Shelly Howard Indianapolis summary

Howard suffers tough loss in round one.

CLERMONT, Ind. - Competing in what was the quickest field in the history of the class, NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster driver Shelly Howard lost in round one of this past weekend's Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Howard qualified eighth in the tough field and was defeated by eventual runner-up and current points leader Duane Shields.

Howard, from Tulsa, Okla., ran a 5.478 second elapsed time at 256.84 mph in her Tom Conway tuned machine to secure the eighth spot in the quickest field in history that featured a 5.525 bump held by the No. 16 qualifier Jeff Bohr. In round one, Howard took a .449 to .478 holeshot, but could not hold off Shields' 5.459 at 259.96 mph with her own 5.538 at 254.62 mph.

"It was just a real tough field this weekend," said Howard. "We had a tough draw in round one with Shields, and just came up short. No excuses, nobody to blame. That's drag racing and sometimes that is the way it happens. If nothing else, we qualified in the top half of the quickest field ever, which is a boost to the entire team even though we lost in round one."

The next event for the Howard team will be race five in the Division 4 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, La., Sept. 13-15. There the defending Division 4 Champ will be looking to hold her current points lead.

"We just have to put this weekend behind us and get ready for the next race," stated Howard. "At this point in the season we can't let a first round loss drag us down."

For more information on the Howard Racing Team, visit their website at ShellyHoward.com.

-shr-