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 270MPH.
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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 portsman 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.