Duane Shields Battles Difficult Regional Field

Rising Sun, MD - Duane Shields and the Shortline Express team competed at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event held at Cecil County Dragway. A large number of top alcohol dragster teams also elected to race at the regional event as sixteen cars tried to crack the tight eight car field which made qualifying almost as challenging as eliminations. "All year, the regional events have been tough to qualify for and you have to bring your A game every time” Duane said when describing the eastern regional points series.

Duane qualified for the difficult field in the seventh position with a 5.48 at 264 MPH. “We have been testing a lot of things that haven’t worked which was the case in the first qualifying session. In the second round of qualifying we improved with that .48 so we were able to move up to seventh but it didn’t put us in a very good position going into eliminations” Duane admitted.

In the first round, Duane was matched up with Dan Mercier who qualified second with a 5.37. As the lights went green, Mercier got a slight lead out of the gate and was able to maintain it all the way to the finish line. Mercier took the round win with a 5.34 at 263 MPH to Duane’s very close 5.38 at 268 MPH. “The car ran well in the first round, we hit 268 MPH and didn’t drop any cylinders but Dan ran quicker with a .34. It was a good close race and we should be in a great position to do well at Indy” Duane said.

Even with the first round loss, Duane still has a chance at clinching the regional title with two more regional events that he can claim. “The Championship is wide open for us. We are currently third in points with five cars vying for the championship. I’m not sure which races my competitors plan to race at but we have our strategy in place” Duane observed.

Duane and the Shortline Express team would like to thank GRP Connecting Rods, Molinari Race Products and NGK Spark Plugs for their continued support.

 

Duane Shields Shows Improvement in Epping

Epping NH - The Shortline Express team raced at New England Dragway in the highly competitive Northeast Division where ten Top Alcohol Dragsters were battling for a qualifying spot and then an eventual trip to the winner’s circle.

Duane Shields qualified in the sixth position with a 5.48 at 253 MPH and would race number three qualifier John Finke in the first round. “We were happy with that 5.48 in qualifying. We had the quickest 60 foot time and had to peddle but it still ran a .48. It’s carrying the front wheels nicely” Duane said when describing the run.

The team has been making numerous changes to the car between races including changes to the fuel system. “We came into this race behind the eight ball as we made a lot of changes to the car. But I’m encouraged by the results although we still have a ways to go in perfecting the fuel system” Duane observed.

In round one of eliminations, John Finke got off of the line first and was able to maintain a slight lead all the way to the finish line but Duane stayed with him most of the way. Finke stopped the clock with a 5.41 at 263 MPH to Duane’s 5.57 at 250 MPH. 'I’m disappointed that the car didn’t run fast enough but overall I’m happy that we’re making progress. The car is performing well. We didn’t get any data on the second run in qualifying so we got behind by one run and that made a difference going into eliminations” Duane said.

Next, the Shortline Express team heads to Cecil County Dragway where they expect everything they have worked on will come together. “I think we will run pretty strong through the second half of the season” Duane commented. The Shortline Express team would like to thank his sponsors GRP Connecting Rods, Molinari Race Products and NGK Spark Plugs for their valued support.

Shortline Express Team Experiences Bad Luck in Chicago

Chicago - Drag Racing can be a very humbling sport at times even for some of the sport’s most successful drivers. There is no end to the parade of problems or circumstances that can prevent some of the best teams from qualifying. Here’s a situation you probably have never heard of... how about a spider climbing into the lens and blocking the beam that determines a car’s ET?

That’s what happened to Duane Shields in the first round of the Allstar race which also doubled as the second round of qualifying during the O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 Nationals. Duane was on a good run that would have likely put him in the 13th position based on his incremental times except there was no quarter mile time recorded on the run. To make matters worse, Duane lost to Randy Meyer which eliminated him from further competition in the Allstar race.

Duane had earlier smoked the tires during the first session of qualifying but was confident he would qualify during the third and final session. So, he did not request a make up pass after learning the second run would not count. “They (track officials) told me a spider blocking the lens caused us not to get a time. We didn’t want to push the issue since we knew we would get another qualifying shot” Duane explained.

In the third session the Shortline Express team produced a 5.52 at 266 MPH but was not quick enough to qualify. “We smoked the tires in the first round of qualifying and that’s what put us behind. Stuff like this happens but it’s just part of racing. We are going to change our strategy and regroup” Duane said.

