'Notorious,' Keith Haney will race in ADRL event in St. Louis this weekend
ST. LOUIS (Nov. 2) - "Notorious" isn't done yet in 2016.
Keith Haney Racing and driver Keith Haney will take their Lucas Oil/RacingJunk.com Pro Nitrous Chevrolet - nicknamed Notorious - to the American Drag Racing League Dragstock XI race this weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park.
"This is the last race of the year," Haney said. "I'm going to miss my son's playoff (football) game, but dad's got to have fun, too. I missed the last PDRA race, and I've only been to the Throw Down in the last three months. I've just not had enough."
Plus, Haney is supporting good friend Larry Jeffers, whose Larry Jeffers Race Cars shop is in nearby House Springs, Mo.
"Larry has been a good friend and a great business partner for a long time," Haney said. "Anything Keith Haney Racing has ever needed, Larry has helped out. If I can support him by racing in St. Louis, I'm happy to do it."
Haney plans to use this weekend's race as a test session for next year, hoping to continue some late-season momentum.
"It'll be a good test session, a good place to get some data for our 2017 race season," Haney said. "We've got a lot of things happening with our race team, and we're building a new race shop. And I've made some changes with the crew, revamping for next year, and this is a great test session for us to find out if the changes we've made are the right ones."
Haney started off this season strong, but while attempting to keep getting better, his car slowed a tick in the middle of the season. Haney and tuners Brandon Switzer and Brandon Pesz returned to the tuneup from the beginning of the year, and Notorious responded by qualifying No. 1 and going to the final round of the Throw Down in T-Town at Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park two weeks ago.
"We made some great changes to the car at the Throw Down," Haney said. "We made all these changes to Notorious all throughout the year to try to make it faster, but we were consistently slower. We still were fast in a lot of people's eyes, but not fast enough in our eyes.
"We made seven consecutive passes down the track in the low 3.80s, and we never really leaned on it because we didn't feel like we needed to. We're going to go St. Louis, and what better way to test than on a prepped track with some race cars going down."
Haney's son, Logan, played on a youth football team that went undefeated, and the team's first playoff game is this weekend.
"I'm racing for Keith Haney Racing and all my sponsors," Haney said. "It's not about points, it's about racing, and that's what I'm going to do: I'm going to race. I'm not done. My son's football team went
9-0 for the year, and they start the playoffs Saturday. Well, if they win, I'll watch them the next week. Daddy's got to have his fun, too."
9-0 for the year, and they start the playoffs Saturday. Well, if they win, I'll watch them the next week. Daddy's got to have his fun, too."
In addition to Notorious, Haney will have his Keith Haney Racing merchandise trailer at the track to serve his fan's souvenir needs.
Sponsors Lucas Oil, RacingJunk.com, Switzer Dynamics, Pesz Performance & Tuning, Reher Morrison, M&M Transmission and Adam Lambert from Precision Racing Suspension help make Haney's PDRA team possible, and he continues to appreciate the support from wife Dee and his children Timber, Alex, Madison and Logan.
Haney's family of car dealerships includes Suburban Chevrolet in Claremore; Classic Chevrolet in Owasso, Okla.; Miami Auto Supercenter in Miami, Okla.; Regional Hyundai in Broken Arrow, Okla.; Nissan of Muskogee, Okla.; and Bartlesville (Okla.) Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram.
