Duane Shields Pomona wrap up

Shields reaches semifinals in Pomona

Pomona - Duane Shields and the Shortline Express team ended the season with a semifinal finish at the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway. Shields qualified fifth with a 5.37 at 269 MPH for the season finale, which featured a field of the best Top Alcohol dragsters in the country.

In the first round Shields faced number twelve qualifier Brandon Lewis. This was a race that Shields dominated from start to finish. Shields left on "the Kid" with an 0.037 reaction time to Lewis' 0.054. At the finishline it was Shields by a pair of car lengths with a 5.37 at 269 MPH to Lewis' respectable 5.46 at 257 MPH.

This set up a second round showdown with Northwest Division Champion Joey Severance driving a blown alcohol car against Shields' nitro burning entry. At the green Severance got out in front of Shields with a 0.038 reaction time to Shields' 0.050. But Shields was able to hold off Severance in a very close side-by-side race. Shields ran a 5.33 at 269 to nip Severance's close 5.35 at 266 MPH.

In the semifinals it was a match up between two of the fastest A/Fuel dragsters in the nation, Duane Shields from the west, and Lucas Oil Champion, Bill Reichert from the east. Sadly for the Shortline Express team and the fans looking forward to an exciting race, Shields smoked the tires right out of the gate while Reichert sailed ahead and recorded the best ET for the meet, a sizzling 5.16 at 282 MPH. It turned out that Shields experienced computer problems prior to the round and was unable to come up with the right tune up. "Our computer didn't work so we didn't have a good tune-up. But we did make it to the semis" Shields said.

As the season comes to a close Duane wants to take this moment to thank his family for all of their support, the Shortline Express crew and of course all of his sponsors including Hussey Copper and NGK Spark Plugs.

For Immediate Release
Contact - Rich Bailey
503-370-9164