he could close out the year with a final round appearance. This would be the last time driving his current Short Line Express car as he's got a new one on the jig for the 2008 season.

In qualifying Shields qualified seventh with a 5.30 at 273 MPH and drew Diana Harker in the first round. Harker got out of the gate first but was unable to maintain the lead as Shields flew by her at mid-track. Shields posted a 5.50 at 270 MPH to Harker's 5.83.

In the second round, Shields faced Spencer Massey at the wheel of his red and black Texas-based entry. Massey had qualified second and was running well all weekend. At the light Shields got away first with a great 0.010 reaction time to Massey's 0.077. Shields never looked back as Massey began to drop cylinders throughout the run and recorded a disappointing 5.79 to Shield's 5.30 at 274 MPH.

In the semis, Shields faced another tough customer, Morgan Lucas, driving the Lucas Oil car. This race was one of the best all weekend as both driver had nearly identical reaction times. At the hit, Shields posted a 0.038 to Lucas' 0.039. This race was a nail biter as both cars were side by side all the way down Parker Avenue. At the stripe it was Shields with a 0.0171 second margin of victory, which translated into a stout 5.25 at 277 MPH to Lucas' valiant 5.27 at 271 MPH.

The win set the stage with eventual series champion Bill Reichert. Reichert was unstoppable throughout the event and was driving like he was on another planet. Shields had to get aggressive on the tune-up and clutch in order to stop the Reichert express. At the starting line Shields had a great 0.022 light but then went up in smoke and that was all she wrote for the popular Nevada racer. Meanwhile, Reichert went on to post low ET of the weekend with an impressive 5.19 at 275 to take the win and the national championship title.

While a win at the Auto Club Finals was what the team was shooting for, the second place showing was enough to move the team into fifth place in national points which translates into another great year. Shields will be back in February at Pomona to do it all over again.


Shields Wins Divison 7 Championship!
The NHRA Division Seven title was finally decided in the final round of the final division race of the year. Duane Shields' closest opponent in the championship hunt had to win the out of division event but was unable to do so which finally gave Shields the Division Seven title.


Shields Unable to Defend Dallas Title
Dallas - As the defending champion of the O'Reilly Fall Nationals, Duane Shields hoped to repeat his success from last year's race. Unfortunately, that wasn't in the cards for the driver of the Shortline Express as some traction problems sent him home early.

After getting in the show with a 5.53 at 269 MPH that landed him in the 14th spot, Shields ended up smoking the tires during the final qualifying lap which presented him and his crew the dilemma of having to soften the tune-up in order to avoid smoking the tires, yet still make a quick enough run to get past Kate Harker, who qualified third.

At the hit, Shields gave the track to much power and smoked the tires after a slight starting line advantage. Shields pedaled it but despite his effort, Harker was long gone and posted a 5.35 at 261 MPH to Shield's disappointing 6.43 at 255 MPH. "We missed the tune-up in the first round but did find some more power in Dallas. We are going to head home to Vegas and start testing in order to work on our hot weather tune-up for next year. We need to tighten up the car and get back on track. Once we're done with testing, we'll head to Pomona and wrap up the season" Shields said after the event.

Championship Not Yet Decided
The NHRA Division Seven meet at Auto Club Famoso Raceway was the last Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event in the Pacific Division. It served as a chance for Duane Shields to secure the division championship and then finish out the season with two remaining national events on his schedule. In drag racing rarely does anything ever go as planned and unfortunately for Shields he was unable to sew up the title and will have to wait until the last two divisional events in other parts of the United States are contested.

< P>Even though the car qualified TH at Bakersfield with a 5.46, the engine was experiencing problems throughout qualifying due to a hub which controls the timing. After the third qualifying session the team found that it burned up two rotors so they opted to change engines to be sure they were ready to go for Saturday's eliminations.

In the first round, Shields faced red hot Randy Eakins. Eakins was at the top of his game and deep staged his car which gave him an excellent 0.018 reaction time to Shields' 0.080. Shields then slightly got out the groove and spun the tire 200 feet out and then had to pedal it. Eakins charged ahead for the win and posted a 5.63 at 243 MPH to Shields' 5.84 at 261 MPH. "The car left fine but I was just a hair out of the groove and that was all she wrote" Shields said.

With the first round lost, Shields' two closest competitors can go out of division to try and win the championship but must win the race in order to secure the title. "Our first round loss left the championship undecided so we'll wait and watch the competition race out of division to see if they can win the championship." Shields said.

