Demke Wins Tulsa Debut, Moves on to Denver's 'Thunder on the Mountain'

Courtesy of NVW Motorsports Promotion

MORRISON, CO (June 15, 2016) – After a physically demanding weekend in the Tulsa heat, Chris Demke and the Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products Top Alcohol Dragster team were able to add the first event win to their 2016 scorecard last weekend. Demke seeks to pick up another NHRA regional event Wally this weekend as the Maddern Racing team competes at Denver’s Bandimere Speedway for the first time in a decade.

Driving the team’s experimental “X-car”, Demke qualified number two at the NHRA Central Region event at Tulsa Raceway Park with a 5.330 elapsed time at 267 mph.

“We had the X-car out for its second race of the year and after two qualifying sessions on Friday, I thought we weren’t pushing that car as hard as it’s capable of running. While consistent, it wasn’t showing what we are capable of. Saturday morning, [car chief] Kevin Watson, [team owner] Jerry Maddern and I sat down and talked about where we were with things and formulated a strategy for the day and what tactics we would use to implement that strategy.”

A strong 5.346 at 268 mph was enough to defeat former Top Fuel driver Spencer Massey’s tire-smoking run in the steamy first round. Demke and his team knew it would take quicker performances to compete with the nitro-injected A/Fuel cars as the temperatures dropped for the later rounds.

“Going into second round, I was nervous about implementing the tactics we had discussed earlier, as it was time to get more aggressive with the tune-up. Kevin Watson stuck by his guns and the car responded by stepping up a good half a tenth,” Demke said of his 5.281 defeat of Mike Manners. “That gave us what we needed to win the second round. We turned the knobs a little harder going into the final and just squeezed one out by seven thousandths of a second against Gord Gingles, a very tough competitor.”

The Maddern Racing team has raced in a wide range of conditions, but Tulsa’s summer heat tried its hardest to handicap the 2014 world champions.

“The race in Tulsa was extremely challenging,” Demke stressed. “Not just from the perspective that we’d never been there before, but the temperatures, the heat index, the humidity, and the water grains were all in the ‘red zone’ on the meter. It brought the team to its knees, but the entire team stepped up to the challenge and persevered to do what it took to win the Wally.”

The Tulsa win was the team’s first under the tuning guidance of longtime car chief Kevin Watson, who took over the main tuning duties earlier this season.

“I have to hand it to Kevin. I can’t even begin to describe how proud I am and what a great job the guy is doing. It’s giving me great confidence in driving the car, too,” Demke noted.

Moving forward to this weekend’s “Thunder on the Mountain” NHRA Central Region event at Bandimere Speedway, the Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products team will face even more challenging conditions. The density altitude is expected to approach 10,000 feet. Furthermore, the team’s Denver data log’s most recent entry is from 2006.

“The biggest challenge is we haven’t raced there in 10 years. A lot has changed since then. Even though I have great records from 10 years ago, I don’t know that that information is still applicable. We’re just going to have to make some educated guesses on where to start with some of those tuning variables. We’re very capable and I have faith that we can at least make a decent showing,”

Included in that data log, though, is the 1999 NHRA national event at Denver, when Maddern Racing qualified number one, won the race, and set low et and the track record with Darren Nicholson driving. Demke realizes a much lower et will be required to even qualify this weekend.

“I think that track record run was like a 5.69. Since then, I think a good et there is in the 5.4-second range. Supercharger and cylinder head technologies have advanced significantly and we’re excited to see what our current pieces are capable of doing up on the mountain."

Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying at the Bandimere Speedway “Thunder on the Mountain” race kicks off with one session at 4 PM on Friday, June 17. Two more sessions are scheduled for 3:30 PM and 6:30 PM on Saturday, June 18. Eliminations kick off at noon 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, Maddern Racing Adding Tulsa to List of Tracks Raced

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

TULSA, Okla. (June 8, 2016) – Chris Demke and the Maddern Racing Top Alcohol Dragster team have raced across the country for over two decades, so it’s not often that the California team pulls into a track they’ve never raced at before. That’s the scenario this week, though, as Demke will compete at the NHRA Central Region event at Tulsa Raceway Park, June 9-12.

“We try to squeeze in a new track every year just to keep us on our toes. We’ve talked with other teams about Tulsa and it sounds like a great facility with a decent racing surface. I don’t think there’s anything different that we do at a new track other than try to enjoy it. It’s like taking a vacation to a place you’ve never been to before. There’s always some added fun and excitement to it,” said Demke, the 2014 TAD world champion.

On a somber note, Demke hopes to honor the memory of past Division 4 Top Alcohol Dragster champion Shelly Howard, who passed away in a freak racing accident at Tulsa along with her son, Brian, in 2005.

“I try to remember those who passed away while competing and I won’t forget that this is where Shelly Howard lost her life. It was a very tragic situation. She was a very talented blown alcohol dragster driver,” Demke added.

