Seat Time, Win Lights on Demke's Mind at Carolina Nationals

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion

CONCORD, NC (September 14, 2016) – Maddern Racing Top Alcohol Dragster driver Chris Demke enters this weekend’s NHRA Carolina Nationals as a past event champion, but he’s never actually hoisted a coveted “Wally” trophy at zMAX Dragway. Demke hopes to change that this weekend, though.

“I would love to add Charlotte to the list of racetracks where I’ve won. It’s one of Bruton Smith’s tracks, so it’s an awesome racing facility. It’s the only four-wide dragstrip in the world, and it’s in the heart of racing country. The fans in the Charlotte area are all about any kind of racing, and they love drag racing,” said Demke, who won the 2014 Charlotte event as part of a trifecta weekend during which Demke won the Carolina Nationals, Keystone Nationals, and the NHRA Lucas Oil Series national championship.

The 2016 NHRA Carolina Nationals, Sept. 16-18, is Demke’s second race back in the seat of his championship-winning Maddern Racing dragster after walking away from a violent crash in the team’s formerly experimental “X-car” at the Seattle regional race. With just a couple weeks between the crash and the prestigious U.S. Nationals across the country in Indianapolis, the Jerry Maddern and Kevin Watson-led team worked to prepare the second Peen Rite dragster for Indy. Demke qualified sixth with a 5.287 and bowed out in the second round.

While winning is always on the minds of the Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products team, Demke will spend this weekend focusing on the mental aspect of successfully pursuing race wins and a second national championship.

“After my crash in Seattle, getting back in the seat at Indy was challenging. The old saying about getting back on the horse really holds true. I would’ve liked to do better at Indy, but our team is very satisfied with our performance. In the end, it was my driving that failed us. The only thing that’s going to solve that is more laps. The sooner I get back in the seat, the sooner I get back to one hundred percent behind the wheel,” Demke claimed.

Chris Demke and the Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products Top Alcohol Dragster team will take to the zMAX Dragway quarter-mile for Friday’s qualifying sessions around 11:30 AM and 1:45 PM. A third and final qualifying session is scheduled for 10:30 AM on Satuday, followed by first round of eliminations at 5 PM. Eliminations will continue on Sunday.

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.

Demke Steers Peen Rite Dragster to Quarterfinal Finish at U.S. Nationals

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (September 6, 2016) – Top Alcohol Dragster veteran Chris Demke entered last weekend’s 62nd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals with a lot on his mind. Of course he was thinking about winning a second U.S. Nationals title, but he was also trying to shake a mental funk that he picked up after sustaining a dramatic crash at the Seattle regional race just weeks prior. As it turned out, it wouldn’t take long for the past world champion to move past the accident.

Driving Maddern Racing’s spare car, the same car he drove to the 2014 NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster world championship, Demke started off U.S. Nationals qualifying with another tense situation. He was already halfway down the Lucas Oil Raceway strip when he realized the steering wheel had become detached from the steering shaft upon launch. The Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products dragster was heading for the left retaining wall as it crossed the finish line at around 90 mph, but Demke took matters into his own hands.

“In my mind I was thinking, ‘I’m not ending my weekend like this.’ I grabbed the steering shaft with my hands and cranked it as hard as I could to the right. It felt like I steered it away from the wall, but more than likely the car moved over from the parachutes deploying automatically. Either way, the car remained in one piece to race another round,” Demke said with relief.

While the incident didn’t help in the performance department, it did allow Demke to move on from his jarring crash at Seattle.

“As crazy as it was, that run really helped me put the crash behind me. It was a test of how much I really wanted to race. I just had that thought of, “there’s no way I’m going to let this car hit a wall again.” What I went through in Seattle changed my mentality. Physically I was fine, but mentally I had some demons to deal with.”

The steering situation was promptly fixed by car chief Kevin Watson and the Maddern Racing crew, allowing Demke to pilot the Peen Rite rail to passes of 5.287, 5.324 and 5.303 to qualify eighth in the strong field.

“I really felt comfortable after qualifying. We knew we had a nice, consistent car going into eliminations. However, going into eliminations, especially being at Indy, I felt more butterflies than I did that first round of qualifying. I was extremely nervous, but Kevin got the tune-up right and we ran our low et of the weekend,” Demke recalled of his first-round win, 5.281 over David Brounkowski.

Demke’s time at the U.S. Nationals ended in the second round when the car and driver slowed when their opponent stepped up. Demke cut a .129 light and ran a respectable 5.345 alongside Midwest hitter Mia Tedesco, who ran 5.289 to move on.