 

Shields Loses a Close Race at Indy
Indianapolis - The Mac Tools NHRA US Nationals is not only considered the worlds biggest and best event the sport has to offer but it's perhaps one of the most difficult to win too. Just ask Duane Shields who finished fourth in the world last year. Shields was certainly one of the drivers favored to win in the Top Alcohol Dragster class but lost in the first round to Jeff Bohr in one of the closest and best races of the event. "That's Indy. It was a shame we were on the losing end. These A/Fuel cars are sensitive and you need to set them up just right. Too much power to the track and you will go up in smoke, not enough and you are going to slowdown and lose." Shields said.

In qualifying, Shields nailed the 6th spot with a 5.31 at 270 MPH which put him in the top half of the field and set up a first round match with Bohr who qualified eleventh. At the hit Bohr got out of the gate first with an .074 to Shields' close .080. On top of that, Shields slightly spun the tires right off the line. Still, the race was on and what a dandy it was as the cars were separated by only ten inches at the stripe. To make it even closer, both drivers posted identical ETs. Shields ran a 5.490 at 264.03 MPH to Bohr's winning 5.494 at 262.39 MPH.

"We were confident but we knew the heat was going to be a factor as the track temperature was 123 degrees at the time we raced. We over compensated and spun the tires as a result. Jeff's a good racer and earned the win" Shields said.

Moving on to Bakersfield
Shields, who is leading the points chase for the NHRA Division Seven crown is now switching gears and is looking for a win at the final Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event in the Pacific Division being held this weekend in Bakersfield. A win there will likely secure the title. "All we can do right now is look forward to Bakersfield. Our goal is to win it and the points will take care of themselves" Shields said.


Shields Goes to Semifinals in Sonoma
After scoring a big win at the Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway, Duane Shields hoped that the team could carry his winning momentum forward to the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event contested there the following weekend on August 3-5.

The Shortline Express team started their weekend in the right direction by qualifying third for a very tough eight car field with a 5.34 at 272 MPH. This set the stage for a first round duel with Cody Perkins who qualified sixth. "Cody is one of the best leavers in the sport and he's running well so we had to be on our game" Shields said. Perkins who lost a belt on the run, still posted a 5.37 at 256 MPH and had an identical 0.062 reaction time to Shields, but at the finish line it was all Shields with an impressive 5.23 at 270 MPH.
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In round two, Shields faced Jim Whiteley who is racing a blown alcohol car tuned by Norm Grimes. At the hit, Shields had a great 0.028 light but went up in smoke. "We were running on the edge all weekend so any change in the weather regardless of how small could cause us problems. I was belted into the car and ready to go but we had to wait for them to finish up some sportsman racing. Meanwhile, the temperature went from 66 to 64 degrees and I couldn't make any adjustments to compensate which was likely why the car lost traction. Also, the problem may have been related to the wheelie bar adjustment" Shields said.

Shields will now have to wait until Bakersfield for a shot at winning the Division Seven Top Alcohol title. The final Showdown for the title will be September 7-8 at Auto Club Famoso Raceway.

Shields Scores in Sonoma
After a difficult weekend in Seattle, where wet weather played a major role in denying Duane Shields a second chance to qualify, luck turned around in a big way one week later in Sonoma where he found himself in the winner's circle. It was a dramatic turn around for the popular A/Fuel dragster racer from Nevada.

To kick off the weekend, Shields reminded everyone that the Shortline Express is still the car to beat as he qualified second with an impressive 5.24 at 272 MPH. In the first round, Shields met up with up and coming driver Lindsey Wood, who drives the latest Darien & Meadows entry. Both cars left together but something let go in Wood's car as she coasted at the top end while Shields stormed through the finish line with a 5.45 victory at 265 MPH.

In round two, Shields met up with Seattle winner Thomas Bayer. Once again, Shields took care of business with 5.27 at 275 MPH to Bayer's close 5.30 at 267 MPH. Shields recorded the quickest pass in the second round which gave him lane choice against Utah's Aaron Olivarez in the Semifinals.

In the semis, Shields earned a trip to the finals by treating Olivarez to a good old fashioned holeshot. Shields had an 0.056 reaction time to Olivarez's 0.077. Shields crossed the line first with a 5.33 at 273 MPH to Olivarez's quicker 5.31 at 271 MPH.

In the finals Shields faced off with A/Fuel newcomer Brandon Lewis from Oklahoma. Shields got off the line first with an 0.030 to Lewis' 0.058. For Shiel ds, it was straight down Broadway with a 5.34 at 272 MPH blast to Lewis' valiant 5.42 effort. The win put Shields back in the hunt after a short break for part of June and much of July.

