Demke Wins Route 66 Nationals

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion
Photos courtesy of Mike Sopko and Maddern Racing

JOLIET, Ill. (July 2, 2013) After five final round appearances, Top Alcohol Dragster pilot Chris Demke and his Jerry Maddern-owned team were able to break through to earn their first race win of the 2013 season. In addition to winning the Route 66 Nationals, Demke reached the prestigious Jegs Allstars final round for the second year in a row.

Demke qualified No. 2 for the Allstars event, lining him up with East Region representative Dan Mercier first round. Chris ran 5.322 to move around Mercier. The first round run also counted as the Allstars competitors’ final qualifying session, so Demke’s 5.32 put him in the No. 4 spot going into national event eliminations. Semifinal opponent Randy Meyer was shut off just before launch, giving the Maddern Racing team a free run into the finals. Chris’ 5.31 gave him lane choice over Bill Reichert. Reichert pulled out his quickest run of the weekend (5.319), defeating Demke’s close 5.327.

“I was very nervous going into first round of the Jegs Allstars race. Though we qualified No. 2, we didn’t run as well as we would’ve liked. We stepped up through eliminations but my competition stepped up as well. We stayed aggressive but we didn’t want to beat ourselves. Going into the final, the air got better, the track got better, and the car just drove through the clutch which slowed the car down. We still ran 5.32, but you can’t give anything up when you’re racing Reichert. He showed why he’s a multi-time world champion,” said Demke.

Demke’s Peen Rite/Operational Solutions/801 Racing dragster continued to click off low 5.3 runs in the first and second rounds of eliminations for the Route 66 Nationals, defeating Aaron Olivarez and Marty Thacker. The car slowed to a 5.37 in the semifinals, but opponent Alan Bradshaw was unable to beat it. Tuner Adam Rhoades stepped up the performance for the finals, sending Chris on a 5.317/271 MPH pass to beat rookie Rishi Kanick, 5.44.

“As eliminations progressed, we were most concerned about Alan Bradshaw. Jim Whiteley lost in the first round and there were multiple top cars who didn’t qualify. Alan was running five-twenties consistently so we felt he was our biggest threat. We both struggled in the same spot but I was able to recover. Rishi hadn’t been running as well that day so we thought that we had a good chance at winning the race as long as we didn’t make any mistakes. We made some changes to make sure it didn’t shake and it worked. I saw my win light came on and I felt a range of emotions that I haven’t felt in a long time,” Chris said after winning his tenth national event.

After multiple odd parts problems left him winless through the first half of the season, Demke now feels that his team’s luck has turned around.

“We’ve been paying a lot to the luck bank, and I think some of it is finally coming back around to us. Alan beat me in the finals at Topeka when the blower snout broke. Rishi beat me in the semifinals at the Four-Wide Nationals when the car mysteriously dropped a cylinder at the hit, which doesn’t happen often in alcohol cars. You don’t want to expect to win, but I know we have the crew, car and parts that we need to win but we’ve struggled figuring out this new car. We learned a lot this weekend, and I think we’ll have a much better second half of the season.”

Chris and the Maddern Racing team will take the next weekend off to return to the west coast, where they’ll defend their win at the Woodburn regional, July 12-14 at Oregon’s Woodburn Dragstrip.

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.

 

Demke Defending Jegs Allstars Title at Route 66 Nationals

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion
Photo courtesy of David Smith/PSA

JOLIET, Ill. (June 26, 2013) – Just weeks after driving the Peen Rite/Operational Solutions/801 Racing Top Alcohol Dragster to a final round finish at Route 66 Raceway’s NHRA regional event, Chris Demke is returning to the Windy City this weekend to defend his title as the Jegs Allstars TAD champion. The veteran blown alcohol driver is setting his sights on taking both the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 Nationals Wally and the coveted Allstars trophy home to Southern California. To do that, Demke and his team are taking all of the steps necessary to make the weekend flow seamlessly.

“Rather than most of the crew showing up the day before the race, they’re showing up two days ahead of time to get everything in order for the weekend. We want to make sure everything is ready to go. It’s a busy race – to win everything, it takes two runs Friday, three runs Saturday, and four runs on Sunday,” said Demke, racing in his sixth Jegs Allstars competition.

Chris qualified No. 3 going into last year’s Allstars race before beating Karen Stalba, rival Jim Whiteley, and Randy Meyer to earn his first Allstars title. Demke reflected on the team’s accomplishments at the annual display of top-tier Sportsman racers.

