Demke Streaks to Northwest Nationals Runner-up Finish

Demke Streaks to Northwest Nationals Runner-up Finish

SEATTLE (August 5) – In a battle between two of the baddest blown alcohol dragsters in the country, Chris Demke came up just a little short to points rival Joey Severance. The two west coast hitters were racing in the final round at the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways last weekend. While he lost the race, Demke maintained his national points lead and rediscovered a high level of performance.

Demke's Peen Rite/Operational Solutions/Boost Performance Products Top Alcohol Dragster was laying down consecutive five-twenty passes through qualifying, progressing with runs of 5.29, 5.27 and 5.26 to qualify number two behind Severance. Strong passes continued as eliminations started, first ousting Los Angeles firefighter Johnny Ahten in the first round with a 5.31, then Shawn Cowie with a 5.28. The Jerry Maddern-led team turned up the wick for the semifinals, beating Garrett Bateman's 5.32 with a 5.26. Chris' quickest run of the weekend would be in the final round. He streaked to a 5.251 at 273 MPH but Joey Severance's 5.238 ET and quicker reaction time were enough to take the Northwest Nationals victory.

“The final round was a very quick one,” Demke said. “I didn't expect our car to run that quick. In the round before, it backfired the supercharger at the finish line. We couldn't find anything wrong with the long block so we just installed a new intake manifold, slapped the blower back on, and borrowed an injector from Mark Taliaferro and Norm Grimes. I didn't expect the motor to be completely healthy – I thought there would be some hidden damage but lo and behold the car ran our quickest ET of the event. It was a very quick, side-by-side race. I certainly would've liked to win but Joey was setting the pace and he was the car to beat all weekend. He ended up with a well-deserved victory.”

Some elements of the event were predictable, but others weren't so, as Chris explains.

“It (the level of competition) was everything I expected. I was impressed with our ability to meet the challenge. I thought the A/Fuel cars would be able to take advantage of the good track conditions. Joey ran every bit as quick as I expected. (Mark) Taliaferro had his challenges, but I'm just glad he's okay after that horrific crash. I was the next pair down in that lane so I had a front row seat for that crash.”

Taliaferro is a fellow blown alcohol driver who suffered a threatening hit to the retaining wall after smoking the tires in the second round of eliminations. He walked away without serious injury but the crash brought back eery memories for Demke, who witnessed the loss of a friend and competitor at this event in 2011.

“I was very sad to see Mark's crash but I'm so happy to hear that he's okay. That's a tough team. I look forward to seeing them back on track when they get their program back together, but mostly I'm just glad that he's okay. It's a testament to the safety equipment that someone was able to walk away from a crash like that. It had me pretty shaken up on the starting line. Having seen the loss of Mark Niver from that same position, you never know what to expect when you see a car get banged up like that. I'm glad Mark is alright,” Chris stressed.

With everyone moving on from the weekend's events, Demke is already eager to return to Seattle for a West Region event in two weeks. He will go into the race with a higher confidence in his Maddern Racing entry.

“I think we have our reliability on track and now our five-twenty race car is back. I'm looking forward to more 5.2-second runs in the future.”

ESPN2's coverage of the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals airs on August 10th at 11:30 AM 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/Operational Solutions/Boost Performance Products blown alcohol dragster is owned by Jerry Maddern and crewed by Adam Rhoades, Kevin Watson, Mike Demke, Greg Rice, 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., Operational Solutions Inc., Boost Performance Products, B-G Detection, Afco, and LA X-Ray.