Keith Haney completes first Drag Radial 

race as fastest nitrous car in class history

 

CECIL, Ga. (Feb. 22) -- Despite a tough loss in the third round, Keith Haney and his Keith Haney Racing team had a remarkable run in their first Drag Radial race, last weekend's Lights Out 7 event at South Georgia Motorsports Park.

 

Haney had a new Lucas Oil/RacingJunk.com Chevrolet built in secret in the off-season; Larry Jeffers Race Cars built the chassis and Switzer Dynamics finished the car. With Brandon Pesz and Brandon Switzer tuning, Haney became the fastest nitrous Radial Vs. The World driver in history.

 

Haney was also a fan favorite at the event, helping bring new fans to his team and to the Drag Radial world.

 

"It was truly a storybook weekend," Haney said. "To do what we did and to accomplish what we accomplished and earn the respect of the other Radial Vs. The World racers, it just doesn't happen in this world."

 

Haney's new car was one of the fastest of the large field of cars, with a top qualifying pass of 3.894 seconds at 191.81 mph that opened plenty of eyes, but he went faster in eliminations, with a top speed of 192.20 mph.

 

"We are officially the world's fastest nitrous Drag Radial car," Haney said. "We are the fastest 60-foot, 330-foot e.t. car. I hold every incremental record in my very first outing."

 

That says a lot about his car and his team.

 

"The team that we assembled this weekend deserved to win and I let 'em down," Haney said. "Yet they were still on cloud nine even after the race. That's when you know you have a good team and have people who want to be a part of your program."

 

One of those people was crewmember Andrew Arnold, who fell off Haney's trailer while putting up an awning. Arnold suffered minor injuries, but he stayed to work with the team the entire weekend.

 

Arnold was joined by many others in Haney's pit, from driver Jim Laurita to Rod and Kevin Pickett to Chris Bell to Monroe Guest to Shayne Lawson. They were all there to support Haney.

 

"We had a legendary pit," Haney said. "And I got a text from Daniel Pharris saying, 'I always wanted to race against someone of your team's caliber, and I did it.' I admire that because I've been that way."

 

Haney lost in the third round when his .099-second reaction time wasn't enough to beat Pharris, who won on a holeshot after a .036 light.

 

"I've never lost on a holeshot in my life, and I've been racing a long time," Haney said. "Truly, I've never, ever been beaten on a holeshot. He's a good driver, and he did his job on the Tree. I didn't.

 

"But I had the car to beat this weekend. I truly feel that, and I think everybody saw that."

 

Fans also saw the friendly side of Haney, who spent a lot of time engaging with them at the racetrack and online through his Keith Haney Racing Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Keith-Haney-Racing-187112541341450/). Haney brought 600 KHR T-shirts and sweatshirts to the event, and he sold them all.

"It is amazing how many fans we made this weekend," Haney said. "Our Facebook page added more than 4,000 people last week. We had more than 128,000 people engaged to our Facebook page, so our social media went through the roof.

 

"The fans at the track loved that I stood at the back of the trailer with no barricades and talked to every one of them."

 

Many fans also enjoyed the verbal sparring between Haney and Lights Out 7 promoter Donald Long. Haney got the last word.

 

"I'm the only person who ever shut Donald Long's mouth," Haney said. "Every fan came up and said, 'You're the only person who said they were going to do something, and Donald said they wouldn't. You proved him wrong.' "

 

Haney also appreciated the countless text messages, phone calls, e-mails, and online posts he received over the weekend.

 

"Thank you to all those people who messaged me," Haney said. "They are the people who matter most, and I appreciate every one of them."

 

Sponsors Lucas Oil, RacingJunk.com, Switzer Dynamics, Pesz Performance & Tuning, Reher-Morrison, M&M Transmission, and Menscer Motorsports Shocks made Haney's foray into the Drag Radial world possible, and he continues to appreciate the support of wife Dee and children Timber, Alex, Madison, and Logan.

 

The new car will stay in Haney's garage until the Radial Revenge Tour on April 1-2 at Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park. Haney hopes for an even better event at the track he co-owns with Todd Martin.

