Keith Haney Chasing More Win Lights at MWDRS Great Bend Nationals

 

GREAT BEND, Kan. (May 31, 2022) – Keith Haney and his nitrous-fed “Black Mamba” Camaro raced to a runner-up finish in Stroud Safety Pro Mod at the inaugural Summit Racing Equipment Mid-West Drag Racing Series (MWDRS) presented by J&A Service Great Bend Nationals last year. This time around, Haney is motivated to make it a win when the series returns to SRCA Dragstrip this weekend, June 3-4. 
 
Haney’s runner-up finish at the event last year was the first of numerous final-round appearances for Haney and his Summit Racing Equipment-backed team. He went on to finish third in the MWDRS Pro Mod championship points. 
 
“This race is when things really started to come together,” said Haney, who’s also the founder and owner of the MWDRS. “We went from barely being on the sheet to being in third place by the end of the year. I'm excited about our program and everything that's about to happen as we try to get to a championship.”
 
Haney has been consistently going rounds in his Musi-powered, Bickel-built Camaro, but a final-round appearance has escaped the Tulsa-area businessman. A ProCharger-boosted car and two screw-blown cars have won the first three races of the season, and Haney is eager to put a win on the board for the nitrous combination. 
 
“Nitrous needs that push,” Haney said. “We need to get back into the winner's circle. We made it to three or four finals by the end of last year and Great Bend was our first final round appearance and lost to Joey [Oksas]. Hopefully we can reap the same benefits this year and turn on one more win light.”
 
Haney and his team, led by tuner Brandon Switzer of Switzer Dynamics, will race at Great Bend with continued support from partners like Summit Racing Equipment, Lucas Oil, and Strange Engineering. 
 
“I can't do it without my team, my wife, Misty, and my major sponsors that continue to believe in KHR,” Haney said. “Between the MWDRS and our team sponsors, there are so many people and companies that support us, and I can’t thank them enough.”
 
Haney and the “Black Mamba” Camaro will hit the track Friday for qualifying sessions at 6 and 8 p.m. The team will get a final qualifying session at 11 a.m. Saturday morning, with eliminations following at 6 p.m.

 
Fans can tune in to the official MAVTV Plus event livestream at www.MAVTVPlus.com. 
 
ABOUT KEITH HANEY RACING
Based in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Keith Haney Racing (www.keithhaneyracing.com) competes in the Summit Mid-West Drag Racing Series (MWDRS) presented by J&A Service, select NHRA, PDRA and NMCA races and one-off special events. Keith Haney Racing appreciates the support of Summit Racing Equipment, Lucas Oil, Strange Engineering, Pat Musi Racing Engines, Jerry Bickel Race Cars, Kryptonite Kustomz, RacingJunk.com, MoTeC Systems USA, Switzer Dynamics, Menscer Motorsports, OkAutosDirect.com, Race Star Wheels, Stroud Safety, Total Seal Piston Rings, M&M Transmission, Precision Racing Suspension, Tulsa Raceway Park, Callies and UEM Pistons.

Keith Haney Looking for Win-Win Situation at Tulsa’s Throwdown in T-Town

 

TULSA, Okla. (May 4, 2022) – With two event wins on the line at this weekend’s Throwdown in T-Town, Keith Haney is ready to do whatever it takes to park his nitrous-assisted “Black Mamba” Camaro in the

winner’s circle twice while racing in front of his hometown crowd at Osage Casino & Hotel Tulsa Raceway Park. It’s going to be a big weekend for Haney, who’s chasing the Stroud Safety Pro Mod championship in the Summit Racing Equipment Mid-West Drag Racing Series (MWDRS) presented by J&A Service. 
 
The series wasn’t able to complete eliminations at the Memphis Nationals two weeks ago due to wet track conditions. Memphis eliminations will start Thursday evening and will wrap up Friday morning before starting to qualify for the Tulsa race Friday evening. 
 
“Last time we did a double event back in October, I ended up in the semis and then won one,” said Haney, who owns the series and co-owns Tulsa Raceway Park with fellow Pro Mod racer Todd Martin. “I'm hoping for a repeat of the same thing that happened, other than go winner-winner this time. I'm excited about getting back to racing. Memphis was a long, drawn-out show with the rain and the hard work we did on the track getting it ready. I was out there with blowers trying to get it dry just like the other MWDRS and track officials. I’m excited to get back to racing and competing and doing two shows in one event and still being home with Momma on Mother's Day.”
 
