Haney Heading for NHRA Pro Mod with Summit Racing on His Side

TULSA, OK (Apr. 18, 2018) – Several giants of the sport are teaming up as Summit Racing Equipment has signed on as primary sponsor for Keith Haney Racing to enter the NHRA E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod Series at three national events this season.

Driving a nitrous-boosted 2015 Summit Racing Camaro owned by three-time

NHRA Pro Mod World Champion Rickie Smith and tuned by Brandon Switzer, Haney will make his NHRA Pro Mod debut next month (May 18-20) at Topeka, KS, with additional outings in September at St. Louis and the following month in Dallas, TX.

“The deal came together pretty quickly after I met Keith down at the Mid-West Pro Mod race earlier this year in Dallas. We’ve been in Pro Mod a few times before and this is an opportunity to kind of get our feet back in the game for three races and have some fun,” Summit Racing Motorsports and Events Manager Jim Greenleaf explained.

“What I think is going to be really exciting is the fact that Keith will be showing up with a car and a team that can win right away. I also think he is going to be good for the class because he brings a competitiveness, a back-and-forth with some of the other drivers that’s sort of been missing from other forms of drag racing right now.”

For his part, Haney couldn’t be happier or more excited to have Summit Racing on his side as he embarks on the biggest jump of his 30-year drag racing career.

“This is huge,” he declared. “To have Summit Racing show faith in Keith Haney Racing like this, well, it’s unbelievably fantastic is what it is. I mean, this is Summit, the company that sponsors Greg Anderson and Jason Line in Pro Stock and the title sponsor for the NHRA national event up in Norwalk, Ohio. It just doesn’t get any bigger than this.”

Keith Haney Racing has been on quite a roll lately, capturing championships in both Pro Mod and Drag Radial within the Mid-West Pro Mod Series last year and following up in 2018 so far with a runner-up finish in Radial vs. the World at Lights Out 9 in February, another runner-up in RvW at the Mid-West series season opener in early-March, a semi-finals appearance at the elite Sweet 16 RvW event later that month, and Haney picked up the RvW win just a couple of weeks ago for Radial Revenge at Tulsa Raceway Park, a track he co-owns with fellow racer Todd Martin.

Haney said Switzer initially brought him the offer of a Jerry Bickel-built car from Smith that’s previously won on the NHRA Pro Mod circuit. It will carry a Pat Musi powerplant and Smith will be available, too, for additional tuning and set-up advice.

“We’re going to be racing as a team,” Haney stressed. “You’ve got Rickie driving one car, you've got Khalid Al Balooshi driving another, and you've got me driving the Summit car. With the data and the information we're going to get between each other we're going to be second to none. I'm really blessed by the fact that Rickie and Brandon believe in me going out there and making some noise for them.

“With the team we have in place and a car that’s already a front runner, all I can say is those other boys better watch out because I can be number one when I come out; I can drag everybody's asses when I come out; I can talk crap when I come out,” he added. “They're going to know my name when I come out because the side of the car is going to say 'You Know My Name' and I guarantee you're going to know it when I get to NHRA.”

Greenleaf said he’s looking forward to the fireworks.

“Pro Mod is definitely a little different than Pro Stock or even Funny Car, where we’re an associate sponsor for Tim Wilkerson, so they can trash talk and jab at each other, but still keep it PC, for lack of a better term, and Keith is a businessman and he understands that,” Greenleaf pointed out.

“So I like how these guys go at it, but if someone needs some help or

something they want to see each other make the call; they don't want a round win just because somebody broke. They’re very competitive and are there to race each other, but they also want to have a good time and that’s what I took away from Keith, his desire to grow the sport and the class while also having fun, which is exactly how everyone at Summit wants to go racing, too.”

Haney said his first callout will go to “Stevie Fast” Jackson, an NHRA Pro Mod regular with whom he’s clashed before, both online and on the track.

“I'm going to figure out if I can get with NHRA, because the very first pass I make down an NHRA race track, I'm calling Stevie out. Maybe me and him will have a little grudge race on top of qualifying. Hell, if he wants to go every one of the qualifying rounds against each other, I'll do that. And anybody else that has a little bit of oomph, if they want a piece of 'You Know My Name,' they know where to find me. I'm going to be in the NHRA Pro Mod pits and they can come find me anytime they want.

