Maddern Racing Wins NHRA 2010 Season Opener

Pomona, Calif – Jerry Maddern, Chris Demke and the crew of the Peen Rite Top Alcohol Dragster started the 2010 racing season in style, winning the 50th Anniversary Kragen O’Reilly NHRA WinterNationals at their home track in Pomona, California. While this was the 6th National event win for Jerry Maddern’s team, it was Demke’s 1st as driver for Maddern Racing.

“What a way to start the season!” exclaimed a jubilant Demke. “To win my first National Event at my home track where I can share the celebration with friends, family and fans is great! It just doesn’t get any better that this. I had been runner up eight times in the past 7 years. The monkey is finally off my back!”

“Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!!” trumpeted Kevin Watson, crewman for Maddern Racing. “I am so proud of our driver and the rest of the team. Chris did his job on the tree while the crew put together a solid race car that set the pace for the competition. We have worked very hard for this win. It couldn’t have happened at a better time or place than the Pomona WinterNationals”

The team got off to a rocky start in qualifying, losing their first two attempts to tire shake. The third round of qualifying saw the Peen Rite dragster run 5.32 at 267 mph, numbers much more representative of what Jerry Maddern’s race car is capable of. This put Demke in the number five qualifying position leading into Saturday afternoon’s first round of eliminations.

Maddern Racing’s ‘team car’, the LAD Automotive Top Alcohol Dragster owned and driven by Mike Austin from Medford, Oregon struggled in qualifying as well. “Maddern offered to put an experimental combo in my dragster for the 2010 season. How could I say no?” smiled Austin. Tire shake and ignition problems held Austin to a 5.58 at 254 mph qualifying effort, good for the number fourteen position.

The qualifying ladder paired Demke with Ashley Bart, racing out of Calgary, Alberta. Unfortunately for Bart her engine expired on the burnout and she was unable to make it back to the starting line. Demke ran 5.40 at 268 mph on a single pass. “I accidentally deep-staged on that run which slowed the E.T. a couple of hundredths” stated Demke.

Mike Austin came up against Johnny Ahten in the 1st round. Austin’s performance improved significantly, running 5.42 at 259mph. Unfortunately Austin lost on a hole-shot to Ahten’s slower 5.45. “I have no excuses” remarked Austin. “I’ve been out of the driver seat for 9 months so I am a bit rusty. However, Maddern made progress with this experimental combo this weekend. I’ll be ready for the competition at the next race!”

Racing continued on Sunday. The 2nd round of eliminations pitted Demke against the Norm Grimes tuned Top Alcohol dragster of Jim Whiteley from Grand Junction, Colorado. Both drivers left the starting line with equal reaction times of .026, but Jerry Maddern’s horsepower propelled the Peen Rite dragster to the finish line first, 5.32 to a 5.37. “We lost to Whiteley in the final round at this race last year, and we had not beaten a Norm Grimes tuned race car since the semi-finals at Indy in ’98. That round win was HUGE!” stated crewman Mike Demke.

In the 3rd round of eliminations Demke matched up with Shawn Cowie of Delta, British Columbia. “Cowie’s crew chief, Bill Moore, is a sharp one” explained Demke. “They finished 4th in National Points last year. We never take them lightly!” Demke left the line first and never looked back, running a stellar 5.30 at 268 mph in the heat of the day.

The final round put Demke up against one of the best from the Pacific Northwest division, Joey Severance of Woodburn, Oregon. Demke explained “Based on the previous round E.T.’s the Peen Rite dragster had about a tenth of a second performance advantage over Joey’s dragster. But Severance is one of the best drivers in the class, and I knew he could make up that difference in reaction time and potentially pull off the hole-shot win.” Demke was on his game however, pulling off a psychic .009 reaction time and ran 5.33 at 269mph for his first National Event win.

“Winning is always fun” stated Jerry Maddern, owner and crew chief of the Peen Rite Top Alcohol Dragster. “And we just won the WinterNationals!” The team celebrated their victory with the crowd as they drove down the return road to pick Demke up from shutdown area.

This event will be the last with Adam Rhoades performing clutch maintenance on the race car. “I’ve moved to Indy to help Doug Foley with his Top Fuel operation. I had a great time with Maddern and the gang. It’s great to end my service with the team with this special win!” Adam plans to help out Maddern Racing whenever he is available, fulfilling his role as ‘Drag Racing Consultant’.

The NHRA Full Throttle National Event circuit moves to Phoenix the weekend of February 19-21, but Top Alcohol Dragster does not compete at this event. The team plans to return both of its dragsters to their respective shops for service in preparation for the upcoming Lucas Oil Division 7 event in Phoenix, Arizona, February 26-28. “This victory, combined with the performance of both team cars gives us momentum heading in the next race. Running two cars in some ways is double the work” stated Demke, “but it also means double the trouble for the competition!”

Be sure to check out the new team website at www.maddernracing.com! Maddern Racing has teamed up with the web gurus and artists at RaceCar.com to create a visually vibrant and informative site. Be sure to stop by, take a look and bookmark the page. Sign up for the Maddern Racing Team Newsletter and track the exploits of Jerry and the team as they travel the NHRA circuit. Download a cool Maddern Racing background for your computer or simply leave a note in the guestbook.