Photo courtesy of Maddern Racing
TOPEKA, Kans. (May 20, 2013) – Maddern
Racing’s Chris Demke leaves Heartland Park Topeka second in national points
standings after qualifying second and reaching his third final round of the
year at last weekend’s Kansas Nationals. The California driver ultimately fell
to 2003 national champion Alan Bradshaw.
Demke held the number two spot
throughout qualifying, missing first by just two thousandths of a second. His
Peen Rite/Operational Solutions/801 Racing dragster consistently improved on
every qualifying pass, running 5.413, 5.411, and 5.398 consecutively. Humid
conditions made it tough for the supercharged entry to break into the mid to
low five-thirties.
“It was challenging. Great track
conditions but poor air made it harder for us to find the edge. The car never
shook the tires all weekend. While Adam was doing a great job, we just weren’t
making enough power to overpower the track. The car was consistent, but it
wasn’t really as fast as we thought we could make it go. It would’ve been
number one qualifier but parts failure on the last qualifying run prevented
that from happening,” Chris said.
The Jerry Maddern-owned car carried the
consistency into eliminations, first defeating Mike Manners, 5.44 to 5.57.
Performance picked up in the second round match-up with Aaron Olivarez, which
Demke won, 5.42 to 5.57. Tuner Adam Rhoades stepped it up for the semifinals,
sending Chris on a 5.38 pass to beat Canadian Gord Gingles and take low ET of
the event. The Peen Rite/Operational Solutions/801 Racing dragster was on pace
to run another 5.3 in the finals against Alan Bradshaw until the blower snout
broke off around half-track.
“The race was ours. We were feeling very
confident. The crew was doing a great job servicing it. We had to run the last
qualifying session and two rounds of eliminations with a motor swap before
first round. The guys were busy but they did a great job. The car was on rails
– no tire shake all weekend long – so it was painful when the blower snout broke
off in the final. We really wanted to get our first win of the year,” Demke
claimed.
Coming up short in the final was
particularly disheartening for Demke and his team of mechanics. The Topeka
final round was their third runner-up finish of the season and fourth career
final at Heartland Park Topeka.
“When you’re runner-up, you’re just the
last guy to lose,” Demke added. “You do every bit as much work as the team that
wins, but you end the day on a down note. Reaching the final round is a lot of
hard work, but it’s rewarded with adrenaline and satisfaction when you win. The
runner-up does the same amount of work as the winning team, but you don’t get
that satisfaction. Believe me; I’d rather runner-up than lose first round, but
the effort expended is significant.”
The fan-favorite driver is still
optimistic that his team will enjoy the rush of the winner’s circle again soon.
“We all know that we’ve got it figured
out now. I don’t want to jinx myself, but we really learned what this chassis
wants. We’re that much closer to getting our first win with it. Victory is just
around the corner.”
Maddern Racing, celebrating 20 years of
competition in 2013, is a family-owned and operated NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster
team based in Southern California. The Chris Demke-driven Peen Rite/OSI/801
Racing dragster is owned by Jerry Maddern and crewed by Adam Rhoades, Kevin
Watson, Mike Demke, and Ron Mann. For more information on Maddern Racing,
please visit www.MaddernRacing.com.
Maddern Racing receives support from the
following companies: Peen Rite Inc., Operational Solutions Inc., 801 Racing, A1
Technologies, Boninfante Friction Inc., and Hoosier Racing Tire.
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