 

"What a great atmosphere, what a remarkable race they put on here," Haney said. "We can take some of the good and bad of the experience, tweak it, and make it 10 times better at Tulsa."

Despite a tough loss in the third round, Keith Haney and his team had a  remarkable  run in their first Drag Radial race, last weekend's Lights Out 7 event at  South Georgia  Motorsports Park.

With large crowd cheering, Keith Haney returns for Lights Out 7 qualifying

CECIL, Ga. (Feb. 19) -- Keith Haney keeps surprising the Drag Radial world. Earlier this week, he put down what was the quickest pass in Drag Radial history during qualifying for the Lights Out 7 race at South Georgia Motorsports Park.

 

Haney then rebounded from a crash on Thursday to make it for the fourth round of qualifying on Friday, much to the delight of the large crowd at SGMP.

 

"The car's got duct tape on it," Haney said of his Lucas Oil/RacingJunk.com Chevrolet. "But we made it to fourth round. Nobody could believe it. I've never seen 10,000 people on their feet when I pulled up. I was the last car to go down the racetrack, and every person was on their feet screaming for Keith Haney Racing. It was the craziest thing you've ever seen."

 

Haney remains in the No. 3 qualifying position, with one more round slated for Saturday. His pass of 3.894 seconds at 191.81 mph on Wednesday raised plenty of eyebrows, but he was off to an even better pass Thursday. After a .984-second 60-foot time, Haney got into trouble when he ran through some liquid on the track.

 

"We get in some oil at about 250 feet," Haney said. "I stayed on the gas a little longer than I probably should've, so I'll take part of the blame. It was exactly one second when the car started spinning the tire and then turned directly left. When it washed out, the car was totally sideways, heading into the wall. I yanked the wheel as hard as I could to keep it off the wall."

 

Haney's car slid sideways into the wall, damaging the driver's side bodywork and the headers on that side of the car.

 

"Nothing was hurt on the race car but the body," Haney said.

 

But the body and headers needed attention, and Haney had plenty of people jump in to help his Keith Haney Racing team of Brandon Pesz, Brandon Switzer, and Andrew Arnold. Drivers Monroe Guest and Shane Lawson chipped in, as did the Pickett brothers. Plus, Switzer Dynamics employees Dan Carver and Brian Sitton drove from PRO-FABrication in Concord, N.C., to work on new headers for Haney's Reher-Morrison Racing Engines powerplant.

 

"I asked (tuners) Brandon Switzer and Brandon Pesz at least three times apiece if everything was OK," Haney said. "They told me, 'Everything's good, Keith. Just do your job.' "

 

The work was done, but Haney ran into a last-minute issue before qualifying Friday.

 

"We start the car, put it in gear, and the converter is locked up," Haney said. "We've got 30 minutes to get to the lanes. We get the transmission out, put a new converter in it, and we make it up there. They duct-taped the door shut. When I got done with my pass, I got out on the passenger side."

 

Haney smoked the tires on that pass, but simply making it to the session and completing a run was important to him.

 

"I owe every single bit of it to my team," Haney said. 

 

After the final round of qualifying, eliminations begin Saturday night, with the race completed on Sunday. And Haney already is predicting an all-Oklahoma driver final.

 

"I already called it: Me and DeWayne (Mills) are going to meet in the final round," Haney said. "No. 2 and No. 3: Oklahoma to the front."

 

Lucas Oil, RacingJunk.com, Switzer Dynamics, Pesz Performance & Tuning, Reher-Morrison, and M&M Transmission are partnering with Haney this weekend.

Keith Haney rebounded from a crash on Thursday to make it for the fourth  round of  qualifying on Fridayat the Lights Out 7 race at South Georgia  Motorsports Park.

Keith Haney had plenty of people jump in to help his team of Brandon Pesz, Brandon Switzer, and Andrew Arnold.