“The highlight so far has been beating Jim Whiteley on a holeshot in the Allstars semifinals last year, then winning. Just to compete in the Allstars event is a highlight. Maddern Racing has qualified to compete at the Jegs Allstars seven times – once with Mike Austin driving. I remember when I first started racing, I thought it was some high achievement that I would never even qualify for, much less win it. It’s a great event and we’re proud to be a part of it this year,” Demke stated.

On top of the stout list of drivers qualified for the Allstars event, the national event itself has 24 cars entered, including top blown alcohol and A/Fuel Dragster teams from every region. For that reason, Chris is cautiously optimistic.

“I feel confident. I think we can keep up with the fastest guys there. Chicago is the center of the country and it’s the Jegs Allstars weekend, so you get the best racers from around the country showing up. All of the strong competitors are going to be there, so we need to be on our game.  It’s not going to be easy to repeat,” Chris said, adding, “There are two times I get nervous when I get in the car – the very first run of the first race of the season, and going into the Route 66 Nationals/Jegs Allstars weekend. It’s two races within one – it’s a tough one.”

As Chris mentioned, there are a maximum of nine runs included in the event – two qualifying runs on Friday, one on Saturday built into the three rounds of Jegs Allstars competition, and all four rounds of eliminations held on Sunday. The O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 Nationals are scheduled for June 28-30. The 29^th Annual Jegs Allstars race is held in conjunction with the event at Route 66 Raceway, Saturday, June 29^th.

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.

 

VIDEO: Strong Speed Numbers for Ahten in Famoso Testing

Courtesy of THR5 Communications
Photo and video courtesy of Costabile Productions

 

McFarland, CA. – Johnny Ahten loaded up the new Ahten Racing truck and trailer and headed to the historic Auto Club Famoso Raceway last weekend for some testing and to put on a show for the Saturday Night Nitro event. What the Island Renovations/CleanBoost-801Racing/Fireman’s Brew team left with was even better. Two runs with trap speeds of 266+ mph proved they are moving in the right direction, and they captured some exciting video in the process.

“Since this was not a regular race, we decided to outfit the Stump Puller with a few video cameras,” said Ahten. “A few turned into four, which lead to some great video. My video guy, Chuck Costabile of Costabile Productions, was able to sync them all together and create a four camera angle video that highlighted our 5.53@266.8 run. We have made some changes to the combination and it really showed, added Ahten.

That afternoon blast down the Famoso quarter mile was with a 145° track temp. The elapsed time was not where Johnny would like it to be, but the thinking in the Ahten camp is it needed more fuel. Crew Chief Al Ahten concurred, and for the next run they fattened it up a bit. It shook the tires at the hit and Johnny shut it down. Ahten added, “For the night session we made a few adjustments and ran another 266 mile per hour run with a 5.51 elapsed time.  The plan now is for a bit more compression and we might throw some more fuel at it.  The weekend was a great success, we got down a 145 degree track, and then shook when it got cold, adjusted and got down a cold track, very happy with that. All we need are few more adjustments to get back into the .30s. We were also working the kinks out on our new race rig. I had quite a list going of things we still need or didn’t bring. It was a bit nerve-racking to turn and look for something and it was not there. By the next race we will have everything in place,” concluded Ahten.  

The Stump Puller’s next planned outing is scheduled for the Seattle Pacific Raceways’ Northwest Nationals Aug. Aug. 2-4. By then, Johnny and the crew will have the tune-up in place, the new trailer sorted out, and the desire to blast down the track even faster. For now they will have to wait, but at least they have some great in-car video to enjoy.

 

Demke Reaches Fourth 2013 Final Round, Takes National Points Lead

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion
Photo courtesy of David Smith

JOLIET, Ill. (June 10, 2013) – Maddern Racing driver Chris Demke leaves the Burndown at Sundown NHRA regional event with the national points lead after reaching his fourth final round of the 2013 season. The Californian team lost in the finals to first-time winner Brandon Booher after setting the two quickest ETs of the race in prior rounds.

“The team and I certainly wanted to win. This is our fourth final this season and our fourth runner-up. We’re bound to win one soon. I might never win one again or I might win out the rest of the season. Either way, there’s no place I’d rather be than strapped in that race car, getting ready to make a run,” Demke said.