Cold Weather Plays Spoiler in Mission
Duane Shields always looks forward to competing in Mission Canada. After all, the track is one of the best and quickest in the northwest and has a loyal following of fans. But the weather in Mission can through racers a curve ball overnight which is what happened this past weekend when the conditions changed dramatically on race day.

The weather did cooperate during qualifying as Shields ran a 5.33 at 273 MPH in the first stanza, and then smoked the tires in the second session after experimenting with an aggressive tune up. In the final round of qualifying, Shields matched his first qualifying effort with a 5.33 and set the track's speed record in the process by flying through the traps at 274 MPH.

Unfortunately, some cold wet weather moved into the Fraser Valley on Saturday night and into Sunday morning. As a result, the track was a very cool 56 degrees at the time Shields fired up his engine. "We were a bit nervous as we have never raced when it was that cold. We didn't have a tune-up for those kind of conditions" Shields said. As a consequence, Shields smoked the tires at about five feet into the run and tried pedaling the car but lost a valuable second in the process while opponent Mark Hentges built up a good lead and ran a 5.52. After Shields realized that he was to far back to play catch up, he lifted and coasted through the finish line with a 6.53 as Hentges advanced to the second round.

"I love racing up here at Mission as it's one of my favorite tracks. Unfortunately, we had to guess on the tune-up since it was cold. We didn't de-tune the engine enough and the car ended up overpowering the track" Shields said. Shields will stick around the Northwest and will race at the Pacific Raceways Divisional, June 15-17.

Shields Goes Down Swinging in Fontana
Fontana- After dominating most of the early season Division 7 events, Duane Shields had to settle for a second round finish at California Speedway's Auto Club Dragway. Shields began the weekend in fine style by qualifying second with a 5.39 at 269 MPH pass. In the first round he faced Larry Miersch. Miersch red lit but Shields still made a good run which earned him lane choice in round two with a 5.48 at 266 MPH.

In what turned out to be one of the closest races of the day, Shields faced Tom Bayer driving Steve Federlin's Toyo Tires car in round two. At the light, Bayer had a slightly quicker reaction time by just 0.001 and that was the race as both drivers had identical 5.56 ET's! The margin of victory for Bayer was just 0.0251 seconds (approximately 10 feet).

Shields Comes Up a Little Short in Vegas
Las Vegas - With his company Shortline Express Markets sponsoring the event, Duane Shields wanted to win the Lucas Oil Series race held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway more than the national even held there the week before. And for the most part the event unfolded just the way he had planned. He took the pole with an impressive 5.28 at 276 MPH which fueled his optimism. "I was really pumped. I liked our chances going into eliminations" Shields said.

In the first round, Shields took care of business by beating Arizona racer Mark Niver. Niver had a slightly better reaction time but Shields took the stripe with a 5.44 to Niver's 5.59.

In round two, Shields raced newcomer Scott Murray. Shields had a great run as the Shortline Express dragster easily got down the track without dropping any cylinders and recorded a 5.31 to Murray's 5.42. "We had a good clean run and I was impressed with how well Murray did in his first outing. He came into the race with a Bill Reichert tune-up and he did a great job driving the car" Shields said.

In the finals, Shields took on recent national event winner Joey Severence from Washington State. A win would give Shields three consecutive divisional wins and a chance to even up the score with Severence who won beat him last week in the semifinal round. At the start, Severence got a holeshot with a 0.037 reaction time to Shields' 0.075. Shields then dropped a cylinder at the 1,000 foot mark and that was all she wrote. Severance cruised ahead for the win with a 5.36 at 269 MPH to Shields' quicker 5.34 at 270 MPH.

"We had a good weekend. Runner-up is second to the best and we need to work just a little harder next time to get the win. But it was still a difficult loss as it was the last race on 97% percent nitro and a win would have given our team three division wins in a row. We had our employees out here so we were hoping for a big winner's circle picture." Shields said.


Shields Rolls to Semifinal Finish at Home Track
Las Vegas - For the second race in a row, Duane Shields made it to the semifinals, this time at the Eighth Annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. For Shields and the Shortline Express crew, the Las Vegas race is a homecoming event. "We had close to one hundred hometown fans and racers in our pit area between rounds as we hosted a BBQ throughout the weekend. I'm glad we were able to put on a good show for everyone who came out to watch us" Shields said.