“My goal is go out there and win some races for Summit Racing Equipment. And if I do, who knows what’ll happen? Maybe I'm going to run the whole series in 2019. If I do, you better watch out because I will win a championship, because they ain't got nobody out there like me.”

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ABOUT KEITH HANEY RACING

Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Keith Haney Racing (www.keithhaneyracing.com) fields two cars in the Mid-West Pro Mod Series (MWPMS), as well as for select NHRA and PDRA races and one-off special events. Keith Haney Racing appreciates the support of sponsors Summit Racing Equipment, Lucas Oil, Strange Engineering, RacingJunk.com, Reher-Morrison Racing Engines, MoTeC Systems USA, Switzer Dynamics, Brandon Pesz Performance & Tuning, M&M Transmission, Menscer Motorsports, Total Seal, Mickey Thompson, Kryptonite Kustomz, Browell Bellhousing, and Larry Jeffers Race Cars.

Hunt, Pharris and White Win with MWPMS at Outlaw Street Car Reunion

TULSA, OK (April 26, 2018) – Shortly after taking a two-year break from competition, Jerry Hunt scored his career-first win with the Frankenstein Engine Dynamics Mid-West Pro Mod Series (MWPMS) as he secured the Pro Mod title Mar. 21, as part of the Holley EFI Outlaw Street Car Reunion V (OSCR). Also notching MWPMS wins at historic Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, KY, were Daniel Pharris in Radial vs. the World (RvW) and Jimmy White in the X275 drag radial class.

“I’m proud to say we had tremendous representation for the Mid-West Pro Mod Series in our first trip to Bowling Green,” said Keith Haney, owner and promoter of the all-eighth-mile, Tulsa-based drag racing organization. “We had 33 cars entered in Pro Mod, 18 in Radial vs. the World and 40 in X275. I couldn’t be any happier with the turnout and want to thank each and every team for supporting our sponsors at such a great event.”

Originally scheduled to run Mar. 20-22, a long-range forecast for rain prompted OSCR organizer Tyler Crossnoe to step up the schedule and move eliminations from Sunday to Saturday. It proved to be the right choice, but made for a hectic weekend, he explained.

“I’m so glad we made that call on Tuesday and let everyone know about the new schedule because it did rain hard on Sundayand we never would have got this race in if we hadn’t,” Crossnoe said. “Plus, we had more oildowns and wrecks on Friday than we’d had in all four previous events combined, so between those and the compressed schedule it put a lot of stress on me and my guys all weekend.

“But it all worked out in the end and the racers really seemed to enjoy the Friday-Saturday event because they all could drive home on Sunday. Going forward, if we continue with the event, we’ll stick with this new format and wrap it up on Saturdayevening.” 

Hunt, who returned to racing just a month ago at the MWPMS season opener in Texas, brought his supercharged ’67 Camaro down from St. Louis and qualified

13th with a 3.83-seconds pass, directly ahead of Haney and his nitrous-assisted ’16 Camaro. Leading the 16-car Pro Mod field into race day was Arkansas racer Eddie Rogers with a new MWPMS record of 3.70 seconds at 201.16 mph, followed by Jonas Aleshire at 3.73 and 204.82, and Wayne Roberts with a 3.74 run at 198.03 mph.

Once eliminations began, Hunt opened with another 3.83 to hold off a hard-charging Steve Summers, then went 3.88 in the quarter-finals while 5th-place starter Mike Recchia lost control of his ’69 Camaro and sideswiped the right guardwall. Fortunately, Recchia was uninjured while Hunt went on to post 3.83 yet again in the semis while outrunning Stephan Stringer.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the ladder Aleshire remained in the 3.70s all day with his blown ’06 Corvette as he eliminated Tony Williams, Todd Martin, winner of the MWPMS Texas race, and Ron Muenks to reach Hunt in the final. Once there, however, Aleshire experienced a starting-line issue that led to a red-light start, while Hunt streaked to the win with his best pass of the weekend at 3.80 seconds and 198.47 mph.

In Radial vs. the World it was all Pharris, as the Sikeston, MO-based driver qualified number one with a 3.71 at 214.52-mph pass, just ahead of fellow Show-Me-State racer Mark Micke at 3.74 with the fastest speed of the meet at 221.20 mph, and Haney in “Enigma,” his second 2016 Camaro, posting a 3.78 pass at dead on 200 mph.

