Muscle Milk Team Rebounds with Semifinal Finish in Maple Grove

Reading PA - Duane Shields and the Muscle Milk team rebounded in Maple Grove Raceway with a strong performance by going to the semifinals at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil. Maple Grove Raceway is one of the Shields team's favorite stops on the NHRA tour because of their strong fan base in the local area. "We have many loyal fans that come to this race every year, and we get to enjoy catching up with them. The race didn't happen last year due to COVID-19 so we missed seeing everyone" Duane said.

Duane qualified well with a 5.24 at 272 MPH to put him 6th in the short 14 car field.

In round one, Duane was able to get around Earl Nichols in a close race where he won by only .002 of a second. Duane rang up a 5.33 at 278 MPH to Nichols' 5.37 at 268 MPH.

In the quarterfinals, Duane raced recent US Nationals Champion Jackie Fricke in a very competitive race. Both cars left the line together with Fricke having a slight .084 to a .086 reaction time advantage. Both cars were side by side all the way to the finish line with Duane getting the win with a 5.24 at 278 MPH to Frickie's 5.42 at 266 MPH.

In the semifinals, Duane took on east coast veteran Robin Samsel. Samsel got off the line first with a .041 to Shields' .081. Samsel who was having a career day with exceptional performances stopped the clock with a winning 5.17 at 278 MPH to Duane's valiant 5.25 at 278 MPH. "He has done quite well" Duane commented referring to Samsel who eventually won the event.

Duane would like to thank his sponsors Muscle Milk, NGK Spark Plugs, GRP Connecting Rods, Clean Boost, SRI, and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their support of Shield's Racing in 2021.