Madison Paynes Goes to Her First National Event Final

Dallas, Texas - Madison Payne took the Muscle Milk A/Fuel Dragster all the way to her first final round at the NHRA Texas Fallnationals. To get there she had to get through a tough field full of national championship contenders.

Madison qualified fifth with a stout 5.25 at 280 MPH out of 23 cars vying to get into a 16-car field.

In round one, Madison was matched up with Aaron Cooper. At the start, both cars left virtually at the same time With Cooper just a little quicker with a .084 to Madison's .085. At the finish line, it would be a close one with Madison coming out on top with a sizzling 5.23 at 280 MPH to Cooper's valiant 5.33 at an identical 280 MPH.

In round two, Madison faced Tom Fox Jr. At the hit it was Fox out first with a .086 to Madison's .093. It would be another close race to the finish line with Madison taking the stripe with a 5.27 at 279 MPH to Fox's 5.33 at 270 to advance to the semis.

For the semifinal round, Madison took on Matt Cummings in the always-potent Rich McPhillips car. This time Madison got out of the starting gate first with a .072 to Cummings' .079. Cummings then had traction problems and that was all it would take for Madison to cruise into her first national event final. Madison reached the finish line stripe with a 5.22 at 278 MPH over Cummings' 7.69 at just 110 MPH.

In the much-anticipated final round, it was Madison taking on Jasmine Salinas driving the Pep Boys entry. Salinas was out first with a .048 to Madison's .072. Both cars ran exceptionally well on a great side-by-side run but it would be Salinas claiming the Fall Nationals crown with a 5.25 at 280 MPH over Madison's close 5.26 at 278 MPH. Even with the loss Madison and car owner Duane Shields were very happy with the results. "Anytime you can go to the finals it's a good weekend. Madison did another great job driving and my guys worked hard getting the car turned around between rounds. We will go on to Vegas our home track with our heads held high and hopefully get a win there" Duane said.

Madison echoed Duane's excitement. "Any time you can race on Sunday it's a good weekend. The team did a great job preparing the car between runs. Duane has been trying a few different things at the last few races to make the car perform even better and this weekend it all came together and we nearly got the win" Madison said.

Next, the Muscle Milk team heads home to Las Vegas where they will compete at the Nevada Nationals in two weeks followed by a regional event. Duane and Madison would like to thank Muscle Milk, GRP Rods, Clean Boost, NGK Spark Plugs, and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support.