PEAK Racer Duane Shields Goes to JEGS Allstars Final Round

PEAK Racer Duane Shields Goes to JEGS Allstars Final Round

Chicago - The Route 66 Nationals is a special stop on the tour for Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team because in conjunction with the nationals, a sportsman Allstar race is also included in the event. This year, Duane Shields represented the eastern region of the country. Also, Chicago is the headquarters for PEAK so there was a lot of special activities prior to the race at the Old World Industries headquarters. “It was good to see their headquarters. I had a great time with everyone there. They have a great group of employees,” Duane said.

JEGS ALL STAR RACE

In round one, Duane driving the beautiful blue and white PEAK dragster, took on Chase Copeland driving for drag racing legend Gene Snow. Duane took the win with a 5.42 at 261 MPH but dropped a cylinder at 1.5 seconds into the run.

In round two, Duane raced Midwest powerhouse Randy Meyer. Duane got by Meyer in a squeaker as both racers had nearly identical reaction times, but Duane got the edge off the line with an .061 to Meyer’s .063. At the finish line Duane posted a 5.35 at 271 MPH to Meyer’s close 5.36 at 269 MPH.

In the JEGS Allstar finals, Duane was matched up with Oregon’s Joey Severance who was representing the west. At the hit Severance was out first with an .049 to Duane’s .060. At the finish line it was Severance getting the victory with a 5.28 at 270 MPH to Duane’s 5.36 at 270 MPH. “I was happy to get in the final round but you go to the JEGS Allstars race to win it. We knew Joey would be tough to beat and sure enough he ran a 5.28 against us,” Duane said.

ROUTE 66 NATIONALS COMPETITION

In round one, Duane once again faced fellow JEGS Allstars finalist Joey Severance. At the start, Severance red-lit which gave the win to Duane, who made a great run and posted a fine 5.30 at 270 MPH for the win.

In the second round, Duane took on another Allstar, Randy Meyer. At the hit, Duane’s car shook violently. He then pedaled and the crank trigger broke from the vibration, which shut off the car. Meyer went on to grab the win with a 5.58 at 236 MPH. “We got greedy in round two and lost the second race we had against Randy. But the car ran good this weekend in front of PEAK’s home town crowd. In the past we haven’t run real well in Chicago and we ran much better this time so we’re happy,” Duane said.

Duane went on to thank Old World Industries for their hospitality this weekend. He also thanked PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting the team in 2015.