Shortline Express Team Competes in Jegs Allstars Race

Shortline Express Team Competes in Jegs Allstars Race

Chicago - It was hot and muggy in Chicago as Duane Shields and the Shortline Express team were looking for two wins on one big weekend. First, the Jegs Allstars title was up for grabs as well as the O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals title.

In the JEGS All Star race, the popular Boulder City, Nevada native qualified third with an impressive 5.36 at 267 MPH. In the first round, Duane Shields faced Jim Whiteley. As the christmas tree lights came down, Whiteley was out first with an 0.054 reaction time to Duane's 0.063. The Shortline Express dragster then smoked the tires and then tried to recover but Whiteley went on to take the win with a 5.38 at 265 MPH to Duane's 6.45 at 262 MPH. "The car ran great right out of the trailer. But we hopped it up some before the first round and it was a little too much as we smoked the tires" Shields said.

On Sunday morning NHRA's track prep had changed. Not knowing this, the Shortline crew backed down on the tune up since they had smoked the tires in the Jegs Allstars race on the previous day. In round one of the main event, the Shortline Express team took on Midwest A/Fuel hitter Dave Hirata. At the light, Hirata got out of the gate first with a 0.070 to Shields' 0.112. Hirata, managed to stay in front of the Shortline Express car and hang on for the win with a 5.55 at 254 MPH to Duane's 5.52 at 261 MPH. "We stuck the tires and didn't get enough wheel speed. We underestimated the track as well as our competitor and lost" Duane observed.

With Chicago's hot and muggy weather, Duane is glad to get back to the dry desert heat of Nevada. The team's next event is planned for Brainerd, Minnesota and hopefully it will be cooler when the race arrives in the northern region of the country. The Shortline Express team would like to thank NGK Spark Plugs and Hussey Copper for their support.