Driving a twin-turboed 2014 Corvette for Andrew Alepa, Pharris went on to defeat Keith Rhea in round one, made a bye run in round two thanks to the 18-

car, all-run field, then took down Jody Voyles and won with a holeshot over Micke in the semis. That Micke was even there was a testament to his team and the help of many others after he grenaded his twin-turbocharged engine in round two of racing. Only a heroic thrash got his Jason Carter-owned ’78 Malibu back in action for a third-round bye in which Micke merely broke the starting beam and idled down track to make things official.

Waiting for Pharris in the final was the nitrous-fed ’69 Camaro of 4th-place qualifier Jeff Naiser, who bested Ruben Tetsoshvili in the opener, followed by David Adkins and DeWayne Mills, who lost to a Naiser holeshot by a mere one-thousandth of a second. Again thanks to the unconventional starting-field number, Naiser then enjoyed a bye from the semis to the final, where Pharris led stripe-to-stripe with a 3.73 pass at 214.35 mph over the 3.74 at 196.82 combo put together by Naiser.

By the time the event was over, Pharris actually visited Beech Bend’s victory lane twice, as he also scored the win in Limited Drag Radial, beating Shane Stack in the final round to become the first double-up winner in OSCR history.

In X275, Ron Rhodes arrived from Townsend, DE, and laid down a 4.38-seconds pass at 159.97 mph in his ’67 Camaro to sit on the pole, leading a 32-car field into eliminations. However, it was 4th-place starter White and his ’89 Mustang that survived five rounds of racing to take the MWPMS win home to Memphis.

White caught a break in round one when Shannon Renfro went red by a

thousandth off the tree, but after that White settled in to beat Sean Lyon, Alan Felts and Eric Moore to reach Shane Fisher in the final. Fisher was a no-show, however, after damaging his engine in his semi-final win over Rich Bruder, who in the previous round set a new X275 elapsed-time record of 4.29 seconds, becoming the first driver in the class to run a sub-4.30-seconds lap.

“The racers of the Mid-West Pro Mod Association put on one helluva’ show and it was a real honor for us to be part of the Outlaw Street Car Reunion,” Haney declared. “But it’s also important to recognize all of our great sponsors and marketing partners who put their faith—and their money—on us to make things happen. They make all of this stuff possible; they allow us to do the things we love while providing the tracks we race at with $10,000 at each event and paying our racers a decent purse that makes them want to keep coming back.”

In addition to series sponsor Frankenstein Engine Dynamics, Haney expressed sincere gratitude on behalf of the Mid-West Pro Mod Series to Summit Racing Equipment, 74 Auto, Accufab, Aeromotive, Atomizer Racing Injectors, B&C Trailer Services, Chris Duncan Race Cars, ComSyncEFI, Dave’s RV, Extreme Racing Oil, Flying A Motorsports, Full Throttle Express, Grand Prix Auto Sports Centers, Hoosier, Jerry Bickel Race Cars, Kryptonite Kustomz, Larry Jeffers Race Cars, Lenco, M&M Transmission, Menscer Motorsports, Miami Chevrolet-Buick-GMC, Neal Chance, RacingJunk.com, Reher-Morrison, SLM, Strange, Stroud, Suburban Chevrolet, Team RFC, Twin Lakes Whitetails, VP Racing Fuels, and Waterman Racing Components.

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Photos courtesy OSCR

ABOUT THE FRANKENSTEIN ENGINE DYNAMICS MID-WEST PRO MOD SERIES

The Frankenstein Engine Dynamics Mid-West Pro Mod Series is an all-eighth-mile, no-profit organization that typically competes during each host track’s biggest event of the year. Its appearance is entirely funded by sponsorships passed along to benefit the host tracks (typically about $10,000). The Mid-West Pro Mod Series also provides trackside sponsor banners to be displayed at each event, on-site PA sponsor announcements, and links to each company on the MWPMS website (www.MidWestProModSeries.com), plus an extensive social-media presence, texts and e-mail blasts, and commercials during all events. Complete class rules are posted on the MWPMS website. Frankenstein Engine Dynamics (www.Frankensteined.net) offers access to a professional install shop with a multitude of services including custom CNC porting and machine work, chassis dyno, engine dyno, Spintron, and additional customer service and support.

