Duane Shields Mission wrap up

Shields Qualifies No. 1 in Canada

Mission Canada - After a brief break in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series schedule, Duane Shields was back on the road, this time in Mission Canada for the Lordco Auto Parts BC Nationals at Mission Raceway Park near Vancouver. In qualifying, Shields once again qualified on the pole with an impressive 5.23 at 272 MPH to establish him as a favorite going into eliminations.

In the first round, Shields took on Kim Parker, part of a popular husband and wife team from Washington state. At the hit, both drivers had an identical 0.109 reaction time. Shields then smoked the tires just as something let go on Parker's dragster. Shields was able to get back on the throttle and scored an important first round win. Shields clicked off a 6.79 at just 218 MPH. 'The sun came out on Sunday and the air was good, we missed the tune up on the first run and smoked the tires' Shields said.

In the semi finals, Shields took on local driver Sean Cowie who earned lane choice as he had a quicker ET in the prior round. Shields was first out of the hole with an 0.078 reaction time to Cowie's 0.113 but by half track Cowie was able to get around Shields to take the win. Cowie posted a winning 5.357 at 269 MPH to Shield's 5.42 at 272 MPH. 'The sun on the track made it tricky at the transition point 1.5 seconds out, it was trickier than we thought and I had to pedal the car against Cowie and he passed me at that time. I just ran out of race track trying to catch him. Shields said.