Demke Races to Las Vegas National Final Round, Moves on to Regional Event

LAS VEGAS (April 6, 2016) – Chris Demke is no stranger to racing defending NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster national champion Joey Severance. The two blown alcohol superstars have faced off countless times in one another’s recent championship battles, and already twice in final rounds this year. The most recent Demke-versus-Severance match race was the final round of the Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend.

Demke qualified his Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products dragster in the No. 2 position after laying down a 5.254 elapsed time, which was a career-best Las Vegas run for Demke. The run’s 272.45 MPH speed was also good for Top Speed of the event by the end of eliminations.

“That 5.25 was by far our career-best and goes along with what I expected for this tune-up based on how we performed at Phoenix in similar conditions. We were number one going into final qualifying until my Boost Performance Products teammate, Garrett Bateman, took it away from us,” Demke said of his qualifying effort.

Demke dipped into the 5.2s again in the first round when he defeated A/Fuel rookie Jndia Erbacher, daughter of European Top Fuel champion Urs Erbacher, with a 5.293. Another twenty was likely in the second round, but Demke had to pedal out of tire shake to run 5.300 to beat Shawn Cowie’s 5.386. Tire shake plagued the Maddern Racing entry again in the semifinals, though Demke was unopposed.

“Because of the way the ladder shakes out for an eleven-car field, the number one qualifier gets the bye run into the second round, but the number two qualifier gets the bye run in the semifinals. You just have to earn it by winning the first two rounds. We were able to take advantage of that,” Demke noted.

That free semifinal run sent Demke into the final round to face his rival.

“It’s a familiar place; a final round against Joey Severance. He had lane choice and was running very consistently. We knew if we could run near our qualifying time we would have a good chance, but tire shake got the best of me, I pedaled it and the blower belt came off. My hat’s off to Joey. Congratulations to him. He tried to give me another one like at Phoenix, but we weren’t able to capitalize. He dropped a cylinder at the hit and didn’t pick it up until about two seconds into the run, which is rare for an alcohol car,” Demke commented.

After a marginal start at the Winternationals, two consecutive final round appearances have Demke and his Peen Rite team confident in their abilities as they prepare for this weekend’s Lucas Oil Series regional event at The Strip.

“I have to hand it to my crew. They’re doing a great job. Kevin Watson is really taking charge of directing things and making decisions on the tune-up. We’re going rounds. For the last two races we’ve gone as many rounds as possible, we just haven’t been able to seal the deal in the final round. With the performance that we’re currently displaying, I’m confident another Wally is right around the corner.

“I’m very excited. We have the right ideas. We’re getting data and learning what this car needs to run fast in its current configuration. Who won this regional race last year? That would be the Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products dragster. We’re the defending champs, and I’m confident we can make a good run at the win again this year.”

Fox Sports 2 will air Sportsman coverage from the Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals on Thursday, April 7th at 9 PM ET.

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, 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.