Haney Wins Radial Revenge in Tulsa with Track Record Run

TULSA, OK (Apr. 3, 2018) – Veteran drag racer Keith Haney saved his best for last Mar. 31, during Radial Revenge Tour 2018 at Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway

Park. Driving “Enigma,” his nitrous-boosted 2016 Camaro, Haney covered the eighth mile in 3.75 seconds at 197.86 mph to set a new track elapsed time record while leading stripe-to-stripe for the win over Tim Slavens in the Radial vs. the World final.

Slavens ran 3.78 at 212.26 in his twin-turbocharged ’69 Camaro for a close runner-up finish. The track ET record prior to the Radial Revenge event was 3.79 seconds, with Slavens and Haney trading it back-and-forth five times throughout qualifying and eliminations.

“Yeah, I treed him by over two hundredths (of a second) and never looked back; never saw him the whole way down,” said Haney, a local businessman who co-owns the Tulsa track with Todd Martin, as well as several new car dealerships in the Tulsa area. “It felt good and I knew it was on a good pass, too, but it wasn’t until I looked up and saw the scoreboard that I knew just how good. This was a big win for our team.

“We thought Slavens would go 3.76 or so, somewhere in that area, so we tuned ‘er up. My guys told me when I went up there, we’re either going to spin or win,” Haney recalled. “But it was a good track, David Cook did a great job on it there, and that car was on a rail from A to B. It was pretty much a perfect run for conditions.”

Despite securing championships in both Pro Modified and Radial vs. the World last year with the Frankenstein Engine Dynamics Mid-West Pro Mod Series

(MWPMS), the Tulsa triumph marked Haney’s first drag radial race win. It was the second win for Enigma, however, after Haney’s co-crew chief Brandon Pesz drove it to victory lane last August in the MWPMS event at St. Louis.

“We’ve had good luck with this car; it’s gone to the quarters, semis or finals in every race since the day I had it finished,” Haney said.

After qualifying number one in the eight-car field for Radial Revenge 2018, Haney beat Justin Martin in the opening round of racing, then took down Mark Micke in the semis before facing Slavens for the event final.

“I’m proud to say I’m the first to beat ‘Mr. 221’ since Sweet 16, so I beat the

fastest man in the world,” Haney declared of prevailing over Micke, who two weeks earlier set the drag radial world on fire with an unprecedented 3.62-seconds ET record and top speed record of 221.20 mph on his way to winning $101,000 in the Sweet 16 drag radial event at Valdosta, GA.

“We had a badass car this weekend and raced against the baddest RvW cars in the country. This was a great win for our team and much deserved after winning the 2017 Mid West Pro Mod and Radial Championships, then going to Lights Out 9 and finishing runner up, then going to the Sweet 16 and going to the semis,” Haney concluded.

“I have so many people to thank. Of course my crew chiefs, Brandon Pesz and Brandon Switzer, those guys are the best, as well as Cody Moore, Dale Hancock, Cale Hancock, Trey Elbre, Shane Goodnight and Kimmy Pesz. I also want to thank my helpers Braylee and Kilee and their beautiful mother and my girl Misty Hayes, along with my close friends who came and stayed all day and supported me: Roman Lamborn, Scott Farley, Chris Williams and Beth Dalton. But most of all thank you to all my sponsors and fans. I can’t say enough about how much your support means to me and our team.”

Both Keith Haney Racing cars will return to the track with Haney behind the steering wheels Apr. 20-21, as the MWPMS competes within the Outlaw Street Car Reunion at historic Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, KY.

Photos by Mary Robinson

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ABOUT KEITH HANEY RACING

Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Keith Haney Racing (www.keithhaneyracing.com) fields two cars in the Mid-West Pro Mod Series (MWPMS), as well as for select Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) races and one-off special events. Keith Haney Racing appreciates the support of sponsors Lucas Oil, Strange Engineering, RacingJunk.com, Reher-Morrison Racing Engines, MoTeC Systems USA, Switzer Dynamics, Brandon Pesz Performance & Tuning, M&M Transmission, Menscer Motorsports, Total Seal, Mickey Thompson, Kryptonite Kustomz, Browell Bellhousing, and Larry Jeffers Race Cars.