Keith Haney speeds to provisional No. 1 with quickest pass in Drag Radial history

CECIL, Ga. (Feb. 17) -- Keith Haney didn't come into the Drag Radial world to  play around; he came to win. On Wednesday night, Haney showed just how serious he is by running what is  considered to be the quickest elapsed time in Drag Radial history, 3.894 seconds  at 191.81 mph, to claim the provisional No. 1 spot for the Lights Out 7 race at  South Georgia Motorsports Park. And for all the fun Haney has had in secretly building the Lucas Oil/RacingJunk.com  Chevrolet and verbally jousting with his competitors, he was humbled by the  accomplishment. "If it wasn't for Brandon Switzer and Brandon Pesz, Andrew Arnold, Reher-Morrison,  Martin Mickie, Lucas Oil, Racing Junk, Larry Jeffers, and all my guys at Keith  Haney Racing, this wouldn't have happened," Haney said. "If it wasn't for my family,  my wife, my kids, this wouldn't have happened. I've never been away from home for  10 days, not one time, but they've let me. "I could go home tomorrow and know that I accomplished what everybody  said I couldn't do. But it wasn't me." Haney said he simply lets "go of the button" on the starting line, while plenty of  people have worked countless hours preparing his new car. It started with Larry Jeffers  Race Cars building a state-of-the-art chassis, and then Switzer, Dan Carver, and  Brian Sitton from Switzer Dynamics finished the car. "Larry Jeffers built the chassis, and then it went to Brandon Switzer's," Haney said.  "Brandon and his guys all worked very hard putting this car together. They had some  late nights, sleepless nights, long hours. I created hell for these guys." Haney also gives credit to Reher-Morrison Racing Engines for good horsepower, to  Mark Mickie of M&M Transmissions for helping harness that power, and Menscer  Motorsports for building a set of shocks this week. And, of course, he thanks Switzer and Pesz for tuning the engine/chassis combination.  The duo had never tuned a Drag Radial car until this week, when Haney tested the  new car at Orlando Speed World before coming to SGMP. "Guess what? They just know how to drag race," Haney said. "It doesn't matter if it's a  big tire or a little tire. What matters is they put as much passion and hard work  into as I do in driving." During Haney's pass, he recorded the quickest 60-foot and 330-foot times in a  Drag Radial car. "I've got goose bumps," Haney said. "I don't know what to say. I guess it's just like  Erica (Enders) winning for the first time; that's what I relate it to. They said she couldn't  do it, they said I couldn't do it. She did it, I just did it. "I had a premonition that something special was going to happen. I live life like that.  Everything happens for a reason." Haney was also thinking about his wife, Dee, and his kids, Timber, Alex, Madison,  and Logan, as he was celebrating his quick run. "My wife and my family letting me be gone this long, there's nothing better," Haney said.  "Nothing better." Keith Haney ran what is considered to be the quickest e.t. in Drag Radial history,  a 3.894 at 191.81 mph, to claim the provisional No. 1 spot for the Lights Out 7 race  at South Georgia Motorsports Par

Keith Haney tests Pro Nitrous, 

Radial cars at Orlando Speed World

ORLANDO, Fla. (Feb. 13) -- Keith Haney and his Keith Haney Racing team kick off their 2016 season with a test this weekend at Orlando Speed World.


Keith Haney's new Drag Radial car was built by Larry Jeffers Race Cars and completed by Brandon Switzer and his Switzer Dynamics team.

Haney will drive both his Pro Nitrous car and his new Drag Radial car for two days in central Florida. The Professional Drag Racers Association season, during which Haney will drive his Lucas Oil/RacingJunk.com Camaro, begins in March at Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park.

But Haney is also entered in the Lights Out 7 Drag Radial race at South Georgia Motorsports Park next week, which will be the debut of his new Drag Radial Camaro.

"I've never driven a Drag Radial car, so am I nervous? Absolutely," Haney said. "Do I feel like it's going to be any different than what I've been doing? No."

Testing has gone "amazing" so far, according to Haney. He and his team began the trek to Florida on Friday, when he went to Innovative Safety Products in Concord, N.C., to have his seat installed in the Drag Radial car, and then to Florida to test. He started his first passes in the Drag Radial car on Saturday, learning the nuances of the car.

"When they shake, you better get out of it," Haney said. "The driving side of it is totally different. It's like a Pro Stocker: When it starts to shake, you're done, you lift. There's no driving through it. And if you try to drive through it, you're liable to end up on your lid or in the wall. A radial is totally different than a big tire."