Shields began the weekend by qualifying no. 1 in the first round of qualifying but ended up in the forth position with a respectable 5.42. In the first round Shields took on newcomer Tom Bayer driving the Toyo Tires entry. Bayer went up in smoke at the hit and had to lift. Shields meanwhile cruised to an easy 5.41 win.

In the second round, Shields faced Chris Demke in the Peen-Rite Abrasive Finishing entry. Demke got a jump on Shields but was unable to maintain the lead. Shields drove around Demke at half track and held on for the victory with a 5.33 blast, to Demke's 5.45.

In the semifinal round, Shields faced eventual winner Joey Severence. Shields who was on a roll in front of his hometown fans experienced a lose locknut which backed off in the valvetrain resulting in a subpar 6.79, while Severance streaked to a 5.39 win. "I knew Joey was running well all weekend and he certainly didn't back in to the win. We dropped some cyl inders but it didn't damage the engine but it did damage my heart. Regardless, I was happy to see Joey get his first national event win" Shields said.

Overall, Sheilds was happy with his team's performance this weekend. "We had a good time and I'm already looking forward to the Lucas race here next weekend. Our Shortline Express stores is sponsoring next week's race and we are giving away tickets at all Shortline Express stores in the Las Vegas area" said Shields.

As always, Duane Shields thanks his sponsors Valvoline Motor Oil, NGK Spark Plugs, and Hussey Copper Gaskets for their support.


Lucas Race Ticket Give-Away at Shortline Express Stores

Las Vegas - Free tickets to the Lucas Oil Event to be held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway are now available at all Shortline Express Stores! The race is scheduled for next weekend, April 20 -22. Visit a Shortline Express store for more information.

Shields Reaches Semifinals in Houston
With a somber atmosphere surrounding Houston Raceway Park, Duane Shields and the Shortline Express team raced this weekend with heavy hearts as the sport of drag racing just lost one of it's most colorful stars, Eric Medlen. "Our whole team had Eric on our minds all weekend as did all the racers" Shields said.

Even with the painful loss, drivers and teams still managed to get back on track and return to racing while fighting off rain showers throughout much of the weekend. The wet weather limited qualifying to just two runs. Shields ended up qualifying fourth with a 5.31 at 274 MPH.

In the first round, Shields got a single as his opponent Dave Heitzman couldn't make the call. Shields cruised to a 5.36 which was good enough to get lane choice in second round against Marty Thacker. Shields ran a 5.31 at 274 MPH to get around Thacker who ran a 5.40 at 265 MPH.

In the semifinals, Shields was matched up with Bill Reichert and did everything right including cutting down the tree with an 0.02 reaction time and a 5.28 at 272 MPH package. But it wasn't nearly enough as Reichert hammered down a 5.10 at 281 MPH blast which is the fastest run ever in Top Alcohol Dragster, and it backed up Reichert's 282 MPH pass in round one for a new national speed record. "We had the second quickest pass in the semis but Bill ran a 5.10. Normally our 5.28 would have won the round." Shields said.

While Shields would have loved to have advanced to the finals, he was content with how consistently well the car ran all weekend. "We were happy with how the car performed and would like to thank our sponsors including Valvoline Motor Oil, NGK Spark Plugs, and Hussey Copper Gaskets for their continued support." Shields added.

Shields Sweeps Back to Back Arizona Events
Tucson - Red Hot Duane Shields made it two big wins in a row by taking an impressive victory at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Southwestern International Raceway in Tuscon, on March 11. Shields also won the other Arizona LODRS event held the week before at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix.

In Phoenix, Shields posted a new track record with a 5.24 blast at 278 MPH, in route to qualifying on the pole. In the final round of eliminations, Shields shook the tires but still had enough in the bank to beat Chris Demke in the Peen Rite entry with a 5.37 to Demke's 5.49 to win the first Division 7 event of the year.

Fast forward to Tucson where Shields qualified first again with a 5.28 at 268 MPH. In the first round Shields got a single, but ran hard anyway, ripping off a 5.24 at 278 MPH to get lane choice in the second round. "There is a bump in the left lane so we wanted to keep lane choice through out the race." Shields said. In the second stanza, Shields faced off with Ed Schmeeckle and had to peddle it in order to get the win light. Shields got it done with a 5.37 at 277 MPH over Schmeeckle's 5.55 at 258 MPH.