The Maddern Racing team will be short a couple hands this weekend, as crew member Greg Rice was originally scheduled to miss this race after undergoing knee surgery, but he might still be on-hand to support his teammates.

“Greg is a major asset to this team and it will be a challenge to fill in his place this weekend. He’ll try to make it out to the race to help guide the team as best he can as long as his doctor allows him,” noted Demke, who himself was a Maddern Racing crew member before getting the chance to drive.

Chris Demke and the Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products team will hit the track for Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying sessions at 5 and 8 PM on Friday, June 10. Eliminations are scheduled to begin Saturday at 4 PM and conclude at 10 PM.

“That type of a schedule is more of a challenge for us than it being a new track. Our team is more used to going to a regional event and getting one qualifying run on Friday, two on Saturday and eliminations on Sunday. Taking away a qualifying run introduces some new challenges and squeezing everything into two days really will test our abilities to get things done in a timely manner,” Demke concluded.

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.

Lawson Powers New RMR A/Fuel Dragster to Semis

Courtesy of Randy Meyer Racing

 

June 19, 2015 – Shayne Lawson was the first to compete in the Randy Meyer Racing Team’s brand new Top Alcohol Dragster, and piloted the Smart Chicken, Reasor’s dragster to the semi-finals at Tulsa Raceway Park for the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Central Regional event.

Built by Copeland Race Cars and Fabrication, the new A/Fuel Dragster was tested on Wednesday and Thursday of last week for the first time, and powered to the quarter-mile finish line in 5.41 seconds.

“It handles like a Cadillac,” said Shayne. “Chase built an outstanding race car.”

Shayne drove a best time of 5.51 seconds at 261 mph during qualifying to claim the 8th position out of 14 cars, while Randy Meyer piloted his Top Alcohol Dragster to claim the 2nd qualifying spot with a 5.36 ET at 269 mph.

With high temperatures close to 100°F, tuning the injected nitro cars were tricky, but Randy Meyer was able to tune the Smart Chicken, Reasor’s dragster to run a 5.43 ET at 257 mph for the first round win over the number one qualifier. Unfortunately, Randy had trouble with his car, and smoked the tires to lose round one of eliminations.

Moving onto second round, Shayne was up against Michael Manners. Shayne had a handle on the A/Fuel car and got off the starting line first, but soon had trouble as the tires went up in smoke and Shayne had to let off the throttle to abort the run.

“Randy Meyer and his team did an excellent job of putting the new car together and making me as comfortable as possible in it. I couldn’t ask for a better car or crew and owner. Thanks to Smart Chicken and Reasor’s for the support,” said Shayne.

“We are very proud of the results we saw this weekend from the new car,” said Randy Meyer. “We were hoping for a Randy Meyer Racing all final round like last year, but we will take what we got. The hot and rainy conditions were hard to tune around, but we were able to make the best of it to get to the semi-finals. We see promising results, and hope the momentum continues this year for Shayne and the new car from Copeland’s.”

Thank you to Smart Chicken, Reasor’s grocery store, and Meyer Truck Center for helping us this weekend.

We would like to thank our other Randy Meyer Racing partners: Lucas Oil, NGK Spark Plugs, GUNK, Quik-Latch Products, Boninfante, Taylor Cable, ARP, MAHLE Clevite, Hedman Hedders, Moroso, Good Year Tires.

Follow RMR at www.randymeyerracing.com and www.facebook.com/RandyMeyerRacing

 

Lawson wins RMR Matchup in Final Round at Tulsa

Courtesy of Randy Meyer Racing

June 24th 2014 – Randy Meyer Racing’s Top Alcohol Dragster drivers, Shayne Lawson and Chase Copeland, dominated the field at this weekend’s Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event held at Tulsa Raceway Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 20-22.

With 14 dragsters in the field, Shayne Lawson piloted Randy Meyer’s Smart Chicken injected nitro machine all the way to the top with a 5.28 E.T. at 269 MPH for the first qualifying session, and clenched his number one position with a quicker and faster 5.24 E.T. at over 270 MPH during the second qualifying session, also setting a new career-best time for Shayne.

The RMR Team’s other A/Fuel driver, Chase Copeland, was able to tune and drive the Rezner Race Trailers and Belzona Industrial Solutions Dragster to claim the 7th position with a 5.51 E.T. at 254 MPH and 5.41 E.T. at 264 MPH during qualifying.

Paired up against the 8th qualifier, Shayne defeated Gord Gingles for the first round of eliminations with a 5.30 E.T. at 269 MPH, and went onto beat Mark Taliaferro with a 5.31 E.T. at 271 MPH in second round. Chase won his first round matchup against the #2 qualifier, James Thompson, with a 5.45 E.T. at 266 MPH and defeated David Brounkowski in the semi-final round with a 5.47 E.T. at 265 MPH, pairing him up against Shayne for the third and final round of eliminations.

