JOLIET, Ill. (July 13, 2016) – Past JEGS Allstars Top Alcohol Dragster champion Chris Demke made the most of his last-minute trip to the Route 66 Nationals last weekend when he drove the Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products dragster to another JEGS Allstars win and semifinal finish in the Route 66 Nationals. The Maddern Racing team performed flawlessly in the Allstars race, then worked through traction issues to claim a late-round finish on the national level.
While most of the eight JEGS Allstars competitors earned their spot in the prestigious race, Demke was actually invited as the sixth alternate for the West Region.
“One of the cool things about the Allstars is it’s the best of the best who earned their way there, even though we didn’t earn our way there,” Demke laughed. “With the last-minute invitation to go and our decision to accept that invitation, it was awesome to actually make something of it.”
Demke qualified fifth for the Allstars race with a 5.362 at 273.88 mph, pairing him up with Gord Gingles, who he defeated in the final round at the Tulsa regional event in June. The Peen Rite machine stepped up to a 5.236 at 276.01 to defeat “The Bull” A/Fueler and qualify number two for the Route 66 Nationals.
“We pretty much took our results from qualifying and Kevin (Watson, car chief) came up with a tune-up for first round. Once we ripped off that 23, we knew we had our hot rod back. Next round was against Randy Meyer. You can never take Randy lightly. I had a little tire shake but still ran a 5.326, which was enough to get past Randy.”
The Maddern Racing team lined up against their blown alcohol rival, Joey Severance, for the final round, where Demke ran 5.264 at 272.34 to Severance’s 5.277 at 274.01. The 2016 JEGS Allstars trophy now joins Demke’s 2012 Allstars award in the trophy case.
“Our teams either fail miserably against each other or we run one of the best rounds of racing. This time it was a great final round. Things finally went our team’s way for the first time in a while against those guys,” Demke said.
As the focus shifted to Route 66 Nationals eliminations on Sunday morning, the team struggled to continue the consistency that carried them to the Allstars win. Demke first survived a wild pedalfest against Ken Perry, winning a 6.689-to-6.929 race.
“I wasn’t 100% in agreement with the tune-up. I thought it would take a quick pedal job to get the car down the track. I figured we’ll just go with it and see what happens. As it turned out, it took more than a quick pedal job to get the car to the finish line. The monkey earned his banana on that one,” added Demke, a three-time Route 66 Nationals champion.
The Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products dragster returned to the 5.2s with a 5.258 victory over Gord Gingles’ tire-smoking effort in the second round, but the semifinals would require a bit more effort.
“Once again, we were paired up with good ol’ Joey (Severance) in the semifinals. Like I said, our teams either do something stupid or make it a great race when we line up against each other. This time we both pulled off something stupid. In our case, it was absolute driver error. I goofy-footed it on the starting line and launched at a thousand rpms too high and smoked the tires. I pedaled it a couple times to recover, but by then I could see Joey motoring on down the track, so I let off the throttle and gave up. That’s very unlike me. I have a million excuses, but I was just tired. Next thing I knew, I saw his pipes go wet, meaning he had an engine problem. I got back on the throttle and tried to run him down, but he won by three tenths of a second.”
While filled with regret over the loss, Demke still noted the positives for the weekend. He also realizes there are plenty of opportunities left to win on the NHRA national event level this season.
“We ran a team-best et and speed for this track, which we’ve done at every race since Phoenix this year. That really says something about the group of guys we have making the calls and working on the car.
“I saved the second round of the JEGS and the first round of the national event, but I’m still beating myself up over that semifinal. I know I can do a better job. It’s going to be soon when the car’s consistency and the driver’s consistency come together to get that national event Wally that’s eluded us in 2016.”
Fox Sports will air their coverage of the JEGS Allstars and Route 66 Nationals on FS2 at 7 PM ET on Thursday, July 14. Ten additional replay dates are scheduled throughout July on FS1 and FS2.
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 Kevin Watson, Aimee Maddern, Mike Demke, Greg Rice, Robert Hadaller, and Ryan Miller. For more information on Chris Demke and Maddern Racing, please visit www.Facebook.com/MaddernRacing.
Maddern Racing receives support from the following companies: Peen Rite Inc., Boost Performance Products, B-G Detection, Afco, LA X-Ray, Hoosier Racing Tires, Motorsports Unlimited, VP Racing Fuels, and Morningwood Energy Drink.
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