NORWALK, Ohio (July 1, 2015) – NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster driver Chris Demke has some unfinished business to settle when he gets to Summit Motorsports Park for the 9th Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals this weekend. The California native is scheduled to complete the final round from the Chicago regional race during qualifying for the Norwalk national event, adding another level of excitement to the Fourth of July weekend.
Back at Route 66 Raceway's NHRA North Central region event in June, Demke qualified the Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products dragster in the No. 2 spot before scoring round wins over John Paul Gutierrez and Jake Sanders. He'll face Mia Tedesco in the Hirata family's A/Fuel dragster in the final round, set to take place during the third qualifying session at the Summit Nationals.
“From a tune-up perspective, we'll just need to find our race tune-up quicker,” Demke said of the impact on the team's qualifying strategy. “We don't get as much of a chance to experiment or try anything crazy. From a driver's perspective, I don't get three qualifiers. That just means I have to be race-ready sooner. We've had to do this before, and our team knows how to work through the situation.”
Once Demke and the Maddern Racing team get past qualifying and the Chicago final round, their focus will shift to eliminations at Norwalk, a race known for a spectacular fan turnout, patriotic fireworks displays and, of course, the $1-per-pound ice cream.
“We're going to Norwalk not just because we want to get ready for the Allstars weekend in Chicago, but who wouldn't want to go racing in Norwalk, Ohio? The Bader family, the track owners, put on a great show and we're excited to be a part of that program. Our real goal is to earn that silver ice cream scoop,” Demked added.
Also chasing the coveted Norwalk ice cream scoop and NHRA Wally will be a field of over twenty other Top Alcohol Dragster competitors, many of whom Demke and team will see at the Route 66 Nationals and JEGS Allstars race in Chicago next weekend. “Looking at the entry list, it's a tough group of cars that we'll be competing against. There's no one there that we can take lightly.”
Even though he's one of the veteran drivers in the class, Demke has only raced at the rural Ohio track once. He went to the semifinals at this race last year and wrapped up his Ohio trip with a win at the National Trails Raceway regional event just a couple hours south in Columbus.
“This race was a challenge last year, but we learned a lot about our tune-up and what it takes to be consistently quick in the Midwest's summer conditions. We were able to take advantage of that knowledge through the rest of the season, and we plan to continue that this weekend.”
Chris Demke and the Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products blown alcohol dragster will take to the track for qualifying at the 9th Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, July 3-5, on Friday at noon and 3 PM. The Top Alcohol Dragsters will be back for a final qualifying session at noon on Saturday before first round of eliminations at 3 PM. Eliminations continue on Sunday and will air on ESPN2 on Sunday, July 12th at 1 PM ET.
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/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., Boost Performance Products, B-G Detection, Afco, LA X-Ray, Hoosier Racing Tires, and Morningwood Energy Drink.
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