Recently, the Shortline Express team of Duane Shields found a new tune-up that they believe is
making their A/Fuel Dragster run better now than earlier in the season. After a national event win
in Reading Pennsylvania last week one has to believe they are on to something. A week later and
another win, this time at a Division 1 event at Cecil County Dragway, must have their opponents
concerned and Shields Racing fans excited.
Shields qualified in the sixth position for the tough eight car field with a solid 5.47 ET. The
team did experience a couple of malfunctions but got everything sorted out before the first round
of eliminations. "We smoked the tires in the second round of qualifying but we got the car toned
down before the first round" Shields said.
In round one, Shields would take on the likes of another west coast racer, Darren Nicholson, who
qualified third with a 5.40. As it turned out, Shields would score low ET of the round with a 5.34
to Nicholson's 5.41. Shields also got off the line first with a 0.039 reaction time against
Nicholson's close 0.041. "We felt good about the race as it was a nice smooth run. Darren smoked a
piston late into the run and I was able to get around him" Shields said.
Shields then advanced to the semi final round where he would again face Bill Evans whom he raced
the previous weekend in Reading. This time the end result would be the same with Shields coming out
on top. Shields again got out of the gate first against his opponent with a 0.041 reaction time to
Evans' 0.054. The race ended early however, as Evans shut off after he shook the tires. Shields
meanwhile had another picture perfect run as he again took low ET of the round with a 5.35 which
earned him another final round appearance and lane choice. "There was a lot on the line at this
race as we are both claiming Division Two points so we both stepped it up. But he broke loose and
was unable to recover" Shields recalled.
Shields' final round opponent would be Dan Mercier who had been running consistently well. This
time it would be the opponent, Mercier, who had the better reaction time with a 0.026 to Shields'
very close 0.028. Mercier led part of the way but began dropping cylinders. Meanwhile, Shields'
tires broke lose at 150 feet out and he had to pedal to straighten the car out. He then came on
like a freight train to get by Mercier with a 5.43 at 272 MPH to win the event. Mercier recorded a
5.58 at 227 MPH in a valiant try. "This race was like last week in Reading where we had weather
delays. But coming off this race with another win, I feel very good" Shields said after the race.
When asked about the US Nationals which will be held over the Labor Day weekend, Shields was
optimistic. I feel upbeat going into Indy, but Indy is Indy. You never know what can happen. We
have to bring our "A" game or go home early".
Along with sponsors Hussey Copper and NGK Spark Plus, Shields wants to thank Joe and Debbie Meadows
for housing the crew for the last three weeks and for providing the team a location to store their
racing operation between events.