Haney in his Musi-powered, Bickel-built hot rod qualified No. 9 at Memphis with a 3.799-second pass at 200.26 mph in rain-shortened qualifying. It was the first race on a new set of rules after adjustments were made to multiple combinations following the season opener. 
 
“I think the rules worked out good,” Haney said. “Everybody got a little closer at the race, qualifying wise, but we're going into eliminations. I got my tough guy, Tommy Cunningham [owner of Stroud Safety]. It seems like we always meet first round or somewhere around there.”
 
Along with a busy weekend on the racetrack, it’s going to be a hectic few days in the pits for Haney, who lives in nearby Broken Arrow and owns multiple businesses in the Tulsa area. 
 
“It’s wonderful to be racing at home and to run in front of everybody, but also a little stressful because there's so many people who want your attention at your home track,” Haney said. “Not only do I co-own the racetrack, I own the series and I race and we're in our hometown with all of our family and businesses. I'm wearing a lot of hats. Thank God I have my wife, Misty, to take half those hats away from me. I wouldn't be able to do it all without her. All of our crew members' families are here as well. Everybody's got a lot going on.”
 
While Haney will focus on the driving side of things, he leaves the mechanical aspects up to his hard-working team led by tuner Brandon Switzer of Switzer Dynamics. Switzer specializes in nitrous-oxide-assisted applications, and he’s tuned the two most recent event winners in PDRA Pro Nitrous. 
 
“I'm glad to have Brandon Switzer in the house tuning for this race,” Haney said. “None of our races overlap with PDRA, which is nice. He tunes the guys over there that just won, both finalists at the last race, Mike Achenbach and Jim Halsey, and Halsey ended up winning. I'm glad I have his attention here chasing a championship this year.”
 
Haney will also have the onsite support of Summit Racing Equipment, which is both the team’s main sponsor and the naming rights sponsor of the MWDRS. 
 
“Summit is going to be on premises with their support trailer,” Haney said. “I’ve got my sponsor here – I’ve got everything here. It’s going to be great.”
 
MWDRS Memphis eliminations will begin Thursday at 6 p.m. and will conclude Friday with the final round at 11 a.m. The series will then move into the Tulsa race with qualifying sessions at 6 and 8 p.m. Pro Mod will run a third and final qualifying session at 11 a.m. Saturday, followed by eliminations starting at 6 p.m. Fans can tune in to the official MAVTV Plus event livestream at www.MAVTVPlus.com. 
 
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ABOUT KEITH HANEY RACING
Based in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Keith Haney Racing (www.keithhaneyracing.com) competes in the Summit Mid-West Drag Racing Series (MWDRS) presented by J&A Service, select NHRA, PDRA and NMCA races and one-off special events. Keith Haney Racing appreciates the support of Summit Racing Equipment, Lucas Oil, Strange Engineering, Pat Musi Racing Engines, Jerry Bickel Race Cars, Kryptonite Kustomz, RacingJunk.com, MoTeC Systems USA, Switzer Dynamics, Menscer Motorsports, OkAutosDirect.com, Race Star Wheels, Stroud Safety, Total Seal Piston Rings, M&M Transmission, Precision Racing Suspension, Tulsa Raceway Park, Callies and UEM Pistons.

Keith Haney Rolling to Final Memphis Race with MWDRS Pro Mod’s Quickest Nitrous Car

 Keith Haney Rolling to Final Memphis Race with MWDRS Pro Mod’s Quickest Nitrous Car
 
TULSA, Okla. (April 21, 2022) – A promising start to the 2022 Summit Racing Equipment Mid-West Drag Racing Series (MWDRS) presented by J&A Service season in late March has Keith Haney fired up for the next race on the series’ eight-race schedule, the MWDRS Memphis Nationals, April 22-23 at Memphis International Raceway (MIR). Taking place in conjunction with the 35th Chevy Show Weekend, it’s one of the last major events at MIR before the track closes later this summer. 
 
