PEAK Team Has a Solid Weekend in Pomona But Loses in Quarterfinals

PEAK Team Has a Solid Weekend in Pomona But Loses in Quarterfinals

POMONA, Calif. - Duane Shields and the PEAK A/Fuel Dragster team were looking to repeat the winning formula at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals which they had found on their last trip to Pomona in November. But sadly they came up a little short on this trip. Overall, it was a good weekend for the PEAK team which ended in a very close race in the quarterfinals on Sunday. “It was a good start to the season but we ended up on the losing end of the tightest race of the weekend,” Duane mentioned.


At the start of qualifying on Thursday, Duane ripped off a 5.41 at 257 MPH right out of the box to qualify in the 6th position. But the PEAK Dragster eventually dropped to 13th by the conclusion of qualifying. This would match him up in the first round with local firefighter, Johnny Ahten, who qualified 4th with a 5.29.


As the start of eliminations rolled around on Saturday afternoon, the fans were about to see a showdown between two of the quickest A/Fuel Dragsters from the Southwest. When the lights came down, both cars left the starting line at nearly the same time with Ahten getting a slight advantage with a .040 to Duane’s .048. Duane quickly took over the lead as Ahten dropped some cylinders down track. At the finish line it was clearly a PEAK victory as Duane stopped the clock with a sizzling 5.26 at 271 MPH to Ahten’s 5.38 at 261 MPH. While that was Duane’s quickest pass of the weekend, he wasn’t surprised by the great performance. “I told someone before the first round that the car would run a 5.27 and it ran a 5.26 with a 9. But the car still shook a little bit on the run,” Duane said.

In the quarterfinals the PEAK team, faced another tough customer in Oregon’s Joey Severance. Severance who utilizes a blown alcohol combination, qualified fifth with a 5.29. At the hit it was Severance out first with a .030 to Duane’s.045. Both cars were side-by-side all the way down the track and ran nearly identical ET’s with Severance getting the win light. Severance recorded a 5.355 at 269 MPH to Duane’s valiant 5.356 at 267.64 MPH. “It’s always tough losing a close race like this. After the car shook in the first round, we tuned it down just a little bit and that may have been the difference,” Duane said after the race.


Next, the PEAK Team moves to the east coast for a regional event in Gainesville, Florida, February 20-22. “I'm hoping that we'll get a repeat win at our next regional event in Gainesville” Duane said. He then went on to thank Bryan Emrich and Brian Bohlander of Old World Industries for their support in Pomona. He also thanked PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil, Final Charge, Blue Def, NGK, GRP and Brad Anderson Enterprises for supporting the team in 2015.