Duane Shields Dallas wrap up

Shields Takes Big Win In 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.

Contact: Rich Bailey