POMONA, Calif. (February 4) – Top Alcohol Dragster national championship runner-up Chris Demke enters the 2014 season with possibly the best championship chances he's ever had. The popular driver has a proven race car underneath him and his most formidable opponent is no longer competing in the TAD class.
Demke, who has been runner-up in the national championship for three of the last four years, started the 2013 season with a car that was new to his Maddern Racing team. The California-based group took their new car to ten finals, winning two of them. Now with a full season of experience with the car, Chris is extremely comfortable and confident in the Peen Rite entry.
“I personally really like the new car. I'm not a big guy so I had trouble seeing out of the old car. I was much more comfortable in the new car last year, and I had better visibility. I think the new car made me a better driver.
“Through the course of the year we tried many different things, and near the end of the season we really got a handle on the chassis. I'm really confident in the car heading into this season,” Demke said.
This year will be very different from the past few years, as Chris' rival, two-time national champion Jim Whiteley, will not be competing in the TAD class.
“We're all going to miss Jim to a degree. It's certainly one less very formidable competitor to deal with, but that doesn't discount the rest of the field. There are plenty of great teams out there that can definitely step up, especially with the rule changes that were handed down over the offseason. Many of the A/Fuel teams have the ability to step up and compete at Jim Whiteley's performance level. Jim leaving certainly doesn't make it any easier,” Chris claimed.
The Top Alcohol Dragster class will be contending with new rules this season, as Chris mentioned. Nitromethane-injected A/Fuel Dragsters are allowed an added percentage of nitromethane, as well as fuel chilled to ten degrees cooler than last year's minimum. The methanol-burning, supercharged entries will continue to work with the same rules as they did 2013.
Despite the many changes that took place over the winter, Chris Demke and his Jerry Maddern-owned team are excited about their chances this season.
“Between the rule changes and the new teams and alliances, we always have the results of the silly season going in to a new season,” Demke added. “It just remains to be seen what those changes hold for us. I'm always, as usual, very excited to get back on the track. I know my team's confidence level is at an all-time high. We feel very strongly about our championship potential, but at the same time we have to keep that in check, keep our noses down, and stay focused on running the best performance that we possibly can. I'll say one thing – we're not going to be conservative this year.”
The Peen Rite/OSI/Boost Performance Products team personnel remains the same with the exception of one crew member.
“We do have one crew member taking a year off, Mr. Ron Mann. We're sorry to lose his talent and capabilities this season. To take his place we've brought in a team friend, Robert Hadaller. Robert helped our team in the mid-nineties and he's been chomping at the bit to rejoin us. Other than that, the rest of the guys – Adam Rhoades, Kevin Watson, Mike Demke, and Greg Rice – are all ready to go.”
Maddern Racing is a family-owned and operated NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster team based in Southern California. The Chris Demke-driven Peen Rite/OSI/Boost Performance Products dragster is owned by Jerry Maddern and crewed by Adam Rhoades, Kevin Watson, Mike Demke, Greg Rice and Robert Hadaller. 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., Boost Performance Products, B-G Detection, Afco, and LA X-Ray.
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