The Shortline Express team will have three weeks off before applying their new strategy in Epping, NH, July 20-22. Duane would like to thank his sponsors GRP Connecting Rods, Molinari Race Products and NGK Spark Plugs for their support.

Shields Takes on Reichert in Classic Final Round at Maple Grove Raceway

It was a classic Top Alcohol Dragster final round that fans in Reading, PA will remember for a long time as Duane Shields narrowly lost to rival Bill Reichert in a race where both drivers ran nearly identical 5.45 ET’s and very close reaction times. The margin of victory was 0.0046 seconds, the distance of less than two feet at the finish line. “It was a very close race! Obviously we wanted the win but we also wanted to give Reichert a good race and we did that. We just came up a little short” Duane said.

In Qualifying, Duane took the number 5 position with a 5.41 at 270 MPH to set up a first round meeting with Dan Page. At the hit, Page was out first but Duane was able to get past him and hold the lead. Page got close but was unable to get around the Shortline Express at the finish line. Duane recorded a 5.42 at 268 MPH to Page’s valiant 5.45 at 264 MPH. “The race with Dan Page was a real close one” Shields said.

In round two, Duane took on number one qualifier, Richard Bourke, from Old Tappan, NJ. Bourke got off the line first but once again, the Shortline Express passed their opponent in route to another round win. Shields recorded a 5.40 at 268 MPH to Bourke’s 5.55 at 253 MPH to move on to the final round and face Bill Reichert.

The race between the current and former NHRA World Champions would live up to every race fan’s best expectation. Duane got off the line first with an 0.050 to Reichert’s very close 0.051. Both cars were even down the Maple Grove quartermile and each car dropped a cylinder along the way. At the finish line it would be Reichert pulling out the win with a 5.452 at 259 MPH to Duane’s nearly identical 5.457 at 265 MPH.

Even though Duane fell short in scoring the victory he was happy with the over all outcome of the race. “Everything worked out according to our plans as our goal was to go rounds. This race really helped us in gathering points on the regional side. Now, we’ll take a break until the Chicago race where we are looking forward to representing Division 2 in the JEGS All Star race” Duane said. The Chicago event is scheduled for June 28 - July 1 at Route 66 Dragway.

Duane would like to thank his sponsors GRP Connecting Rods, Molinari Race Products and NGK Spark Plugs for their valued support.



Duane Shields Makes it to the Second Round at Summer Nationals in Topeka

Duane Shields and the Shortline Express Team has been gaining ground on the competition as the season progresses. The team made it to two straight final rounds before moving on to Topeka this past weekend where they made it to the quarterfinals. Duane smoked the tires while trying to get into the 5.20 zone in round two. “We got greedy. The temperature changed so we hopped it up and got very aggressive with the tune up. Two other cars in the same lane also smoked the tires in the second round” Duane said.

In qualifying, the Boulder City, Nevada driver landed fifth with a 5.35 at 267 MPH. That would set up a first round match up with Jeff Veale who qualified twelfth. At the hit, Veale got out first but Duane had a quicker ET and took the win light with a 5.43 at 265 MPH to Veale’s close 5.52 at 253 MPH.

In round two, Duane took on Mark Taliaferro. As the lights came down, Duane was out of the gate first but went up in smoke right off the line. Meanwhile, Taliaferro cruised to the win with a 5.32. “It was disappointing but there can only be one winner and it was Rich McPhillips' turn to win. We still had a great weekend as the car ran good until we got too aggressive. Also, Brian Scullen from GRP Connecting Rods was in Topeka helping us out” Duane said.

The team now makes the long haul to Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, PA for the next NHRA Regional event held over the Memorial Day Weekend. The Shortline Express team would like to thank GRP Connecting Rods, NGK Spark Plugs and Molinari Racing Products for their support.

 

Duane Shields Makes it to the Final Round at the O’Reilly Spring Nationals in Houston

Houston - The World Champ is back! Duane Shields and the Shortline Express team has picked up momentum to make back-to-back final round appearances starting with a win in Virginia last week and then a final round appearance at the O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston. “It was a good outing. We celebrated Chris Zedaker’s birthday and it’s the one year anniversary of the death of Faye Beasley, so we dedicated the day to them” Duane said. Faye Beasley, is the mother of crew member Jerry Beasley,

Duane qualified well with a strong 5.31 at 273 MPH which was good for the no. 3 position and meant he would race no. 14 qualifier Lee Callaway in the first round. At the hit Callaway got out of the gate first but Duane was able to get around him towards the finish line. “We backed the car way down and almost lost to Callaway. But, I was able to get around him in time to get the win” Shields said.

