NHRA News: King Demon, racers, and NHRA all benefit from special race (5/26/2004)

King Demon, racers, and NHRA all benefit from special race

5/26/2004

Barry Grant knows a good thing when he sees it. The NHRA Pro Stock veteran and owner of Demon Carburetion products, the title sponsor of the $145,000 King Demon Crown, has learned first-hand the value of special-event marketing and promotion using the NHRA Pro Stock non-points showdown.

The King Demon Crown showcases the eight best Pro Stock qualifiers during a 23-race span between the 2003 K&N Filters SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., and the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. Drivers accumulated points during qualifying at those events, and a $3,000 bonus was awarded to the No. 1 qualifier at each race.

"Being a Pro Stock racer and a manufacturer of racing carburetors, the King Demon Crown was a great tie-in to promote our products," Grant said. "When the title rights became available two years ago, we felt it was a good promotional opportunity for the company, while letting us give something back to the sport. Being involved with NHRA, it was just a good tie-in for us. We now do a program with our distributors where they come to the races and have a great time. It also makes for a big payday for the racers and gives Demon Carburetion recognition all year long. The King Demon Crown is a win-win situation for everybody involved.

"What makes it great for us is the way we've been able to promote our products by using the King Demon Crown. We have sales distributors throughout the country that compete all year for a chance to come to the race, and the King Demon Crown brings NHRA Pro Stock and NHRA Drag Racing into these areas where our products are sold. The distributors are guys who know about the King Demon Crown, and the promotion we use around the race provides an opportunity for our distributors to get involved. That's great for promoting NHRA drag racing, Pro Stock competition, and Demon Carburetion Products."

Dave Connolly

Greg Anderson

Vegas General Construction Pontiac Grand Am driver Greg Anderson entered last weekend's King Demon Crown Pro Stock special event at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago as the No. 1 seed on the strength of qualifying No. 1 at an impressive 18 of the 23 NHRA POWERade Series events where drivers could earn points. It came as no surprise when the 2003 NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champ made it to the final round.

Perhaps a little more surprising was the impressive run to the finals by Dave Connolly in his Bullet Chevy Cavalier. He defeated defending event winner Kurt Johnson in Round 1 and then beat two-time series champ Jeg Coughlin in Round 2 in a classic dual to reach a final-round showdown against Anderson. Connolly had an elapsed time of 6.833 seconds at 202.67 mph to better Coughlin's 6.834 seconds at 201.58 mph.

Although two rounds were completed Saturday at Route 66 Raceway before the rains came, morning showers cancelled Sunday's all-GM final round and it was rescheduled to be completed this Saturday at the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan. Anderson and Connolly will face-off for a top prize of $50,000, and a special $25,000 "Double-Up" bonus offered by NHRA will be available to both drivers if they win the Topeka event and the final round of the King Demon Crown.

"The Pro Stock competitors compete all year long to make the King Demon field and it always seems to come down to the last race before the field is actually set," Grant said. "There's no question that the drivers who qualify for the King Demon Crown, the eight fastest all year, are the cream of the crop and the race itself is one of the highlights of the NHRA season. The only thing that would be better for me would be for my wife Robin to give me the $50,000 check for winning the race. That would be the ultimate."

Related information: Click here for results from first two rounds.

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