Demke only made two runs during qualifying, both plagued with tire shake. The first pass, a 5.387 at 269 MPH, put the Peen Rite/Operational Solutions/801 Racing dragster in the #2 spot. Chris was able to pedal through shake earlier on the Q2 run, resulting in a 5.361/271 MPH trip down the Route 66 Raceway quarter-mile. A minor parts failure found minutes prior to the final qualifying session forced the team to skip the run.

“We went up for the final run and saw Booher run 5.32, so I figured we would run a mid to low five-twenty if the tune-up worked. There was an issue with the air bottle when we turned it on, then the fitting broke when we went to change it out, so we had to abort the run. We thought we made a change in the right direction but we were unable to verify it then. We went into first round of eliminations with that same tune-up, confident enough that it was the right move,” Chris recalled.

That decision paid off, as Demke set low ET and top speed of the race to beat Jared Dreher in a 5.301 to 5.44 first round match-up. Chris was given the second round win when opponent Robin Samsel left too early. Demke went on to run 5.31 at 270 MPH. That run gave the Jerry Maddern-owned team lane choice going into the finals against Brandon Booher.

According to Chris, a parts swap after first round led the Peen Rite dragster to smoke the tires immediately in the finals.

“It banged the blower as I crossed the finish line first round because the throttle hung open.  It didn’t hurt the motor but the fuel return manifold was damaged. A check valve was changed in the process, also changing the pressure, which caused the car to be much more aggressive in staging and at the launch. It was on the ragged edge in the semifinals – we questioned why the car made it down the track. We tickled the fuel system slightly for the final round. It wasn’t enough, as it smoked the tires at the hit of the throttle,” Chris added. “I want to congratulate Brandon Booher on his first event win. They’re a great up and coming team and I’m sure they’ll have more success to follow.”

Chris tried to recover, but Booher was too far ahead. Demke ran 5.93 to Booher’s 5.38. Though he’s still left looking for his first event win of the season, Chris pointed out the positives of the weekend.

“The weekend wasn’t a complete failure. We learned a lot about the car and how it reacts to certain problems. We had over six hundred runs on the old car so we knew it inside and out. We now have just over forty runs on the current car so we’re still learning more about it every race and every run. We also got some good data that should help us at the Route 66 Nationals as well as with our Jegs Allstars title defense.”

Chris finished by offering well wishes to his mother, Dixie Maddern, one of the team’s strongest supporters. “We missed having my mom out at the track with us this weekend. She’s at home recuperating so hopefully she’ll be able to rejoin the team soon.”

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.

Demke Looking for Points and Redemption at Burndown at Sundown

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion
Photo courtesy of Steve Fuhrman

JOLIET, Ill. (June 6, 2013) – Top Alcohol Dragster driver Chris Demke enters the upcoming Burndown at Sundown NHRA regional event placed second in national points. A late-round finish this weekend could boost him to the top, ahead of blown alcohol rival Jim Whiteley. In addition to it being a points-earning race, Demke and the Maddern Racing team will use the opportunity to prepare for their Jegs Allstars title defense at the Route 66 Nationals at the end of June.

“It’s sort of a test session, but I’m not going to discount the importance of earning points for the regional event. We’ve struggled at regional events this year, so we want to add as many points as we can this weekend,” said Demke, who is fifth in West Region points after first round losses at the Firebird and Las Vegas regional events.

Past success at this event and facility has the excitable Demke even more enthused about racing his Peen Rite/Operational Solutions/801 Racing dragster at back-to-back events at Route 66 Raceway.

“I ran 5.26 during the last round of qualifying last year. The weather is supposed to be cool this weekend, so we hope to produce similar results. Furthermore, the track surface is always excellent at Route 66. We won the Jegs Allstars event in Top Alcohol Dragster at the Route 66 Nationals last year, so I’m confident in our data for this track,” Chris said.

With positive results also came not-so-positive results. An early exit at 2012’s Burndown at Sundown will be on Chris’ mind this weekend as he tries to avoid the mistake that cost him a shot at racing for the event title.

“We qualified #1 at this event last year but lost first round,” Chris recalls. “It was a combination of driver error and a tuned-down set-up. We got complacent with the competition. That’s not going to happen this year. We’re going to be aggressive in every round of competition.”

The Maddern Racing team will be racing with heavy hearts this weekend, as tuner Adam Rhoades lost his uncle Thursday morning before the event. Rhoades and the team are dedicating their efforts in his memory.

Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying begins at 4 PM on Friday, June 7 at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois. The final two sessions at 4 and 8 PM Saturday will kick off the Burndown at Sundown shows. Top Alcohol eliminations begin Sunday at noon.

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.