TOPEKA, Kan. (August 20) – Top Alcohol Dragster star Chris Demke claimed his third regional event win of the season last weekend when he won the NHRA Lucas Oil Series West Region race at Pacific Raceways. Just weeks removed from reaching the finals at the O'Reilly NHRA Northwest Nationals, also at Seattle, Demke beat two northwest blown alcohol drivers and a fellow SoCal resident to win his third regional event in as many attempts. Now Chris and the Peen Rite team head east for two weeks of Midwest racing in Kansas and Indiana.
Demke qualified at the Seattle regional event in the No. 2 spot with a 5.273 at 273 MPH. He was a few thousandths of a second shy of repeating in the first round against Kim Parker, winning with a 5.278. A quick pedal was necessary to beat local hero Shawn Cowie in a 5.357 to 5.436 semifinal decision. Chris again had to pedal the Peen Rite entry in the final round but opponent Johnny Ahten, who ran 5.22 and 5.20 earlier in the weekend, smoked the tires. Demke took the win with a 5.348 elapsed time.
“Our car ran what I expected it would run during qualifying and the first round of eliminations, but we just missed the tune-up in the semis and final. It shook the tires and I can't say that I was ready for it. The car was running so well in the previous runs so the shake caught me off-guard and I didn't do the best driving job. I was impressed by the car's performance considering my driving during the final two rounds,” Chris said humbly.
The weekend was lucrative on the points front with Demke maintaining a healthy lead over Joey Severance in the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster national points standings. Severance, a noted Northwest-based driver, was racing at a national event in Brainerd, Minn.
“It was a good weekend for the points chase,” Demke concurred. “There was certainly a buzz in the pit when we heard that Joey went out second round at Brainerd. The crew was excited because we knew our run for the championship had gained some momentum.”
Demke and the Peen Rite/Operational Solutions/Boost Performance Products team continue their busy 2014 season this weekend as they add the Topeka regional event to their schedule. Riding along with them will be continued support from a two-year Maddern Racing sponsor.
“I renewed my relationship with associate sponsor Morningwood Energy Drink while we were in Seattle. The CEO came by during the race and gave us some cases to pass out to fans. The forecast for Topeka is calling for 100 degree days so fans are welcome to stop by and sample a Morningwood Energy Drink.
“The Topeka race isn't as important to national points as it is to regional points as we're maxed out with three regional wins towards the national championship. We're going to Topeka hoping that the weather will be similar to what we'll see at Indy, so we're treating this as a test session for the biggest race of the year, the U.S. Nationals. This is our first time racing at the Topeka regional, though we've had some success at the Topeka national event. Even though we're treating it as a test session I'm confident that we have the opportunity to do very well there,” Demke claimed.
The NHRA Lucas Oil Series Central Regional event at Heartland Park Topeka, August 22-23, begins on Friday with TAD qualifying at 5 and 7:30 PM. Eliminations start at 6 PM Saturday evening.
Maddern Racing is a family-owned and operated NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster team based in Southern California. The team's Chris Demke-driven Peen Rite/Operational Solutions/Boost Performance Products blown alcohol dragster is owned by Jerry Maddern and crewed by Adam Rhoades, Kevin Watson, Mike Demke, Greg Rice, and Robert Hadaller. For more information on Chris Demke and 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, LA X-Ray, and Morningwood Energy Drink.
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