It started with motorcycle racing; then the sand drags on an injected front engine rail; and all the way to becoming a NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series High Alcohol Dragster Champion. Over decades of mastering a competitive edge, Duane Shields has done it all. He has no plans to retire from drag racing anytime soon, but a chapter closed last weekend at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, where the winner of many national events chased glory from the driver’s seat for the final time in a national event.
The first leg of Shields’ journey began when he purchased an alcohol dragster in 1996. He obtained his license through Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School and set to work, but patience proved to be the name of the game, as it took him a long time to fall into a groove with his new car and equipment. Shields’ first-round win came a year into his efforts, but then things started to click. He won his first national event in 1999 at the facility now known as Sonoma Raceway and kept it going.
In an exceptional and outstanding year in 2002, Shields won the nationals at Houston and Englishtown, and at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park he set the national lap time record for the fastest run ever by a liquor dragster, 5,263 at 269 mph. . Shields launched his career with a supercharged combination and switched to the A/Fuel variety in 2003. During his career, Shields achieved 23 national titles, 37 divisional/regional wins, multiple division championships and the national championship of Dragster Top Alcohol 2011. .
“You know, I’ve had a great time, but it’s time to get out of the driver’s seat,” said Shields, who is officially retired from driving but intends to remain active in the sport wearing two hats: the Shields Racing team. owner and also as crew chief overseeing the Muscle Milk Top Alcohol Dragster driven by Madison Payne. “The biggest thing that inspired me to make this decision is that I’m getting old and these cars hit me.”
After a first-round defeat in his last domestic outing, Shields was rightly a bit down, but he was also grateful for the opportunities his racing career had given him, and looked ahead to the possibility of what was to come for the next was for Shields Racing.
“When Madison was old enough to start driving the class, I watched her go through the process and watched her dedication and focus. Seeing her ability to do a great job out there made the decision easier for me,” he said. to say.
In early 2020, Shields and Payne began talking about driving the car in select events, with him licensing his Shields Racing Muscle Milk A/Fuel Dragster after the Las Vegas National event in October , marking a 5.351-second pass at 275.86 to do so. official
“I learned the [Top Alcohol] Duane’s dragster procedure, 100%,” Payne said. “It worked out really well because Duane is a very patient person, and he’s also the type of person who will prepare you by giving you everything that could possibly go wrong. I’ve already learned a lot from him.”
Shields and Payne have been successful as a team so far and look for more to come. Payne made his Top Alcohol Dragster debut with Shields as crew chief at the last NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway in May 2021, and won his first class trophy at the Phoenix Regional earlier of the following year. She was runner-up at the Dallas National later in 2022 and capped off the impressive season with a win at the fall race in Las Vegas over then-newcomer and the tour’s most recent winner, motorsports veteran Tony Stewart .
Shields is happy to continue spending time with family and friends at the drag strip and is confident he will find a sense of enjoyment out there, even with someone else behind the wheel.
“I’ve had a great career as a driver and I’ve achieved everything I wanted,” Shields said. “I’m happy to be out of the spotlight. I’m ready.”