“Unfortunately I just messed up on the starting line. After switching to the different car with different pedals, I was having trouble holding my staging rpms all weekend. The rpms dropped and I hurriedly rushed to bring the rpms back up. That distracted me and I had a bad light,” admitted the 2014 U.S. Nationals champion.

Despite the sour points of the weekend, Demke was upbeat about the team’s performance at the prestigious Labor Day race. He’ll have another chance to race for a Wally in a couple weeks at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, September 16-18, at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte.

“We did much better than we expected. I feel comfortable in the car again, but I think I still need some seat time before I’m back to where I was before the crash.”

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.

Seattle Crash Won't Keep Demke from Racing at NHRA U.S. Nationals

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (August 31, 2016) – Less than two weeks ago, Chris Demke was climbing out of his mangled Top Alcohol Dragster chassis after a high-speed crash during the second qualifying session at an NHRA West Region race in Seattle. The crash would’ve put some other teams out of commission for weeks, it not months, but the Maddern Racing team went right to work preparing their spare car for this weekend’s 62nd annual Chevrolet Performance NHRA U.S. Nationals.

Racing at Pacific Raceways’ regional event, Demke was qualified seventh going into the second qualifying session when he encountered traction issues, pedaled a few times, and smacked the wall around the eighth-mile mark. The car then shot sideways across the centerline and hit the right wall, eventually coming to a stop past the finish line.

“Having won the Seattle regional the last three years, this is absolutely not how I wanted things to happen. I’m upset with myself for the driver error and destroying a beautiful race car. I’m very thankful to have a team that can put what happened behind them and move on to the next race,” Demke stressed.

The Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products team would’ve worked to prepare their spare car going into any race, but the effort was supercharged due to the fact that their next planned race was the legendary U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Demke won the 60th anniversary edition of the prestigious event in 2014.

“The decision to go to Indy was made the afternoon after I crashed. The team rolled the broken chassis into the trailer and we all knew that if we were going to attempt to go to Indy, the decision had to be made that afternoon. We reviewed our options in a team meeting and the decision was made to make our best effort.”

Demke will roll into Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis with a very capable Uyehara chassis that previously carried the Californian driver to the 2014 NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster world championship and several race wins.

“Thanks to the Herculean efforts of Kevin Watson [car chief] and Jerry Maddern [team owner] and assistant Robert Hadaller, they pulled our other car out of storage and got her prepared in a very short period of time. We were prepared to go from Seattle to Indy. To change our plans and come all the way back to L.A., perform this work, and get the rig back on the road with a completely different car was nothing short of phenomenal.

“This car is the car I won the 2014 championship with and we used it through the Vegas national and regional earlier this year. We’re very familiar with this car and I’m very comfortable driving it; it’s not a huge change. Thankfully we took as little as possibly off of it when we put together this last car, but it was still a major task to get it ready for Indy,” Demke commented.

Fortunately, the Maddern Racing blown alcohol dragster was the only thing that was injured during the crash.

“The crash was violent as most crashes are, but all of the safety equipment worked flawlessly and I was able to walk away unscathed,” Demke recalled. “I had some tenderness, but nothing that a little Advil didn’t take care of. Honestly, I played some Ultimate Frisbee last week and I was sorer after that than I was after the crash.”

Chris Demke and the Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products dragster will take to the legendary Lucas Oil Raceway quartermile for the first two Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying session on Friday, September 2nd. Another two sessions will follow on Saturday morning. The first two rounds of eliminations will be contested on Sunday. The semifinals and final round will run on Labor Day, Monday, September 5th.

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.

Megan Meyer Becomes Quickest Female in NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster at Lucas Oil Nationals

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion

BRAINERD, MN (August 25, 2016) – NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster standout Megan Meyer added another impressive event performance to her rookie season scorecard last weekend when she qualified number one and reached the semifinals at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. She also became the quickest female in NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competition with a blistering 5.178 elapsed time during eliminations.

Meyer’s Racers Evolved A/Fuel dragster started off qualifying with a 5.539, then stepped up to the number two position with a 5.281 at 275.83 mph on Friday’s second run. With her father, Randy, making the tuning calls, Megan fired off a 5.195 at 276.41 mph to qualify number one for the second time in national event competition.