In round two, Duane faced David Brounkowski in a close and exciting race. At the starting line Brounkowski got a slight lead but the Shortline Express car had a slightly better ET and was able to claim the stripe with a 5.41 at 270 MPH to Brounkowski’s close 5.44 at 262 MPH.

The semi finals had Duane paired up with Chase Copeland driving for Gene Snow. “The semi finals had us most concerned as Copeland runs well and cuts very good lights” said Shields. Both cars left together with Copeland getting a slight advantage but was off pace and posted a 5.61 at 259 MPH. Duane had a better ET as he recorded a 5.38 at 273 MPH which was good enough to cover Copeland and take the win.

The final round came down to Duane Shields and top qualifier Jim Whiteley who was running in the 5.20’s most of the weekend. As the lights came down Whiteley was out first with an .034 to Duane’s .064. Whiteley never trailed and took the title with a 5.26 at 273 MPH to Duane’s 5.38 at 268 MPH. “We just wanted to go up to the starting line and make a good run. We hoped to beat him but it wasn’t our day. Besides, I don’t think we could have beat a 5.26 since there was high humidity and the conditions were not favorable to us. But it was a good weekend and we’re happy to have gone to the final round” Duane said.

The Shortlne Express team wants to thank GRP Connecting Rods, NGK Spark Plugs and Molinari Racing Products for their support.

 

 

Duane Shields Gets First Win of the Year!

Dinwiddie, Va - It’s been a little bit of a struggle for the reining NHRA World Champion, Duane Shields, as up until this past weekend his Shortline Express team had not won a round in NHRA competition so far this year. But as racers and fans predicted that streak wouldn’t last long as Shields not only got his first round win of the year but he also secured his first event victory of 2012 as well.



The win at the Virginia Motorsports Park also gave Crew Chief, Mike Johnson, his seventh victory with a different driver. Since this was one of the new NHRA regional events the competition was tougher than at one of the traditional divisional events as 17 top alcohol dragsters tried to get into a very tight 8 car field. “We were lucky just to qualify as several big name drivers went home before the start of the first round” Duane said after qualifying second with a 5.35 at 266 MPH.

In round one, Duane met up with no. 7 qualifier Jackie Fricke in a tight race to open the round. Fricke left first but Shields was able to make up the difference with a better ET and got around her at the top end of the track. Duane took the stripe with a 5.40 at 267 MPH to Fricke’s valiant 5.47 at 263 MPH. “This was our closest race of the day as we ran a .41 to her .46. The car went straight down the track and we were able to get the win” said Duane.

In the second stanza, Duane raced east coast veteran Mike Kosky. Duane rolled into the beams and staged deeper than he anticipated and was late getting off of the starting line as a result. But Kosky shook the tires and Duane was able to get past him and take the win with a 5.41 at 268 MPH to Kosky’s 5.61 at 253 MPH.

In the finals, Duane took on a familiar competitor from last season, Rich McPhillips. At the hit, McPhillips was out first but smoked the tires. Meanwhile, Duane made another clean run down the track with a 5.38 at 265 MPH to McPhillips’ 6.98 to get his first victory of the year. ”We hopped it up in the finals but dropped a cylinder. Regardless, the car ran good and we are definitely happy to get the win. In fact, just getting a round win today was great. I Hope this will give us some momentum going into Houston next weekend” Duane said.

The Shortline Express team would like to thank GRP Connecting Rods, NGK Spark Plugs and Molinari Racing Products for their support.

 

Duane Shields Returns to Action in Charlotte

After nearly a month off, Duane Shields and the Shortline Express team were back in action at the third annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte.

In qualifying, Duane qualified 10th with a competitive 5.38 at 270 MPH. However, in the final qualifying round a fuel control lever broke. Unable to make a pass, they didn’t gather any race data prior to eliminations. This would impact the tune-up and how the car would be set up in the first round.

In round one, Duane was paired up against number seven qualifier Sidnei Frigo. At the hit, Duane went up in smoke as he lost traction right off the starting line. Meanwhile, Frigo made it down the track to advance to the next round. “Breaking that fuel control lever in the third qualifying round and some miscommunication contributed to the loss. We plan to test on Monday and then head to Richmond for the regional race next week. I’m confident we’ll get everything sorted out in testing” Duane said.

