Duane Shields Wins His First Regional Event of the Year

Reading PA - Duane Shields in the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster took out number one qualifier Troy Coughlin Jr. in a hole shot to win the NHRA Lucas Oil Regional at Maple Grove Raceway. Duane's starting line reaction time made the difference in the win as Coughlin had a slightly quicker run. The victory was Duane's first Lucas Oil Regional win of the year.

The PEAK Team qualified second in the Top Alcohol Dragster class with a stout 5.23 at 279 MPH and took on Dan Mercier in the first round. Unfortunately for Mercier, he was late getting out of the gate with an 0.115 light giving Duane full advantage with a quicker 0.063. At the top end, Duane took the stripe with a powerful 5.26 at 276 MPH to Mercier's decent 5.33 at 278 MPH.

In the semis, Duane faced Earl Nichols. Once again, Duane left on his opponent with an 0.052 reaction time to Nichols' 0.062. Duane maintained the lead and took the round win with a sizzling 5.30 at 276 MPH to Nichols' valiant 5.43 at 247 MPH.

In the finals, Duane created an impressive hole shot win over Troy Coughlin Jr. At the hit, Duane rang up a .051 to Coughlin's .081 to get the starting line advantage. Both cars were side by side down Broadway with Duane taking a narrow victory with a 5.205 to Coughlin's quicker 5.203. "It was a tight match up in the final as Coughlin outran us when racing his opponents in the previous rounds. We knew we would have to step it up in the finals to win and we did. It also helped that I was having a good driving weekend" Duane said.

The PEAK Team could not have picked a better regional event to win at than Maple Grove Raceway. "It was a lot of fun because there is a great group of people who live in the area that follow us throughout the year. We enjoyed winning the race and getting them in the winner's circle with us" Duane mentioned.

This week, the team rolls into Chicago for the combination Route 66 Nationals and the Jegs AllStar race. "It's always good to get a win right before the Allstar race. But first we are looking forward to visiting Old World Industries which is the headquarters for PEAK. There will be a car show and we will get a chance to meet the employees while we are there" Duane said.

The team would like to thank PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK Spark Plugs, GRP Connecting Rods, Brad Anderson Enterprises, Hot Wheels Car Care Products, SRI and Clean Boost for their support.