Demke Defending Jegs Allstars Title at Route 66 Nationals
JOLIET, IL – Just weeks after driving the Peen Rite/Operational Solutions/801 Racing Top Alcohol Dragster to a final round finish at 
Route 66 Raceway’s NHRA regional event, Chris Demke is returning to the Windy City this weekend to defend his title as the Jegs Allstars TAD champion. The veteran blown alcohol driver is setting his sights on taking both the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 Nationals Wally and the coveted Allstars trophy home to Southern California. To do that, Demke and his team are taking all of the steps necessary to make the weekend flow seamlessly.
“Rather than most of the crew showing up the day before the race, they’re showing up two days ahead of time to get everything in order for the weekend. We want to make sure everything is ready to go. It’s a busy race – to win everything, it takes two runs Friday, three runs Saturday, and four runs on Sunday,” said Demke, racing in his sixth Jegs Allstars competition.
Chris qualified No. 3 going into last year’s Allstars race before beating Karen Stalba, rival Jim Whiteley, and Randy Meyer to earn his first Allstars title. Demke reflected on the team’s accomplishments at the annual display of top-tier Sportsman racers.
“The highlight so far has been beating Jim Whiteley on a holeshot in the Allstars semifinals last year, then winning. Just to compete in the Allstars event is a highlight. Maddern Racing has qualified to compete at the Jegs Allstars seven times – once with Mike Austin driving. I remember when I first started racing, I thought it was some high achievement that I would never even qualify for, much less win it. It’s a great event and we’re proud to be a part of it this year,” Demke stated.
On top of the stout list of drivers qualified for the Allstars event, the national event itself has 24 cars entered, including top blown alcohol and A/Fuel Dragster teams from every region. For that reason, Chris is cautiously optimistic.
“I feel confident. I think we can keep up with the fastest guys there. Chicago is the center of the country and it’s the Jegs Allstars weekend, so you get the best racers from around the country showing up. All of the strong competitors are going to be there, so we need to be on our game. It’s not going to be easy to repeat,” Chris said, adding, “There are two times I get nervous when I get in the car – the very first run of the first race of the season, and going into the Route 66 Nationals/Jegs Allstars weekend. It’s two races within one – it’s a tough one.”
As Chris mentioned, there are a maximum of nine runs included in the event – two qualifying runs on Friday, one on Saturday built into the three rounds of Jegs Allstars competition, and all four rounds of eliminations held on Sunday. The O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 Nationals are scheduled for June 28-30. The 29th Annual Jegs Allstars race is held in conjunction with the event at Route 66 Raceway, Saturday, June 29th.
Maddern Racing, celebrating 20 years of competition in 2013, is a family-owned and operated NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster team based in Southern California. The Chris Demke-driven Peen Rite/OSI/801 Racing dragster is owned by Jerry Maddern and crewed by Adam Rhoades, Kevin Watson, Mike Demke, and Ron Mann. For more information on Maddern Racing, please visit www.MaddernRacing.com.
Maddern Racing receives support from the following companies: Peen Rite Inc., Operational Solutions Inc., 801 Racing, A1 Technologies, Boninfante Friction Inc., and Hoosier Racing Tire.