With both RMR A/Fuel Dragsters against each other in the final round for the first time, the teams did their best to make it a fair race. Shayne secured the team’s third win of the year and his second victory with the Randy Meyer Racing Team with a 5.28 E.T. at 272 MPH to Chase’s quickest pass of the event, a 5.39 E.T. at 265 MPH.

“It was an astonishing experience to have both cars race against each other in the final round, it’s a dream come true,” said Randy. “All the hard work that everyone involved with the Randy Meyer Racing Team has put in to the cars is paying off and we look forward to enjoying more success. It was a very rewarding weekend for the teams, and it was a dream to someday have both cars run each other in the final, I didn’t expect it to come this soon.”

“It was also exciting to see Chase improve with the performance of our other car, after getting off to a less than expected start. Chase and Clay have put many hours working outside of the race track with the car, and they are learning every step of the way.“

Shayne adds “It was pretty awesome winning two races in a row and on top of that, knowing that I have the opportunity to drive one of the best A/Fuel cars in the country. I would like to give a special thanks to Randy for the opportunity he has given me and his great crew guys, as well as Smart Chicken and Reasor’s for the great support.”

The next race for the Randy Meyer Racing Team will be this upcoming weekend at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois for the NHRA Mello Yello event. This race is also home of the Jegs AllStars race, which Randy will be racing his Top Alcohol Dragster to represent the Central Region.

Randy Meyer Racing would like to thank their sponsors for their support and dedication to the team: Lucas Oil, Smart Chicken, Reasor’s, Aeromotive Fuel Systems, NGK Spark Plugs, MOTOR MEDIC, Quik-Latch Products, Boninfante, Taylor Cable, Aeroquip Performance, Belzona Industrial Solutions, Rezner trailers, ARP, Copeland Race Cars, MAHLE Clevite, Hedman Hedders, and Moroso.

Make sure to follow the Randy Meyer Racing Team on Facebook (/RandyMeyerRacing) for the latest news and track updates.

Whiteley Reaches 3rd Final of 2014 and 3rd in a Row at Tulsa

Courtesy of YNot Racing

Defending event champ Annie Whiteley, who had never lost a round at Tulsa Raceway Park in her Top Alcohol Funny Car career, dropped a close final to fellow championship contender Dale Brand, 5.61 to 5.62. Whiteley, who wheeled the YNot Racing/J&A Service Mustang to victory at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series regional here in both 2012 and 2013, ran quicker than anyone had to that point, but Brand outran her by a scant hundredth of a second with low e.t. of the meet, 5.61. Both hit the finish line at 255 mph.

"Dale's always good on the lights," Whiteley said. "He got ahead early, and we stayed pretty much the same distance apart all the way to the finish line."

Whiteley and Brand were locked together in qualifying, too, earning the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, with matching 5.62s at 257 mph side by side in the final pair of last-shot qualifying. Whiteley was slightly quicker, 5.620 to 5.628, and Brand slightly faster, 257.38 mph to 257.14.

In the opening round, Whiteley got the best of an all-female matchup with No. 6 qualifier Nancy Matter, who was back in competition for the first time in more than five years. She clicked it a hair early and still won comfortably, 5.69, 249 to Matter's shutoff 7.78 at 120 mph.

"The car drove toward the centerline and wouldn't come back," Whiteley said. "One tire was spinning and the other was still in the groove, and I couldn't get it back in the center of the lane no matter what I did. I don't know how close I got to the centerline, but it was close – I was actually afraid I might have crossed it."

Whiteley followed with a strong 5.68 on a semifinal single earned by being the No. 1 qualifier in a short field, but Brand gained the upper hand for the final with a slightly quicker 5.65 in his semifinal win over third-ranked Shane Westerfield. In the final, Brand was four-thousandths of a second quicker to the 60-foot mark, two-thousandths and 0.34 mph faster at half-track, and 12-thousandths quicker at the 1,000-foot mark, and for the second time six days Whiteley came out on the wrong end of a classic final. Last week in Denver, she was nipped by Clint Thompson, 5.78 to 5.78.

Next up for the YNot/J&A Service team is the Route 66 Nationals in Chicago, where last year Whiteley earned her first national event title, followed by the Summit Racing Nationals a week later in Norwalk, Ohio.

Whiteley's Sweep Tulsa - Again

Courtesy of YNot Racing
Photos courtesy of Robert Grice

Jim and Annie Whiteley dominated the Lucas Oil Series race at Tulsa for the second year in a row, Jim in Top Alcohol Dragster, and Annie in Top Alcohol Funny Car. Jim won for the fourth time this season and the second week in a row, including Denver, and Annie remains undefeated at the Tulsa track and now has a lifetime record of 22-4 in regional competition.

