Demke and Maddern Racing Repeat Pomona Success

Courtesy of THR5 Communications
Photo courtesy of Mike L. Cornelius

Pomona, CA. – Chris Demke saved the best for last in winning the Top Alcohol Dragster class at the NHRA finals. Having won the Winternationals at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Demke now has a complete set of bookends. The Maddern Racing driver drove his Peen Rite / OSI / 801 Racing Dragster to its quickest and fastest times of the year. Even more amazing is the fact that Demke won the event by defeating three world champions in a row.

“It’s still sinking in,” said Demke. “Even after a few days I still can’t believe we did it. My crew gave me a beast of a racecar that was consistent as a bracket car. We went through three Top Alcohol world champs to get the win, and we captured second place in the National Point to boot! ”

Demke qualified in the number two position after a Friday qualifying blast of 5.259/271.52. That matched him up with Randy Eakins in Saturday’s eliminations. Demke got the head start and won with a 5.279/270.27 to a tire smoking 6.958/142.61 by Eakins. Next up was the defending world champion Duane Shields. Demke once again got the head start and ripped off a 5.246/273.22 to shaking and pedaling 9.208/104.72 by Shields. The third round saw five-time world champion Bill Reichert in the other lane.  Demke’s holeshot and 5.244/274.11 was too much for Reichert’s 5.319/255.39. Now it was on to the finals and a match up with Jim Whiteley, who will be the 2012 world champion.  To make the task even more daunting, Whiteley threw down the quickest and fastest blown alcohol dragster run ever with a 5.178/277.43 in the semi-finals. 

As the sun began to set on the Pomona drag strip, Chris Demke was pushed to the line to face Whiteley. The World Finals trophy, a second place in national points, and a complete set of bookends was at stake. The lights flashed and the two blown alcohol warriors left the line. Demke was once again out first and streaked down the track with Whiteley in tow. At the finish, the Maddern Racing Dragster took the win with a best ever elapsed time and speed with a 5.236/274.00 to Whiteley’s 5.248 /275.84. Demke had left first and never trailed.

“Going into the finals I knew we had to come up with something special,” added Demke. “The night before, clutchguy/tuner Adam Rhoades and I took a stack of run books home with us and studied them along with our computer data. We were running quicker and faster every round, but for the finals the whole thing came together. We won this race because we are a team. Our Crew Chief Jerry Maddern along with Kevin Watson, Ronald Mann, Mike Garcia, Greg Rice, John Rogers and Adam Rhodes made this all possible. The support from our family, friends, and all the fans gave us the strength and the confidence to win.”

The 2012 NHRA racing season has ended as it began, with a Pomona victory for the Maddern Racing Team. The long season is now complete. Ending it in second place nationally with record setting victorys over three world champions is more than could ever be imagined. Bench Racing now will have to carry over the Peen Rite / OSI / 801 Racing Team. The story of the 2012 NHRA 48th annual Automobile Club of Southern California Finals is one to remember. For Chris Demke and Team Peen it was a magic moment in time they will never forget.  

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