At the Route 66 Nationals in Chicago,
overdue Chris Demke picked up his first win of the season in Top Alcohol
Dragster, and Annie Whiteley prevailed at a national event for the first time
in her career in Top Alcohol Funny Car.
Demke led Rishi Kanick wire to wire in
the final for a 5.31 to 5.44 victory, his first in six 2013 finals, including
the Jegs Allstars race the previous day, which he lost by just 12-thousandths
of a second. "This kind of took the edge off the Allstars race," he
said. "And it really helps us in the points, too. Going to all those
finals and not winning makes you kind of give up on the points chase after a
while, but now it looks like we're right back in it."
National points leader Jim Whiteley was
upset by Matt Cummings in the first round, and perennial contender Bill
Reichert was the first alternate, joining a star-studded cast of non-qualifiers
that included Duane Shields, Randy Meyer, and John Finke, among others. Demke
ran a 5.32 against Aaron Olivarez in round one, a 5.30 against Marty Thacker in
round two, and a backpedaling 5.37 in
the semifinals opposite Topeka winner Alan Bradshaw, who set low e.t. and top
speed with a 5.22 at 273.11 mph.
Kanick, whose rookie season also
includes a runner-up at the 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, got around early
qualifying leader Dan Page, Chicago regional winner Brandon Booher, and
Cummings, who turned in the best effort of his career. He picked up from low 5.50s
in the middle rounds of eliminations to a 5.44 in the final but was well short
of Demke's steady 5.31.
"We were pretty consistent all
weekend," said Demke, who scored for the 10th time in his
career, all in the past four years. "The track was a little slippery about
100 feet out in the last few rounds, but we tuned around it for the final. When
you get to the final and lose, you did just as much work as the guy who beat
you, so it's a relief to finally get the job done."
Whiteley, who was winless in two
previous national event finals but undefeated in seven career finals in
regional competition, beat Fred Hagen Jr. for the Top Alcohol Funny Car title,
5.60 to a shutoff 5.96. "The first time I was in a national event final, last
year at Brainerd, it really hit me as I was backing up from the burnout,"
she said. "I was like, 'Oh my God, I'm in the final round of a national
event. That's Frank Manzo over there.' I had a bad light, short-shifted, and he
was way out in front of me all the way. I had the best seat in the house for
that one. This time was different. Fred was running better than we were, but I
just did my own thing, and it worked."
Whiteley beat Kris Hool, who
red-lighted, with a 5.56, her best run of the weekend, in round one. "I
didn't know he red-lighted – I never pay attention to that kind of stuff – and
I couldn't believe I was so far behind him," she said. She then ran 5.60-flat
three times in a row, against 2012 event runner-up Cassie Simonton, No. 1
qualifier Tony Bartone, and Hagen, to reach her third career national event final.
Hagen had the edge going into the final,
dominating eliminations with a 5.53 against Wayne Butler in round one, a 5.52
(low e.t.) against Todd Veney in round two, and another 5.53 against Shane Westerfield in the
semifinals – all at 260 mph. His slowest run was better than any other driver's
best, but in the final, he was loose right from the hit.
"I don't know what happened,"
he said. "It didn't want to go straight from the time I left. It started
shaking really hard right at the top of low gear, when I was getting over by
the centerline. I probably should have shifted earlier, but I really didn't
want to because we'd been running so good. She was way out there, and I just
stayed with it over by the centerline until I could tell there was no way I was
going to get her."
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