"Those were tough, tough conditions," said Jim, whose third regional victory of the season (including Las Vegas and Denver) gives him a perfect score on that side of the ledger – 255 points. "100 degrees makes for some pretty miserable weather to race in, but all the guys on both teams worked their butts off and we got it done."

Whiteley qualified No. 1 with a 5.38 and set low e.t. with a 5.37 but may have left a little on the table. "We ran a 5.32 here last year, and we might have been able to run a little quicker this year than we did, but it wasn't worth the risk. When it's that hot, it's not hard to smoke the tires."

Whiteley drove his J&A Service/YNot Racing dragster to a 5.43 in the first round to cover David Brounkowski and a 5.37 in the semifinals opposite Randy Meyer in a rematch of last year's final. The final against Brandon Pierce was over early when Pierce smoked the tires immediately, leaving Whiteley to a long-gone 5.44.

Annie remained undefeated at Tulsa in her young Alcohol Funny Car career, qualifying No. 1 with a 5.66 that held up all weekend for low e.t. and cruising through the first two rounds of eliminations. Her 5.69 in the new Texas J&A Service Mustang, the only run in eliminations in the 5.60s, covered Bryan Brown in round one. She blew through the clutch in semifinals and slipped to a 5.78 but still got around Kirk Williams and entered the final against Scott McVey as a prohibitive favorite.

All appeared lost when Annie's car blew the tires off not far off the line, but when McVey's engine blew, she recovered to post a winning 6.17 at 241 mph. "I was just starting to push the clutch in, and thought, 'Oh, wait – he's not there,' " she said. "I've short-shifted my way out of shake before, but I've never won a round like that. The car was in second gear for a long time – I didn't think that shift-light was ever going to come on – and it seemed to take forever for the finish line to get there."

 

Whiteleys Complete Consecutive Tulsa Sweeps

Courtesy of Todd Veney/Pro Sportsman Association
Photos courtesy of Robert Grice

For the second year in a row, the husband-and-wife team of Jim and Annie Whiteley swept Top Alcohol honors at the Tulsa Lucas Oil Series event. Jim led the Top Alcohol Dragster contingent from wire to wire, and wife Annie overcame severe shake in the final round to outlast a tough Alcohol Funny Car class.

Jim's victory was his second in two weeks, including an equally dominant score in Denver. This time, he emerged victorious from a comprised almost entirely of A/Fuelers; of 10 cars in attendance, the only one other than Whiteley's with a blown-alcohol setup belonged to Mark Taliaferro, who only recently made the switch back from injected-nitro.

Whiteley, who set low e.t. here last year with a 5.32, ran .40s and high .30s under tougher conditions this time for a commanding lead in the national standings. "There probably was room to run better," he said, "but we had a lot of stuff backed down. Those were tough, tough conditions. When it's 100 degrees out, the track is only going to take so much."

Whiteley wheeled his J&A Service/YNot Racing dragster to the top spot in qualifying with a 5.38 and ran a best of 5.37 in eliminations, but a 5.44 in the final was more than enough to take out Brandon Pierce, who smoked the tires off the line in Gene Snow's dragster. Whiteley beat David Brounkowski in the opening round and established low e.t. of the meet with a 5.378 in the semifinals against Randy Meyer in a rematch of last year's Tulsa final.

One pair earlier, Pierce won an all-Brandon matchup with Brandon Lewis, 5.40 to 5.65, making his best run of the weekend and keeping himself within striking distance of Whiteley going into the final. Whiteley got the best of that one after a 45-minute delay caused by Scott McVey's blown engine in the Top Alcohol Funny Car final that cost him the title against Annie Whiteley, who was in trouble almost immediately.

 

Whiteley shook and smoked the tires off the line, lifted, and tromped back on the throttle for a 6.17 at 241 mph only after noticing that McVey wasn't driving away from her. "I was just starting to push the clutch in, and thought, 'Oh, wait – he's not there,' " she said. I was kind of caught off guard. We made three test runs before the race, then two qualifying runs, then the first two rounds of eliminations, and it went right down there every time until the final."

Whiteley qualified No. 1 with a 5.66, just a hundredth of a second ahead of early season points leader John Lombardo, who was upset by Lance Van Hauen in the first round, and ran a smooth 5.69 against Texan Bryan Brown in the first round and a soft 5.78 opposite defending Central Region champ Kirk Williams in the semi's. 

McVey was consistent through the first two rounds, with a 5.74 against Steve Burck and a 5.73 against Van Hauen, and appeared to have the final in hand until the engine let go. "I've never won a round like that," said Whiteley, who now has been to seven regional finals in the first year and a half of her career and has won all seven. "I've short-shifted my way out of shake before, but it was never like that. The car was in second gear for a long time – I didn't think that shift-light was ever going to come on – and it seemed to take forever for the finish line to get there, too."