The Shortline Express team would like to thank GRP Connecting Rods, NGK Spark Plugs and Molinari Racing Products for their support.

 

The Shortline Express Gets Back on Track with a 5.28 Blast at the Gatornationals!

Gainesville - Even though Duane Shields and the Shortline Express team didn’t receive the outcome they were expecting at the 43rd annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, the team still recorded their best run of the year as they stopped the clock with a sizzling 5.28 at 273 MPH in the second round of qualifying. The run was temporarily good enough for the number one spot. By the time the ladder was set after the final round of qualifying, the reining 2011 Top Alcohol World Champion sat in the third qualifying position.

In round one of eliminations Duane raced number 14 qualifier Dave Hirata. At the hit Duane lost traction right off of the starting line and went up in smoke. Hirata in the other lane was long gone as he ran a 5.41 to take the win.

After the race, Duane discussed the current situation. ” We have an issue with the car and we think we know what the problem is. We planned on making some test runs on Monday to get the problem sorted out. But now the rain delay might prohibit us from making any test runs. We will just have to wait and see how long it takes to wrap up the remainder of the race.

While it was a difficult loss, the 5.28 pass at Gainesville gives the team some much needed confidence that the they are still right where they need to be and still have a lot of time to turn the season around. “We’re still competitive. We have the power and can run with anyone. We proved that. We just need to do some fine tuning and get the car more consistent.”

The Shortline Express Team would like to thank GRP Connecting Rods, NGK Spark Plugs and Molinari Racing Products for their continued support.

 

 

Shields Earns JEGS Allstar Spot at Gainesville

Even with the 2012 NHRA drag racing season in full swing it’s still winter as rain greeted the opening Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series regional event in Gainesville, Florida. The unpredictable weather took its toll on the event schedule but the rain let up in time to get the race underway. This event was important for Duane Shields and the Shortline Express team to qualify at since an invitation to the JEGS Allstar race could be clinched providing they were able to get their A/Fuel Dragster in the tough eight car field.

In the first qualifying session, Duane qualified in the fifth position with a 5.46 at 257 MPH. In the second and final qualifying round, Duane stayed in the fifth position even though he improved with a quicker 5.37 at 270 MPH. In round one, Duane met up with Florida’s Sidnei Frigo. At the hit, Duane lost traction right away and the race was over just as quickly as it began. The car smoked the tires and Frigo was long gone.

It was a difficult loss for the Nevada based team but they came away with a lock on the JEGS Allstar race in Chicago. Also, they found a few clues as to why the car has not been performing to its full potential. “The beginning of the year has been a challenge to win a round. It makes last year great to think of. But we have figured a couple issues out and we’ll get those fixed in time for the Gatornationals. Plus, we locked up the Division 2 Allstar spot” Duane Shields said.

The team will now regroup and fix the problems identified before returning to Gainesville for the NHRA Gatornationals, March 8-11. Duane would like to thank his sponsors GRP Connecting Rods, Molinari Race Products and NGK Spark Plugs for their support.

 

Defending Winternationals Champ Runs Well But Exits in First Round

NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster Champion Duane Shields had one of those weekends where the car ran well over all, but he had to be a little disappointed when eliminations rolled around on Saturday. Unfortunately, the defending Winternationals Champ suffered a first round loss.

Duane started the weekend off right by qualifying number one in the first stanza of qualifying with a 5.41 at 262 MPH. In round two of qualifying, Duane improved his time with a respectable 5.35 at 259 MPH blast but ended up third in the final qualifying order as two other teams had quicker times.

In round one, Duane Shields faced off with Brooks Brown. The two got into a long staging battle which resulted in Shields smoking the tires right off the starting line. “The staging battle didn’t go our way but lessons learned for the future” Shields said.

From Pomona the Shortline Express team heads across the country to compete next weekend at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event in Gainesville, Florida as they will devote much of their racing schedule to the east coast. The team also has a new crew chief as long time A/Fuel tuner and former car owner Mike Johnson joins the team. “Mike is now working with us so we have a great professional team” Duane said.

Duane would like to welcome new sponsors GRP Connecting Rods and Molinari Racing Products who join long time sponsor NGK Spark Plugs.

 

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