In the final Shields raced Larry Miersch who has some of the best reaction times in the Top Alcohol Dragster class. "I knew that Larry was a good leaver and I couldn't afford to make any mistakes and had to be prepared to peddle it if I needed to." Shields said. It turned out that he didn't have to as the Shortline Express had a flawless run sporting a 5.29 at 278 MPH to get the victory. Miersch got off to a good start with an 0.046 reaction time to Shields' 0.092, but his 5.52 package wasn't enough to match Shields' incredible pass. "This was our first race back on 100 percent nitro and it sure helped at this high altitude track." Shields said.

After the race Shields was happy with the win but still kept everything in perspective. "It's nice that we're running so well but we need to keep our focus. We'll have to if we expect to keep winning races. There are just to many good competitors out there that we are having to race week after week."

Duane Shields wants to thank his sponsors Valvoline Motor Oil, NGK Spark Plugs, and Hussey Copper Gaskets for their renewed support in 2007.

Shields Experiences Mixed Results at Winternationals
Pomona - While winning is the name of the game in drag racing, getting into the tough sixteen car field along with twenty three other teams is half the battle. For Duane Shields, the defending Winternationals Top Alcohol Dragster Champion, that portion of the event went well as Shields posted a 5.24 to qualify second.

Where the trouble came was during the first round when an idle check valve malfunctioned causing the Shortline Express dragster to bog down and didn't respond initially at the starting line. Finally, the problem took care of itself as the car gained momentum but it was to late, as Shields ran out of race track trying to catch his opponent, Randy Eakins by about fifteen feet. "I'm certainly disappointed to have gone out early, but the car is running great other than the problem we encountered in the first round. It's just one race and we will rebound, there's no doubt about that." Shields said.

With his Shortline Express dragster out of the race, Shields is turning his attention to helping friend Brandon Johnson, who switched to A/Fuel this season. Johnson beat his first round opponent, so Shields will be sticking around to help him on Sunday.

Shields wants to thanks his sponsors Valvoline Motor Oil, NGK Spark Plugs, and Hussey Copper Gaskets for their renewed support in 2007.

Shields Wraps Up a Great Season at Pomona Finals
Duane Shields wrapped up an overall good season at Pomona Raceway although he fell short of taking home the NHRA Auto Club Finals title. Going into eliminations Duane looked like the man to beat as the car ran consistently well in all three qualifying sessions. The car launched good and got down the track on every pass as Shields only had to peddle the car once all weekend.

Shields qualified in the top half of the field and was the second fastest car during the final qualifying session with a 5.315 at 265.01 MPH to boost him into fourth. "The car was running great on every qualifying round and I really expected to win the event." Shields said after the race.

In the first round, Shields once again faced Garrett Bateman. It was Bateman whom he lost to in the semifinals at Las Vegas the week prior. Unfortunately for Shields the results were the same as there was a malfunction in the clutch and Shields had to abort the run. Meanwhile, Bateman sailed by with a 5.408 to end Shield's weekend.

In spite of the first round loss, all is not lost as Shields finishes the season with two national event wins and a top five ranking. "I feel great as we have a competitive car and we look good going into next season. I want to thank Hussey Copper Gaskets, Valvoline Motor oil, and NGK Spark Plugs for all their support this season." Shields said.

Shields is Top Qualifier, but Falls in Round 2 at Vegas
Over twenty-four Top Alcohol Dragsters tried to qualify for an eight car show which resulted in the fastest TAD field in drag racing history. It all happened at the Short Line Express Market Gambler Shootout, held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. At the head of the class was Duane Shields who qualified first in his Shortline Express A/Fuel dragster with a 5.34 at 261.67 MPH. Shields, who resides in the Las Vegas area, sponsored the final Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event of the year through his chain of Shortline Express Markets.

Hot off his big win in Dallas, Shields looked to be the driver to beat after winning in the first round over Larry Miersch. Miersch, got a big hole shot but dropped a cylinder at the top end which allowed Shields to get around him and take the win by a little less then a car length. Shields was able to sneak by with a 5.59 at 258.42 MPH over Miersch's 5.720 at 245.09 MPH.

In the second stanza, Shields took on the Big O Tire team with Garrett Bateman at the wheel. This time it was Shields that got off to the early lead but had a mag failure at half track. Bateman was on a clean run and got the win with a 5.58 at 254 MPH to Shields' 5.71 at 258 MPH.

Shields now moves on to the final NHRA event of the year, the Auto Club Finals at Pomona, November 10-13. Shields won the Winternationals at the Fairplex in February, and hopes to remain undefeated in Pomona in 2006.
Photo by NHRA/Dragcentral.com

Shields Wins Big at Dallas!!!
 Ennis Texas- Duane Shields raced his Shortline Line Express A/fuel dragster to victory over Spencer Massey at the O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals near Dallas.

