Thursday, April 03, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Shields aims for NHRA victory

Local Top Alcohol racer among field for big event at speedway

By JEFF WOLF
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Duane Shields won an NHRA regional championship last year and was second in the series' national Top Alcohol Dragster standings.

He won three regional events and two prestigious NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series titles last year.

But what he wants most is to become the first Las Vegan to win a national title on his home track.

Shields and his crew will be at Las Vegas Motor Speedway today double-checking every nut, bolt and Dzus fastener on his Top Alcohol Dragster in preparation for Friday's qualifying sessions in the premier categories of the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals.

Most of the 632 teams entered this weekend will be on the dragstrip today making qualifying passes. Shields will wait another day for his chance to test the track, along with other drivers in the two Top Alcohol classes and those in Top Fuel dragster, Nitro Funny Car and Pro Stock.

Perhaps no one is more optimistic than Shields.

"We want to win," he said emphatically. "We've got a new car, and we've been trying to master the tuneup on it. We're ready to do whatever it takes to win this weekend."

Shields was the quickest in his class at divisional races in Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., this year. But he hasn't advanced beyond the second round in three events this season.

"The new car reacts better, so we've been adjusting the tuneup," Shields said of work done by crew chief Jim Pebworth. "The tuneup for this car is different than what we used last year."

Shields remains the quickest (5.263 seconds) and fastest (269.13 mph) dragster running methanol and using a supercharger in the Top Alcohol Dragster category.

Shields plans to compete in 17 NHRA events this year, including the national event April 11 to 13 in Houston.

A victory this weekend will make the drive to Texas much more enjoyable.

• NOTES -- The ESPN Zone at New York-New York will have an NHRA autograph party tonight at 7.

Among the drivers expected to attend are: Tony Schumacher, Mark Pawuk, Rhonda Hartman-Smith, John Smith, Del Worsham, Jim Yates, Cruz Pedregon, Mark Whisnant, Greg Anderson, Johnny Gray, David Baca and Terry Haddock. ...

Two major accidents last week at Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson left one drag racer in critical condition and another dead.

During eliminations Sunday in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series divisional race, Larry Winter, 52, sustained head injuries after his dragster crashed into a guardwall past the finish line. The Super Eliminator driver from Garden Grove, Calif., was in critical condition Wednesday in the Tucson Medical Center.

On March 26, Don Rhyne of Damascus, Ore., crashed during a practice session and died a day later.