Demke Adds Third Runner-up Finish to 2013 Score

TOPEKA, KS – Maddern Racing’s Chris Demke leaves Heartland Park Topeka second in national points standings after qualifying second and reaching his third final round of the year at last weekend’s Kansas Nationals. The California driver ultimately fell to 2003 national champion Alan Bradshaw.

Demke held the number two spot throughout qualifying, missing first by just two thousandths of a second. His Peen Rite/Operational Solutions/801 Racing dragster consistently improved on every qualifying pass, running 5.413, 5.411, and 5.398 consecutively. Humid conditions made it tough for the supercharged entry to break into the mid to low five-thirties.

“It was challenging. Great track conditions but poor air made it harder for us to find the edge. The car never shook the tires all weekend. While Adam was doing a great job, we just weren’t making enough power to overpower the track. The car was consistent, but it wasn’t really as fast as we thought we could make it go. It would’ve been number one qualifier but parts failure on the last qualifying run prevented that from happening,” Chris said.

The Jerry Maddern-owned car carried the consistency into eliminations, first defeating Mike Manners, 5.44 to 5.57. Performance picked up in the second round match-up with Aaron Olivarez, which Demke won, 5.42 to 5.57. Tuner Adam Rhoades stepped it up for the semifinals, sending Chris on a 5.38 pass to beat Canadian Gord Gingles and take low ET of the event. The Peen Rite/Operational Solutions/801 Racing dragster was on pace to run another 5.3 in the finals against Alan Bradshaw until the blower snout broke off around half-track.

“The race was ours. We were feeling very confident. The crew was doing a great job servicing it. We had to run the last qualifying session and two rounds of eliminations with a motor swap before first round. The guys were busy but they did a great job. The car was on rails – no tire shake all weekend long – so it was painful when the blower snout broke off in the final. We really wanted to get our first win of the year,” Demke claimed.

Coming up short in the final was particularly disheartening for Demke and his team of mechanics. The Topeka final round was their third runner-up finish of the season and fourth career final at Heartland Park Topeka.

“When you’re runner-up, you’re just the last guy to lose,” Demke added. “You do every bit as much work as the team that wins, but you end the day on a down note. Reaching the final round is a lot of hard work, but it’s rewarded with adrenaline and satisfaction when you win. The runner-up does the same amount of work as the winning team, but you don’t get that satisfaction. Believe me; I’d rather runner-up than lose first round, but the effort expended is significant.”

The fan-favorite driver is still optimistic that his team will enjoy the rush of the winner’s circle again soon.

“We all know that we’ve got it figured out now. I don’t want to jinx myself, but we really learned what this chassis wants. We’re that much closer to getting our first win with it. Victory is just around the corner.”