The new car was built by Larry Jeffers Race Cars and completed by Brandon Switzer and his Switzer Dynamics team. It was completed in secret and announced only recently, turning the Drag Radial world on its ear.

This week, Haney debuted the new car to the public.

"The car is so cocky," Haney said. "I've got blowers, I've got turbos, I've got superchargers in the background on the car, and it's a nitrous car. On the back, it says, 'If you're looking at this, I'm on the cover of Drag Illustrated.' "

The car is matte black, with black and white decals from his many sponsors adorning it. Everything on the new car is the latest technology, and Haney credits Switzer for building an exceptional piece.

"I put something on Brandon Switzer and his shop that they weren't expecting," Haney said. "The chassis and the shell was built at Larry Jeffers' shop, and then it went to Brandon. He got it in December, and he just fired the car earlier this week. They had to do everything to this car.

"Everything we learned from my Pro Nitrous car went into the Drag Radial car. Every issue we ran into before has been fixed in this car. He threw the kitchen sink at this car, and his people have put in countless hours. This car is truly a state-of-the-art Drag Radial car."

Haney credits Lucas Oil, RacingJunk.com, Switzer Dynamics, Brandon Pesz and Pesz Performance & Tuning, Reher-Morrison, and M&M Transmission for helping with the 2016 season.


To see more photos of Haney's new Drag Radial car, click here.




Keith Haney and his Keith Haney Racing team kick off their 2016 season by testing both his Pro Nitrous car and his new Drag Radial car this weekend at Orlando Speed World.

There's a new player in the drag radial world: Keith Haney

There's a new player in the drag 

radial world: Keith Haney

 

TULSA, Okla. (Jan. 19) -- Look out, drag radial world, there's a new player in town.

 

After keeping it under wraps for six months, Keith Haney has unveiled a new Radial vs. The World race car that he'll debut in the Lights Out 7 race on Feb. 18-21 at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Cecil, Ga.

 

Haney, a regular Pro Nitrous competitor in the Professional Drag Racers Association, will race the new car at least three times in 2016, including at the Radial Revenge Tour race on April 1-2 at Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park.

 

Haney got to know the competitors in the drag radial world over the last several years, and he became a fan of the cars and the racing.

 

"All of them think I talk the game but don't want to walk the game," Haney said. "Well, I'm not coming out as a pretender in this class; I'm coming out as a contender. My combination is going to work in a radial car.

 

"I've been jacking with people for six months that I was going to put radials on my Pro Nitrous car. Well, I didn't do that, but I did the next best thing."

 

Haney's new car, a Chevrolet Camaro, was built in secret by Larry Jeffers Race Cars. It is virtually identical to Haney's Pro Nitrous car.

 

"My main focus is PDRA Pro Nitrous," Haney said. "I want to go for a world championship in my nitrous car. We ended 2015 on an outstanding note, and we're ready to start 2016 on another outstanding note. We went from the bottom part of the field to being in the top three or four. I'm looking forward to chasing the championship in PDRA Pro Nitrous.

 

"I built a radial car to have some fun. I want to hurt some feelings in the radial class, just for fun."

 

Last July, Haney decided to get a drag radial car, but he also wanted to keep it secret from everyone.

 

"But I didn't want anybody to know -- nobody," Haney said. "So for the last six months, I've been building a radial car with Larry Jeffers. It's been interesting and fun."

 

Not even members of his Keith Haney Racing team knew what was going on, and Haney had to come up with several schemes to keep the drag radial car under wraps.

 

"What's interesting is what it took for me to keep it quiet," Haney said. "My crew usually doesn't miss anything, and I had to figure out how to do it without them knowing."

 

Haney ordered a new engine from Reher-Morrison Racing Engines, and his team thought it was for the Pro Nitrous car. Haney told them fuel injectors were on back order and had the engine shipped to the shop of Brandon Switzer, his engine tuner. All the shipping crate said was "RVW," Radial vs. the World.

 

Haney had M&M Transmission send a transmission box as if he would send it back to them, but instead it sent that on to Jeffers. When Haney ordered other components for the new car, they were shipped to Jeffers' shop, too, all with "RVW" on the boxes. Mechanics in Jeffers' shop didn't know who the car was for, either.