At the MWDRS season opener, Haney recorded a 3.655-second blast in his Jerry Bickel-built, Pat Musi-powered “Black Mamba” Camaro in qualifying to set the current series record for nitrous cars in Stroud

Safety Pro Mod. It nearly matched Haney’s career-best of 3.653. He scored a first-round win over Texas Pro Mod hero Frankie “Mad Man” Taylor before falling to Daniel Pharris in a 3.600-to-3.741-second race in the second round. 
 
“We came out good and lost to Daniel Pharris in a great race,” Haney said. “We were on a great pass and had a nitrous backfire around 200 feet out and took us out of the race. We probably wouldn't have won the race, but we would've ran within the number we ran in qualifying. That was the goal. Obviously, [Pharris] was gonna go faster and he did. But we had good lights together and everything was there. We were together for a little bit, then we had the little backfire. But the preparation at the shop and everything we've been doing is paying off.”
 
Haney is eager to see how recent rule adjustments affect his car as well as others. The changes include a weight reduction for the nitrous combination and weight additions for the boosted applications after screw-blown and ProCharger-boosted entries dipped into the 3.50s at the season opener. 
 
“There was a rule change here recently for some of the combos to make sure we keep parity within the series,” Haney said. “It brings them a little closer to us or brings us a little closer to them. It's only 25 pounds, but at least it's something. I would've liked to see more, but even though I own the series, I don't have a say when it comes to rules. Lonnie Grim and Jeff Holloway do a really good job with the rules and the stats. I try to stay out of that.”
 
Between the rule changes, as well as a freshened Musi 959 and the data gathered at the Xtreme Texas Nationals, Haney believes he’ll take another step closer to getting his first win of the season at Memphis. 
 
“I can't wait to go back out there,” Haney said. “We need to go faster, obviously. I believe these guys are gonna go .61s, so we've gotta figure out how we get there. We have the power, we have the car, we have the crew, we just have to make it happen. It all has to come together.”
 
Going into his final Memphis appearance, Haney has looked back on some of his favorite memories at the track, including his first encounter with tuner Brandon Switzer of Switzer Dynamics. 
 
“I actually met Brandon and had a conversation for the first time at Memphis in 2012,” said Haney, who

was fairly new to Pro Mod competition at the time. “Erica Enders [a four-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion] was actually driving my other car. Brandon gave us a lot of advice and consulted with us a little bit. Our friendship took off and we've been together ever since. I have the best nitrous tuner in the world. He's the fastest guy in the world when it comes to nitrous. He holds a lot of records and wins a lot of races.”
 
Haney and the MWDRS last raced at MIR in 2019. Last year, the series and track management started working on plans to bring the series back to Memphis before the track was sold. The opportunity to race at Memphis one last time before it closes adds a unique aspect to this weekend’s race. 
 
“To be a part of history will be great,” Haney said. “To know that MWDRS, KHR and our crew were there one last time will be something I can always remember for the rest of my life.”
 
The competition is obviously something that has Haney excited for this weekend, but he’s also just looking forward to getting back to the track with his team and his family. 
 
“The crew is everything,” Haney said. “My wife, Misty, and the kids are enjoying me chasing my racing goals. Their support makes it more fun.”
 
Pro Mod qualifying is set to begin Friday at 6 p.m., with final qualifying on Saturday at 11 a.m. followed by eliminations at 4 p.m. Fans can tune in to the official MAVTV Plus event livestream at www.MAVTVPlus.com. 
 
 
ABOUT KEITH HANEY RACING
Based in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Keith Haney Racing (www.keithhaneyracing.com) competes in the Summit Mid-West Drag Racing Series (MWDRS) presented by J&A Service, select NHRA, PDRA and NMCA races and one-off special events. Keith Haney Racing appreciates the support of Summit Racing Equipment, Lucas Oil, Strange Engineering, Pat Musi Racing Engines, Jerry Bickel Race Cars, Kryptonite Kustomz, RacingJunk.com, MoTeC Systems USA, Switzer Dynamics, Menscer Motorsports, OkAutosDirect.com, Race Star Wheels, Stroud Safety, Total Seal Piston Rings, M&M Transmission, Precision Racing Suspension, Tulsa Raceway Park, Callies and UEM Pistons.