“Going into Brainerd, we had high hopes that the car would run quick due to the colder weather conditions and the fact that we have a great race car and crew with us. When we made the first qualifying pass, we were all a little bit disappointed because it was very slow and just felt really off going down the track. We made a few tuning adjustments going into the second session, and we were all hoping for a better turnout. When it flew down the track and ran the 5.19, we were all so excited to have ran that quick and reset my career best E.T.! Although we were thrilled to be the number one qualifier, that was not where we wanted to end up because of how the ladder was set up – we were aiming for the number two position,” revealed Meyer, who would have faced national points leader Joey Severance in the second round if she qualified in the second position.

Another 5.19 or even low 5.2-second run would’ve been more than enough to secure the first-round win, but the Randy Meyer Racing team isn’t one to settle for “good enough”. Meyer uncorked a 5.178 at 278 mph for an opening round win over the blown alcohol dragster of Dean Dubbin. The run gave Meyer the title of quickest female in Top Alcohol Dragster, the NHRA’s quickest and fastest Sportsman category. She followed it up with a 5.179 at a faster 279.85 on a bye run into the semifinals.

“When we pulled up to the starting line for the first round of eliminations, I was confident that we would run quick enough to get the win, even though we backed it down some on the tune-up. I was focused on getting the starting line advantage over Dean, and making it from A to B with no problems. I knew the car was flying when it screamed past the lights and I never saw Dean. I did not expect it to pick up and run a 5.17, but I'm ecstatic about it and couldn't be happier for my dad and our team. Our entire operation has proven to be incredibly successful this year, and I think having me in the driver’s seat and my dad making the tune-up adjustments works out perfectly for us. This is a huge accomplishment for our team and our sponsors, and it has always been one of my goals ever since I was a little girl to have a national record,” Meyer said.

Meyer was aiming for a decisive victory over past world champion Duane Shields in the semifinals, but her Racers Evolved dragster went into violent tire shake while Shields went on to record a 5.25 to move on.

“We're still unsure what caused it to shake,” Meyer admitted. “It shook hard early on in the run, and when I lifted off the throttle to calm it down, I didn't pedal it to try and chase down Duane. I was a little shaken up about it, but I was more upset about losing the race because we were doing so well.”

Overall, Meyer was pleased with her Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals debut. She recorded low elapsed time and top speed of the event, added 53 points to her second-place total in the national championship standings, and was able to spend time with local sponsor John Haley #1 Roofer LLC.

“We had a lot of great friends and fans visit us this weekend, and we had a lot of people from John Haley #1 Roofer LLC visit the track this weekend and cheer us on. We're grateful for our friendship and partnership with John Haley and hope everyone had a great time at the Lucas Oil Nationals.”

The next race for Megan Meyer and the Racers Evolved/Meyer Truck Center A/Fuel dragster is this weekend’s NHRA Lucas Oil Series North Central Region race at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

ABOUT MEGAN MEYER
No stranger to a life in the fast lane, Megan Meyer grew up around the sport of drag racing. In 2004, at just 10 years of age, she was given the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a Junior Dragster, alongside her younger sister, and took over the driving duties with no hesitations. Megan stepped up to the Super Comp class in 2010 after a successful career in the Junior Drag Racing League, earning two track championships. She is now making the transition to Top Alcohol Dragster with her father and veteran driver Randy Meyer as her mentor and driving coach. Follow Megan on Facebook (www.facebook.com/meganmeyer.racing), Twitter (www.twitter.com/meyersisters), and Instagram (www.instagram.com/meganmeyer.racing).

ABOUT RANDY MEYER RACING
A highly respected member of the NHRA Drag Racing family, Randy Meyer has had a successful career spanning over 35 years of drag racing as driver, team owner, and crew chief from AHRA Pro-Comp to IHRA Top Fuel and NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster. Focusing on the things that brought the team to existence has been the reason that Randy Meyer Racing has been so successful. In 2002 he handed the driving duties over to Gary Ormsby Jr. to become the first Top Alcohol Dragster to run in the teens with a solid 5.135 ET. The following year, Meyer tuned Alan Bradshaw to become the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster World Champion. Randy has returned to the driver’s seat since then, and has earned multiple Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Division 5 and Central Region points championships. For more information on Randy Meyer Racing, please visit www.RandyMeyerRacing.comand like RMR on Facebook (www.facebook.com/randymeyerracing).

Megan Meyer and the Randy Meyer Racing team receive support from the following companies: Meyer Truck Center, Lucas Oil, NGK Spark Plugs, GUNK, John Haley #1 Roofer, Herbalife Nutrition, Team Racepak, Copeland Fabrications, Aeromotive, Goodyear, ARP Bolts, MAHLE/Clevite, Litton Financial, Trinity Performance Wear, and Grinds Coffee Pouches.