 

"Larry Jeffers did just as good a job keeping it quiet as I did," Haney said.

 

Jeffers also had some fun with people in the drag radial world, as he took a photo of the new car where all you can see is primer and the radial tire: "Purposely built radial car for Lights Out 7." Many people called Jeffers wanting to know about the car, but he simply told them he was putting radials on his special "Bad Bus" entry he uses in exhibitions.

 

"This has been six months of keeping quiet, and I absolutely cannot believe I've made it this long," Haney said.

 

After Jeffers finished building it, the car was shipped to Brandon Switzer's Switzer Dynamics for tuning, wiring, and plumbing. Finally, on Jan. 9, Haney told his race team, including chassis tuner Brandon Pesz, about it.

 

"They all about killed me," Haney said. "We're going to unveil it at Donald Long's Lights Out 7 race. He doesn't even know that I'm coming.

 

"There are a lot of cocky guys in this class, and I think I fit right in. I thought, 'What the hell? I'll jump in there and play with those boys.' "

 

Haney's foray into drag radial wouldn't be possible without the support of partners Lucas Oil, RacingJunk.com, Switzer Dynamics, Pesz Performance & Tuning, Reher-Morrison, M&M Transmission, and Haney's family of car dealerships: Suburban Chevrolet in Claremore, Okla.; 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.

Keith Haney has unveiled a new Radial vs. The World race car that he'll debut in  the Lights Out 7 race on Feb. 18-21 at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Cecil, Ga.

Keith Haney Racing ready for next year after fast close to 2015 season

TULSA, Okla. (Nov. 19) -- There's an old adage in racing that's apropos for the 2015 season of Keith Haney and his Keith Haney Racing team: "It's not how you start, it's how you finish."

Haney's Lucas Oil/RacingJunk.com Pro Nitrous Chevrolet Camaro closed out the year with quick elapsed times and high speed, capping a second-half surge that made him a consistent contender in the Professional Drag Racers Association.

 

"I could not be any happier with the way things ended, other than I wish I would've won," Haney said. "I wish we would've found the last half of the year at the beginning of the season. We would've won some races then."

Early in the year, Haney struggled with an older-version engine, and his team didn't perform at a high level, but after an upgraded Reher-Morrison Racing Engines powerplant, Haney became one of the quicker Pro Nitrous drivers in the series.

"It was the worst start to a year you could ever have," Haney said. "We started the year in Dallas and had to rebuild a motor three times there, four times in Rockingham -- just stupid stuff. The first four races we thought, 'Why are we even out here?'

"But we stuck it out, and we got our new motor in St. Louis. That's where I raced Travis Harvey and went 3.76 at 201 mph -- my quickest e.t. ever -- and he goes 3.70 on me."

Despite the loss, Haney knew he had an improved race car. The following week in Martin, Mich., he made a rare mistake on the starting line that spoiled his chances of success there, but his confidence didn't wane.

"After that, we rocked and rolled," Haney said. "We came together as a team, and the little mistakes we used to make stopped. It's all about the team. One little mistake from the team can cause a big problem. The team that makes the least amount of mistakes is the most successful. I couldn't be happier with my team and my year."

The culmination of the latter stages of 2015 came in the PDRA World Finals at Virginia Motorsports Park. Haney qualified No. 3 after a career-best pass of 3.740 seconds at 200.68 mph, and he raced to the semifinals. If not for Steve Jackson's event-best run of 3.705 seconds at 202.61 mph, Haney could have raced for the victory.

Haney is quick to give credit and thanks to his longtime sponsors, Lucas Oil and RacingJunk.com, and to his race team of Brandon Pesz, Brandon Switzer, Randy Hancock, Dale Hancock, and Andrew Arnold.

Haney is excited for the future, too, with his team and with Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park, which hosts the 2016 PDRA season opener next March.

"The racetrack was successful, and my race team was successful the last part of the year," Haney said. "We've got some exciting news that will come out later on. We're looking forward to next year."

Keith Haney's Lucas Oil/RacingJunk.com Pro Nitrous Chevrolet Camaro closed out  the year with quick elapsed times and high speed, capping a second-half surge that made  him a consistent contender in the Professional Drag Racers Association.