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[h=2]IHRA's Maduri has found perfection in two sports[/h] Tuesday, 02 May 2017


By Jeff Birchfield

Which is harder, rolling the perfect game in bowling or making the perfect run in drag racing? Peter Maduri, a champion in both sports, has done both. He said it's not that close.


"A perfect run in bracket racing is substantially harder," said Maduri, one of the top drivers in the International Hot Rod Association Summit Sportsman National Championship. "I've only done it a couple of times. Drag racing is a little more of a challenge overall, a more difficult sport because you have more variables going on. Mechanically, you're depending on the car running well as well as your performance in the seat."
That's not to discount the feeling he has in either sport. In both cases, it is truly special whether you roll a 300 score or combine the perfect light with a dead-on, dial-in.
"It's a great feeling either way," he said. "You've accomplished the most sought-after thing in either sport, whether it's the perfect game or the perfect run."
Inside the bowling lanes and in the driver's seat, Maduri has accomplished a lot. He has an average in the 230-240 range, and twice has been named the United States Bowling Congress' Bowler of the Year for his hometown of Tonawanda, N.Y. Recently, he captured his biggest-ever single event, the Super Bud Bowl, a premier tournament in the Northeast which paid a first-place prize of $5,500.
But, he's just as competitive on the track. He finished in the top five of both the Top Dragster and Super Rod classes in the Summit Pro-Am Tour last year.
A former champion at IHRA-sanctioned tracks, Lancaster National Speedway and Empire Dragway, Maduri is entered in three different classes in Summit Sportsman National Championship races this season.
"We have a 2008 Top Dragster with a 632-inch big block that runs in both Quick Rod and Top Dragster," Maduri said. "Then, we have a 2005 Corvette racer that we run in Super class. We also picked up the 1997 Mustang that I run in No-Box racing and in IHRA Hot Rod."
He describes it like a full-time second job, although he's quick to point out it's too much fun to be a full-time job. He loves the challenges of racing three different machines as it forces him to rely as much on his brain as his quick reflexes.
"It's kind of a learning curve and at times, difficult," he said. "Every stop setting is different for the cars so that's the challenge dealing with those. But, I'm a math ace so I've always enjoyed the throttle-stop racing, and felt like I had an advantage by having a math degree."
He also has a ton of experience. He started racing Junior Dragsters at age 14 and his passion for the sport has never wavered. He relocated to Texas and later to Indiana with his job in recent years, but it didn't keep him from rocketing down the drag strip. Now back home in suburban Buffalo, he's more excited than ever about racing.
"When I moved to Texas, that was really the first time I was on my own," he said. "In Buffalo, I had a really good support system. I brought a car down to race, but I would fly back to Buffalo for some of the bigger races in my dad's roadster or another man's cars. I was determined though to stay active in the IHRA when I was away."
Maduri plans to stay active this weekend. He will renew a pursuit of perfection at this weekend's IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship race at Maryland International Raceway.