Shields from Las Vegas, had a good feeling going into the O'Reilly Fall Nationals after taking the pole at Indianapolis which was the last race he had competed in prior to Dallas. But after qualifying in the eighth position with a 5.51 he wasn't so sure how well he would do. "We didn't qualify as high as we would have liked and we didn't know what to expect. But we figured if we made it to Sunday we had a good shot at winning." Shields said.

In the first round, Shields defeated Garret Bateman with a 5.36 before luck played into the second round while racing Sean O'Bannon, who has been a powerhouse this year. "The second round was all luck as glare hit the tree and I couldn't see the light. O'Bannon left so I got on the throttle trying to catch him but I smoked the tires. I peddled it and then something happened to OBannon as his lost a blower belt. After getting the break from O'Bannon we knew it was our day." Shields concluded.

In the Semifinal round, Shields got another gift as his opponent Brandon Pierce got shut off due to an oil leak. This set the final round pairing between Shields and Spencer Massey driving the Snowman entry.

In the final, Massey who is known for his great reaction times, was less charitable then the two prior opponents as he gave Shields all he could handle in a very close race. While Shields had his best light of the year, Massey still left the line first with a 0.016 light to Shields' 0.032. However, Shields' quicker ET made the difference as he ran a 5.388 to Massey's respectable 5.460. "At the finish line I didn't know who won as I've lost a lot of very close races. I came around the corner and saw an NHRA official signal me and then I realized I got the win. Some of my family were there including my dad so it was great to win in front of them." Shields said.



Shields Qualifies On the Pole at Indy
As the top qualifier in the Top Alcohol Dragster division of the 52nd annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Duane Shields had high expectations going into eliminations. Shields of Las Vegas, ripped off a great 5.20 ET at 270 MPH in his A/Fuel dragster to put him on the pole. "I thought we would run 5.26 so I was pleasantly surprised. It feels good being the top qualifier at Indy" Shields said after the Sunday morning run.


Going into eliminations Shields raced Jeff Hamelink in the Northstar Machine/US Bank blown alcohol car. In the first round Shields' performance dropped off slightly as he ran a slower 5.343 at 266.90 MPH. But it was still enough to cover Hamelink's charge of 5.465 at 255.68 MPH. "We were a little disappointed after the first round as we thought the car should have speeded up." Shields said.
 
In the second round, Shields met Randy Meyer. "We were excited about racing Randy because he is one of the top dogs in the field and we thought we would have a good race." Shields said. In one of the best match ups of the day, Meyer got out of the gate first with a 0.064 reaction time to Shields' 0.092. At the stripe Meyer was able to hold on for the win with a 5.363 hole shot to Shields' quicker 5.343. The margin of victory was 0.0086, which is about three feet. "We didn't have lane choice and I underestimated the track. I had a bad light as I stuck the tire. It was a close race and I thought I had won."

While the team fell short of their goal to win the US Nationals, Indy gave Shields and the Short Line Express team some optimism going into the final stretch of the season. "I'm disappointed we didn't win Indy but I'm very optimistic going into Dallas." Shields said following the race.

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2007 Score Card

Winternationals, Pomona, 2/8-2/11
Completed, round 1

NHRA Divisional, Pheonix AZ, 3/2-3/4
Completed, won event

NHRA Divisional, Tucson AZ, 3/9-3/11
Completed, won event

Spring Nationals, Houston, 3/30-4/1
Completed, round 3

Summit Nationals, Las Vegas, 4/12-4/15
Completed, round 3

Shortline Divisional, Las Vegas, 4/20-4/22
Completed, runner up

NHRA Divisional, Fontana CA, 5/4-5/6
Completed, round 2

NHRA Divisional, Mission CAN, 5/25-5/27
Completed, round 1

NHRA Divisional, Seattle
Completed, round 1

Schucks Nationals, Seattle, 7/20-7/22
Completed

Autolite Nationals, Sonoma, 7/27-2/29
Completed, won event

NHRA Divisional, Sonoma,
Completed, semi-final finish

US Nationals, Indianapolis, 8/29-9/3
Completed, round 1

NHRA Divisional, Bakersfield, 9/7-9/8
Completed, round 1

O'Reilly Fall Nationals, Dallas, 9/20-9/23
Completed, round 1

Auto Club Nationals, Pomona, 11/1-11/4
Completed, runner up