Photo Courtesy of Pro Sportsman Association
Las Vegas, NV - The final round of the Vegas Regional has been delayed. Not the greatest of news to Chris Demke and Jim Whiteley. The two racers were paired up in the Top Alcohol Dragster final, but an errant piece of paper had other ideas. Just as the cars were approaching the finish line, something disturbed the timing lights. So the race was put on hold until the third round of qualifying at the SummitRacing.com NHRA National event this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Chris Demke and his Peen Rite/801 Racing Dragster qualified in the #2 slot and were matched up against Garrett Bateman in the first round. Bateman got the starting line advantage, but a best run of the weekend 5.323/269.73 gave Demke the win. The round victory also garnered Demke enough points to earn the chance to represent Division 7 at the Jeg's All-Star event in Chicago.
In the second round, Joey Severance took a shot at the tree but lost to Demke and tire smoke. The Peen Rite Dragster boogied down the strip to a consistent 5.357 at 269.73. It was on to the finals and Whiteley.
The finals can be described as being a bit different than the normal drag race. Chris Demke spoke with NHRA Field Marketing and Drag Race Central summed it up this way:
"I saw my win-light come on," Demke said. "Jim and I rolled around the corner, he came over to congratulate me, and I was just wrapping up my parachutes when somebody came up on a scooter and asked both of us who we thought had won. I said, 'I did - I never saw him.' But Jim never saw me either. It was close."
Whiteley and Demke left almost simultaneously in the final, with Demke in the lead, .030 to .040, and then both drivers went into shake in low gear and slowed to their worst runs all day. "All the numbers to the 1,000-foot mark were accurate," Demke said. "and for me to lose, I would have had to have had an .854 split from the 1,000-foot mark to the finish line, and I don't think it did. I thought the motor might have hurt itself right at the end, but looking at the G-meter after the run, it didn't. Jim ran a 5.40 and, looking at our computer, I think I ran about a 5.39, so I should have gotten there first by 15- to 20-thousandths of a second. But I don't expect NHRA to use what's on my computer to declare me the winner, so we'll just have to try again next weekend."
Waiting a few days to determine the winner of a race is not fun, but Chris Demke is optimistic. "Circumstances are what they are," added Demke. The circumstances may be set, but the outcome will be decided, sooner or later. Later being not soon enough for Demke.
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