Haney, Enders-Stevens head to Houston with momentum

HOUSTON (Oct. 17) - After Keith Haney Racing swept the Legal Pro Mod class at the Throw Down in T-Town last weekend, team owner/driver Keith Haney wasn't sure how he could top that, but then he thought about the ADRL World Finals IX this weekend at Royal Purple Raceway, where he and NHRA star Erica Enders-Stevens will be racing.

"You know what could top it?" Haney said. "If Erica and I meet in the final round. That'd be cool."

Haney faced teammate Monroe Guest in last weekend's Throw Down final in Tulsa, Okla., and scored his first victory in four years but hopes not to wait that long for his next win.

Haney will bring his two RacingJunk.com/Lucas Oil Camaros to Houston, Enders-Stevens' hometown. Haney's car carries a new Reher-Morrison engine that powered him to victory in Tulsa.

"With the new motor we've got in my car we can get it to go low," Haney said. "We can make the other car go faster, but how much more depends on the power that's underneath it. It's not a No. 1 qualifier, but we want to be in the top half of the field. Our driving abilities are good enough to win races. You don't always have to have the best car, but you have to have the best package."

The package this weekend includes pink paint schemes on both cars to support National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

"I'm excited to drive the Pro Mod car again," Enders-Stevens said. "It should be a really fun weekend to be back home in Houston. We're sporting a pink paint scheme, and I'll be the only girl in Pro Mod driving a pink car."

Enders-Stevens was born and raised in Houston, and though she lives in New Orleans with her husband Richie Stevens, she is always eager to race in her hometown.

"I'm always pumped to race at home," Enders-Stevens said. "I love Texas and I love racing in front of the hometown crowd. I'm excited that we've got two competitive race cars this weekend. We'll see how it turns out."

Haney is excited, too, especially because he'll be racing where he won his first NHRA race, a Top Sportsman event in 2009.

"I'm going back to where I won my very first Wally," Haney said. "We're excited about it."

 

Keith Haney Racing is hoping for another all-team final at the ADRL World Finals IX, where Keith Haney and Erica Enders-Stevens will drive the Camaros. 

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Keith Haney Racing enjoys dream weekend in Tulsa

TULSA, Okla. (Oct. 14) - Keith Haney and his Keith Haney Racing team enjoyed a dream weekend during the Throw Down in T-Town on Friday and Saturday at Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park.

Not only did the track co-owned by Haney and Todd Martin enjoy a successful run, but Haney ended up in victory lane after beating teammate Monroe Guest in the Legal Pro Mod final.

"It was an absolutely unbelievable weekend," Haney said. "Unbelievable. It was a weekend like no other."

To top it off, Haney's wife Dee and son Logan were at the top end of the racetrack to greet the winner.

"That was the first time my wife has stayed through a whole drag race," Haney said. "We've been married 16 years, and she had never stayed through a drag race.

"She and my son came to the finish line, and my son came jumping off the golf cart and ran to me and started crying. There hasn't been a better moment in my life."

Logan Haney had never seen his father win but that changed after Keith Haney made a pass of 3.979 seconds at 186.61 mph to beat Guest.

"This time he said, 'I want to drive the winner's car,' " Haney said, and Logan got behind the wheel as the car was towed to the winner's circle.

Haney also qualified No. 1 for the Legal Pro Mod field with a run of 3.972 at 187.50 mph in his RacingJunk.com/Lucas Oil Camaro and Guest was No. 3 in his Camaro.

The event featured other highlights, too. Brandon Pesz of Lethal Acceleration, who tuned both KHR cars, won the Pro Extreme class with a 3.670-second pass at 206.42 mph. Pesz nearly had to face Martin in the final, but Martin lost in the semifinals after winning the previous round on a holeshot over Frankie Taylor.

Before eliminations, Haney asked for a moment of silence to remember Kevin Bowen, the Pro Nitrous crew chief who was killed in a single-car accident near his home in Roxboro, N.C., on Oct. 4.

"It was just an unbelievable weekend," Haney said. "I couldn't have written a better script as a team owner. Monroe and I couldn't have been happier, and our team worked flawlessly all weekend. How do you top that? We qualify No. 1 and No. 3 and meet in the final round at your own race, a race that has become one of the top races in the country."

The Throw Down drew more than 35,000 race fans over the two days as well as a 142 race cars. Haney's cars were the stars, as they were wrapped in pink by Kryptonite Kustomz of Broken Arrow, Okla., in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Numerous fans took their picture with the pink cars, and Haney sported a Cancer Sucks! T-shirt in support of that foundation.

Haney and Guest were actually first and second after the first qualifying session, though Guest was bumped to No. 3 in Q3.

Still, they were the cars to beat. Haney took Jeffrey Cummins Jr. in the first round and Dean Goforth in the semifinals to advance to the final. Guest beat Cale Aronson and Steve Matusek to set up the all-KHR final.

"Monroe and I always dreamed about meeting in the final round," Haney said. "We talked about it for the two years we've been together."

Guest tried his best to win the psychological battle but Haney was having none of it.

"Monroe was talking junk before the final round to the crowd: 'He's going to red-light.' We were having a ball," Haney said. "He was hassling me, but it didn't matter anyway because I ran a 3.97 and he didn't go anywhere."

Haney's pass of 3.979 at 186.61 easily beat Guest's 5.205 at 147.97 mph. The victory for Haney was his first since winning an NHRA Top Sportsman event at Royal Purple Raceway in Houston in 2009.

"The car was on a rail," Haney said. "That new Reher-Morrison motor we put in it worked out just fine."

The entire weekend went off nearly flawlessly.

"The staff at the track did a phenomenal job," Haney said. "We had 35,000 people in the stands on Friday and Saturday and had 142 race cars on the property. The fans were phenomenal, and we had some mean classes this weekend, too."

The Legal Pro Mod final was an all-Keith Haney Racing match that Keith Haney won.

 

 

 Keith Haney won the Legal Pro Mod final by stopping teammate Monroe Guest.