Photo courtesy of the Pro Sportsman Association/David Smith
Mohnton, PA – Chris Demke made it to the Top Alcohol Dragster final at Maple Grove Raceway and lost to Bill Reichert. That’s what the scoreboard said at the end of the day. It may be harsh, but the story of how they got there is a testament to the spirit of the crew of Maddern Racing and their fellow racers. Twice during the weekend there was a thrash to rebuild the car. Without the assistance of many strong-handed friends, the Maddern Racing Team would have been done for.
After qualifying in the second position, Demke was paired up against Karen Stalba in the first round. A stellar 5.263/269.73 dispatched of Stalba but past the finish line something went wrong. “What I felt wasn’t good,” said Demke. “When we got back to the pits we had a ton of work to do. Due to the weather, second round was the same day and time was tight. We would have never made it without the help from a couple of Top Alcohol Funny Car teams. The guys from the Pomponio TAFC Team and Micky Ferro’s Team all pitched in and we were able to make the call for the second round.”
The Peen Rite / OSI / 801 Racing Dragster responded to all the attention and produced a clean 5.268/272.06 run to get the win over Frank Schuster’s 5.446/262.59. The thundering 272.06 speed was top speed of the event and it was on to the semi-finals. Foul weather forced the cancellation of Sunday’s racing. Monday’s conditions saw a cool and tight racetrack begging for horsepower. The opportunity to go fast was on everyone’s mind. The car in the other lane was also a concern as the reigning champ Duane Shields was the Maddern Racing Team’s semifinals opponent. At the flash of the tree, Demke got the holeshot and Shields went up in tire smoke. The Maddern Racing Dragster was blasting down the race track until about half-track the blower let go. Demke crossed the finish line for the win with a 6.228/133.63 time and once again a broken racecar. Thrash number two was just about to begin. Crew Chief Jerry Maddern assembled the troops and Kevin Watson, Michael Demke, Ronald Mann, and clutchguy/tuner Adam Rhoades responded. They wheeled the car to the staging lanes for a sixth consecutive final round and a match up with number three in points Bill Reichert.
“It was like Candy Land out there,” added Demke. “The ambient temperature was forty-eight to fifty degrees. That produced an air density of around negative two-hundred feet. We all had high expectations.”
Demke did his job on the starting line and grabbed the lead. Things were looking great until the supercharger decided to celebrate early and do a little dance. The chutes came out and Reichert blasted by with a 5.286/268.12 pass to take the win. With that victory, Reichert moved up in the national point standings to the second slot.
With a string of fast times, winning rounds, and broken parts behind them, the Maddern Racing Team move on to the Vegas Regional race. After that, it’s a trip to the World Finals at Pomona
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We believe true happiness comes from blazing down the blacktop with the pedal to the metal and our hair on fire. The whiter our knuckles get, the better. If it were up to us, cars wouldn't even have brakes, just two gas pedals. It's this never-ending need for speed that drives everything we do. We spend countless hours in the lab and lying awake at night plotting and planning how to get more speed by any means possible. After decades of research and innovation, we've developed a complete line of performance and car care products designed to ensure that your ride lives up to its potential on the street and on the track. We know what you want. We got what you need. We are 801 Racing. For more information on 801 racing, please visit: www.801Racing.com
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