Shields Qualifies Low at Gatornationals

Duane Shields in the Muscle Milk A/Fuel Dragster took top qualifier honors at the COVID-delayed Amalie NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida. The popular Nevada driver dipped into the elite teens with a 5.19 at 279 MPH blast. "We were really happy to be the number one qualifier and we made that run in the heat. Most of the elite teams are here so we proved we can run with them regardless of the conditions" Duane said.

In round one, the Muscle Milk team took on local driver Cherissa Griffis-Smallwood. As the lights came down, it was Duane off the line first with a .100 to Smallwood's .218. Duane was off to the races and took an easy first-round win with a 5.24 at 277 MPH as Smallwood experienced traction problems and had to idle her car to the finish line.

In the quarterfinals, Duane faced Julie Nataas. At the hit, Nataas got the starting line advantage with a .068 to Duane's .098. Nataas was able to stay out in front and took a close win with a 5.30 at 274 MPH to Duane's 5.34 at 275 MPH. "The car had the same tune-up as the previous round but something changed as the car abruptly shook hard when it was smooth in the previous rounds. It was very disappointing because we would have had a bye run in the next round which would have eventually got us into the final round" Duane explained.

Next, the team moves onto Virginia for a Lucas Oil Drag Race Series event on October 2-4 where they will use the race as an opportunity to test and improve their consistency. Duane would like to thank Muscle Milk, NGK, SRI, GRP, CleanBoost, and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their help in 2020.