Shields Goes to Third Final Round at the US Nationals

Shields Goes to Third Final Round at the US Nationals

Indianapolis - Duane Shields and the Shortline Express team went all the way to the final round of the prestigious Mac Tools NHRA US Nationals in the Top Alcohol Dragster class. The team has been to the finals at Indy twice before in 2002 and 2008, so nothing but a win would do this time around. Even though it was a very close race, Bill Reichert would come out on top so the Shortline Express team will have to wait another year to capture the elusive US Nationals title.

Duane qualified fifth with a 5.41 at 266 MPH and drew Brian Mans in the first round. Mans made a competitive run but Shields got a big advantage right out of the gate to grab the win with a 5.42 at 259 MPH to Mans' respectable 5.47 at 256 MPH. “Mans ran very well but we got a sizable lead right off the starting line which helped secure the win” Shields said.

In the second round, Duane took on Richard Bourke. At the light Bourke got off the line first with a .047 to Duane’s .104 but he was able to blast by Bourke courtesy of Dana Hopewell’s new found horsepower. Duane’s scored the win with low ET of the second round, a 5.27 at 275 MPH to Bourke’s close 5.34 at 264 MPH. “We made some changes and they worked. We won the race by just six thousandths” Duane explained.

Moving on to the the semifinals it would be a first time race between Duane Shields and Brandon Booher. As the lights came down it was Booher out of the gate first with a .033 to Duane’s 0.062. Booher stayed out in front of Shields until his engine let go allowing the Shortline Express car to get around him. At the stripe it would be Shields narrowly grabbing the win and going on to his third US Nationals final round. Shields recorded a 5.38 at 272 MPH to Booher’s close 5.42 at 253 MPH. In the finals, it would be another classic Shields vs. Reichert match up and a repeat of the 2008 US Nationals. At the light it was Reichert off the starting line first with an .039 to Duane‘s .094 to take the lead. At the finish line it was Reichert taking the victory with a 5.32 at 266 MPH to Duane’s close 5.36 at 271 MPH.

While Duane was disappointed with the outcome, he paid a complimented to his opponent. “Reichert did a good job driving today. We were looking for a 5.27 but didn’t get it. The car ran good all weekend but just not good enough to win” he said. The Shortline Express team would like to thanks their sponsors Hussey Copper and NGK Spark Plugs.