Demke Chasing JEGS Allstars Points at Las Vegas Regional Race

Demke Chasing JEGS Allstars Points at Las Vegas Regional Race

LAS VEGAS (April 16, 2015) – Top Alcohol Dragster driver Chris Demke is ready to forget last weekend's SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. An untimely parts failure resulted in a rare first-round loss for the defending national champion. Demke and the Maddern Racing team will have another shot at The Strip this weekend, though this race will carry more consequences as the team competes at the Lucas Oil Series regional event.

“The last-minute decision to come out to the national event didn't go as we hoped. The blower came off without a backfire, causing us to lose first round. Clearly it wasn't what we hoped for, but we'll pick up the pieces and move on to the regional race. Our main goal is to earn points and hold onto our spot in the JEGS Allstars standings,” said Demke, who qualified No. 2 in the SummitRacing.com Nationals field.

Demke is currently chasing fellow blown alcohol racer Joey Severance in the JEGS Allstars West Region points, with A/Fueler Garrett Bateman following close behind. The prize for securing one of the top two spots in each of the four regions is an invitation to compete in the JEGS Allstars specialty race held at the Route 66 Nationals in July. Competing in the prestigious event is an opportunity cherished by Demke and his Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products team, and earning that spot is their primary focus right now. Fortunately, the blower issue popped up before the regional event, one of the last points-earning opportunities for the Allstars.

“It's certainly better that something like that happened at the national rather than this regional, being that the regional is more important at this point in time. You never want something like that to happen. It just goes to show that no matter how hard you try to be on top of everything, drag racing is not easy. It's a complex sport and little things like that can come up and bite you at any minute,” Demke quipped.

Though the Maddern Racing team cleared up any of the issues they encountered last weekend, Demke knows his competition probably did the same.

“First, I want to congratulate Joey Severance on his victory, not that it was unexpected. The guy could drive the car backwards down the track and he could win at Las Vegas. I was kind of surprised at the lack of performance that I saw from the field. I'm sure everyone who is staying over gained knowledge for the regional race from the national event, as we did, so I expect this eight-car field to be tougher. After what happened at the national, I don't even want to think about the competition at this point. Clearly our team needs to look at our program and make sure we're ready for this race.”

Chris Demke and the Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products Top Alcohol Dragster team will take to The Strip for the LODRS West Region event, April 17-19, starting with one qualifying session at 3 PM on Friday. The alcohol cars will get two more qualifying runs at noon and 4 PM on Saturday, and will go into eliminations 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 Adam Rhoades, Kevin Watson, Mike Demke, Greg Rice, Ron Mann and Robert Hadaller. For more information on Chris Demke and Maddern Racing, please visit www.MaddernRacing.com.

Maddern Racing receives support from the following companies: Peen Rite Inc., Boost Performance Products, B-G Detection, Afco, LA X-Ray, Hoosier Racing Tires, and Morningwood Energy Drink.