Keith Haney makes difficult decision to miss Radial Revenge race in his hometown

Keith Haney makes difficult decision to miss Radial Revenge race in his hometown

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  hand watching the live feed from MotorManiaTV.com." 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."

Keith Haney ready for 'Notorious' weekend at PDRA season opener

 TULSA, Okla. (March 16) -- The dreamer in Keith Haney knows a victory in the Professional Drag Racers Association season opener at Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park would be the ultimate. That's because Tulsa is Haney's hometown, the center of his seven car dealerships, and he's also a co-owner of the racetrack with Todd Martin.

 The PDRA Nationals will be a big event for Haney anyway, but a victory with his Lucas Oil/RacingJunk.com Pro Nitrous Chevrolet -- named "Notorious" -- would be an incredible feat.

 "I've won the Throwdown in T-town before," Haney said. "But to win on a professional level in front of my hometown fans in my hometown, it would be the best thing that could happen for me. I would have accomplished everything in my hometown. That would be awesome."

 The PDRA Nationals were rescheduled from last weekend because of steady rain in the Tulsa area, but Haney remains confident with his Keith Haney Racing team and tuners Brandon Pesz and Brandon Switzer.

 "We made two hits at the track a couple of weeks ago," Haney said. "We made a pass that went right down Broadway, so we loaded it up on the trailer and said, 'Let's wait and go racing.' When you can do something like that, you know you've got things in the right order. We ran great and didn't show what we've got. We already know what we've got

 "The team is feeling good. The crew is on cloud nine. We haven't had to change a whole lot to the car now that PDRA has done some cubic-inch limits. We're just having to tune race cars now. We're excited, and we can't wait."

Haney is also pumped about a grudge match with racer Jay Cox, with whom Haney has engaged in an online feud in the off-season, all in good fun. The match race will take place Friday night.

"We can't wait for our grudge race with Jay Cox," Haney said. "We're excited about that. We've even got the NHRA guys talking about that. I pulled into the track Monday, and (Elite Motorsports owner) Richard Freeman, (Pro Stock driver) Vincent Nobile, and (Elite Performance engine builder) Jake Hairston were all asking about that. When you've got NHRA people talking about a little bit of a grudge match, you know you've made some news."

After all the talk between the two over the winter, the time is now for one driver to step up.

"There might be a side wager between me and Jay," Haney said. "An undisclosed wager is on the line. We've got a rivalry, and we'll have it all year. I've got it with other drivers, too. It's not just Jay. He just happened to be the one who barked the loudest."

Sponsors Lucas Oil, RacingJunk.com, Switzer Dynamics, Pesz Performance & Tuning, Reher-Morrison, M&M Transmission, and Menscer Motorsports Shocks make Haney's Pro Nitrous entry possible, and he continues to appreciate the support from wife Dee and children Timber, Alex, Madison, and Logan.

After a test day Thursday, three rounds of qualifying are scheduled for Friday, beginning at 10:30 a.m.Central time. Another round of qualifying is scheduled for Saturday morning before eliminations begin that afternoon. Final rounds are slated for Saturday night.

 The PDRA Nationals this weekend will be a big event for Keith Haney, but a victory with his Lucas Oil/RacingJunk.com Pro Nitrous Chevrolet -- named "Notorious" -- would be an incredible feat.

Keith Haney Racing ready to debut 'Notorious' at PDRA opener

 

 TULSA, Okla. (March 4) -- After a successful debut of his "Enigma" Drag Radial car, Keith Haney Racing will unveil his "Notorious" race car for the PDRA Nationals next weekend at Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park.  Keith Haney will drive Notorious, his Lucas Oil/RacingJunk.com Chevrolet, at the PDRA opener March 10-12.

 

 

"We've all gotten away from what racing was," Haney said. "Back in the day, you had 'the Snake' and 'the Mongoose' and you knew them by their cars. You had names for all these cars; it wasn't the driver. Fans knew the car by its name.

 

"We did that with our Drag Radial car, the Enigma. We brought Enigma out, and on the side of the car was, 'You Know My Name.' Was it a little cocky? Absolutely. Did we go shock the Drag Radial world? Absolutely. Are we the fastest nitrous car in the world? Yes. That's what I want to do with Notorious."

 

Haney's Notorious is a nod to days gone by in drag racing, and he hopes to make it as famous as any race car.

 

"Naming a car is what it's all about," Haney said. "We want the fans to know the car. There are a million Camaros, but there's only one Notorious. We need to remind ourselves that the fans go for the cars, just like in NASCAR. It's the M&Ms car, the Lowe's car. We've gotten away from that in drag racing.

 

"The new Notorious is going to come out and shock the Pro Nitrous world. We're going for a championship, we're going for records, we're going for No. 1."

 

 Keith Haney will drive Notorious, his new Lucas Oil/RacingJunk.com Chevrolet, at the PDRA season opener March 10-12 at Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park.

 

Haney has two of the best tuners in the world working on Notorious, Brandon Pesz and Brandon Switzer. Plus, his Keith Haney Racing team is second to none.

 

"I've got the Dream Team tuning," Haney said. "How great is it to have the first race of the year at Tulsa, where I'm a co-owner with Todd Martin. What a great way to start the year."

 

Sponsors Lucas Oil, RacingJunk.com, Switzer Dynamics, Pesz Performance & Tuning, Reher-Morrison, M&M Transmission, and Menscer Motorsports Shocks help make Haney's PDRA team possible, and he continues to appreciate the support from wife Dee and children Timber, Alex, Madison, and Logan.

 

Haney's family of car dealerships includes 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.