Courtesy of Rich Bailey
Las Vegas - Duane Shields might have lost in the first round but he's still content with the results of the 11th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals. The Vegas event has narrowed down the Top Alcohol Dragster Championship to just Duane and Joey Severance, all other drivers in contention were mathematically eliminated by the end of the race.
Severance went out in the first round after breaking a rear end. Now, Severance will have to win the race in Pomona in order to win the title. Otherwise, Duane Shields will be crowned the Champion.
Duane qualified eighth with a 5.38 at 261 MPH. "We were happ with the third qualifying pass as the car started coming around." Shields said. His eighth qualifying position put him up against part time Top Fuel driver Scott Palmer who was piloting an A/Fuel Dragster for the weekend.
At the light, Palmer got a slight edge off of the starting line. Duane then suffered some tire shake 100 feet out and had to pedal giving Palmer the lead by two car lengths. The Shortline Express began to catch up to Palmer but ran out of real estate giving Palmer the win by about three feet. Palmer stopped the clock with a 5.47 at 247 MPH to Duane's close 5.52 at 263 MPH.
While Duane would have rather advanced to the final round, he is out of races he can claim but still leaves Las Vegas with the points lead. "Of course I was disappointed by the early loss but I'm keeping everything in prospective. Right now the focus is on the Championship and we still have the lead so it's going to come down to the wire at Pomona." Duane Shields said.
The Shortline Express team would like to thank Hussey Copper and NGK for their support this season.
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