Pomona CA - After fourteen years of trying, Duane Shields' bid to win the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster World Championship was accomplished in dramatic fashion at the NHRA Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals. "After fourteen years of trying it feels pretty awesome but it still hasn't sunk in." the newly crowned Champion said.
The drama unfolded in Pomona as only one competitor, Joey Severance, could pass Duane at the final race of the year to win the championship but he would have to win the race in order to do it. Duane could not claim any more points so all he could do is to draw Severance sometime in eliminations and take him out of competition but the two never met up during eliminations.
Severance struggled in qualifying but made the show and beat John Finke in round one as Finke jumped gun and left early. Duane would now have to wait until the final day of the 2011 season to be crowned the Champion. Also in round one, Duane faced Michael Manners driving the "Shredder" entry from Texas. Duane won the round with a 5.42 at 267 MPH over Manners' 6.19 at 253 MPH. "Going to the wire is great for the cameras, the media and the fans but it's terrible for the racers" Duane remarked.
In round two all eyes were on Severance to see if he would stay alive for another round. Severance would make his best run of the weekend but lost the race to Mark Taliaferro. At that moment the Shortline Express team had won their first World Championship. After a very brief celebration at the starting line it was back to business as Duane then faced Aaron Tatum. Tatum then red lit giving the win to Duane who recorded a 5.43 at 264 MPH to advance to the semifinal round.
Duane would end his Championship season in the semifinals by losing an incredibly close race to Ray Martin as both competitors ran identical 5.46 ET's. Martin managed to secure the win with a better reaction time. "We never really got a handle on the tune up this weekend. Testing in Vegas hurt us but we will get everything sorted out in the offseason and come back to Pomona to defend our title and make another run at the Championship" Shields promised.
With Duane out of competition he had some time to reflect on the winning the Championship. "I have realized how hard it is to win the Championship as everything has to go right and we're the last team win it under the old points system. I am disappointed that my biggest supporters including my dad, Lee Shields, and Laurie Nason are no longer with us to enjoy this moment but they are watching from above".
Duane Shields would like to thank his sponsors including: Brad Anderson Enterprise, Hussey Copper, Johnny Walker RV, Meadows Construction, Molinari Clutches, Moore Performance, NGK Spark Plugs, PBM/Erson Cams and Race Fuel Energy Drinks. He also wants to thank his crew including: Bill Jones, Dana and Sheryl Hopewell, Ralph Freeman and Chris Zedaker.
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