Demke Finishes 2015 Season No. 2 in NHRA TA/D National Points

POMONA, CA – Defending NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster national champion Chris Demke completed his 2015 season at last weekend’s Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway. The local favorite bowed out in an uncharacteristic first-round loss and watched as rival Joey Severance went on to win the 2015 national championship title.

Demke qualified fifth in one of the most impressive national event fields in history with a stout 5.261 et. The Peen Rite team’s defense strategy was already foiled at that point, as Severance qualified on the opposite side of the ladder, meaning Demke couldn’t prevent him from reaching the final round and winning the championship.

“It was somewhat of a hopeless feeling, but I was really looking forward to racing on Sunday because of the great atmospheric conditions that were going to be available. Unfortunately we lost first round due to an unknown ignition issue. I kept my foot in it for two seconds before I realized there was no chance of catching Johnny,” Demke said of his race with fire captain Johnny Ahten.

The Maddern Racing team had a “buyback” of sorts when they had the chance to lend a motor to a competitor on Severance’s side of the ladder.

“We tried to take another stab at controlling things by loaning a motor to Ross Stickler. His team owner, Kevin Cantrell, came over to us looking for a spare crankshaft after first round and we told him we had one, but it had a motor and tune-up wrapped around it. We worked that evening and the next morning to get our motor transferred to his car. Unfortunately his tow strap got wrapped around the front wheel while towing up to the line and prevented Ross from running, which ended our second chance.”

Demke took a minute to reflect on the loss of championship, but was eager to offer congratulations to Severance, a first-time NHRA Lucas Oil Series national champion.

“When you’re at the top, you want to stay at the top. I didn’t take being champion for granted. I enjoyed it, but losing it makes me appreciate it that much more. I’m happy we held on to second place.

“Congratulations to Joey, Joe Sr., and (car owner and tuner) Norm Grimes and the rest of that team. They did a great job. We spent the tail end of the season trying to give the championship to each other with mistakes and so forth, but in the end the better team prevailed,” Demke offered.

The Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products blown alcohol dragster team finished the 2015 season with three national-event wins and three regional-event victories. Demke also finished second in the West Region championship points.

“We started off the season strong with a win at the Winternationals at Pomona. I don’t want to say we struggled, but we didn’t perform to the best of our abilities through the next couple months. In fact, the low point was losing first round at Topeka against Dean Dubbin when I had a terrible reaction time. We got back on track and won the Norwalk and Chicago races back-to-back. That stretch was a real high point. We won the Norwalk race and the customary billet ice cream scoop, which I really wanted. Then going to Chicago and winning for the third time in a row made for a really cool pair of races,” added the 18-time national event winner.

Chris Demke and the Jerry Maddern-owned team race with support from several high-performance sponsors and product providers, who Demke thanked while looking ahead at next season.

“I’d really like to thank Peen Rite, Brent at Boost Performance Products and the guys at Hoosier Tire. Our entire team appreciates everything they do for us and look to continue working together next year.

Having lost first round on Saturday and not getting to finish the season at 270+ mph, I’m already itching to get back in the seat.”