Demke Still Fighting for National Championship at NHRA Fall Nationals

ENNIS, TX – Chris Demke’s NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster national championship defense season takes him and the Peen Rite/Boost Performance Products team to the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals near Dallas this weekend. The Californian group has their sights set on the event win, which would come with a customary Stetson cowboy hat and, more importantly, a boost in the national points standings.

“I went to Norwalk with the goal of winning the race as well as the billet ice cream scooper that is awarded to each winner of that race. Now I’m coming after the custom cowboy hat given to the winners at the Fall Nationals,” said Demke, who is currently second in Lucas Oil Series points. “While a cowboy hat might not fit my look, I’m sure it will fit one of our crew members just fine.”

While Demke jokes about the cowboy hat, his tone changes when it comes to the national championship implications of this race.

“Joey Severance can clinch the championship this weekend. However, it’s not over until it’s over. We’re going to do everything we can to prevent Joey from locking it up,” Demke added.

The Jerry Maddern-owned Peen Rite team is looking to bounce back from a second-round loss at the NHRA Keystone Nationals in Reading, PA earlier this month.

“We really needed to go further into eliminations at Reading to help our championship defense hopes. The team had high expectations heading into the race, but a malfunction in the air shifter slowed the car in the second round. It’s something we might’ve caught if we were able to service the car back at the shop in California, but the car and equipment have been out on the road for the last couple months. We made sure to go over everything before this weekend in Dallas, though,” noted the driver who is also pursuing a NHRA Lucas Oil Series West Region championship.

Top Alcohol Dragster competition at the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals begins on Friday, October 16th with qualifying sessions at 12:45 and 5 PM. Last chance qualifying will start at 10:30 AM Saturday, with first round of eliminations kicking off at 2:30 PM. Eliminations continue on Sunday afternoon. The race will air on ESPN2 at 7 AM ET on Saturday, October 24th.