TULSA, Okla. (March 31)
-- Keith Haney has made the heartbreaking decision
to pull out of the
Radial Revenge Tour race this weekend at his track, Osage
Casino Tulsa Raceway
Park.
Longtime business
partner Wayne Cline, who gave Haney his start in the automobile
business more than 25
years ago, is participating in a charity golf tournament at
Isla Del Sol Yacht &
Country Club in St. Pete Beach, Fla. That tournament, in
which Haney and Cline
have golfed together for 20 years, was moved three weeks
ago to this weekend,
forcing Haney to make the difficult decision.
"I've got a lot of
drag racing left in me, but I don't have a lot of time with my partner,
who is 76 years
old," Haney said. "I owe it to him to be with my partner. He's
my
best friend."
Moving the Radial
Revenge Race to another weekend was not an option out of
concern for competitors
and fans, but Haney pledged that racers and fans will see
the best race possible
this weekend as the Radial Revenge Tour races for the third
time in Tulsa.
"We have a good
following of fans and this is one of the most important races of
our season, next to the
Throwdown in T-Town," Haney said. "We have worked to
make this race
what it's starting to become, so it's killing me not to be there. I've
gone overboard to make
sure the event is going to go smoothly. My partner Todd Martin,
my general manager Don
Ellis -- 'Big Don' -- and the staff at TRP will make it a
great event. We've
streamlined 100 things to make the racer experience and the
fan experience the best
that it can be."
Al Tucci and Cliff
Parvin will run the tower, and the Tulsa technical staff can handle
all the radial cars.
One of those cars will
be Enigma, the special drag radial Chevrolet Camaro Haney
built for this season.
Because Haney loves and believes in the drag radial world,
Enigma will still be
entered. Co-tuner Brandon Pesz will handle the driving chores
this weekend.
"I built a radial
car just to get in the radial world with these guys," Haney said.
"It's
killing me because I
want to be the winner of my event. I want to win this race, but
Enigma will be
there."
Enigma, with Haney
driving, became the fastest nitrous car in the drag
radial world -- but not
the fastest car overall -- at the Lights Out 7 event in February
at South Georgia
Motorsports Park. A turbo car holds the actual record that Haney
wanted for himself, but
unfortunately he won't get the chance.
"I want to take the
record away, I want to win the race," Haney said. "But you
know what? It says 'You
Know My Name on the side.' It's the car, not the driver.
"I'll be sipping on
adult beverages in Florida, and my iPhone will be stuck to my
Fans can watch all the
racing action from Tulsa this weekend at MotorManiaTV.com.
The drag radial race was
made possible by TRP's numerous marketing partners.
"I owe everything
to our marketing partners for believing in us and this race,
" Haney said.
"If it wasn't for them, this race wouldn't have become what
it has become."
| 
