7/13/2018
Keith Haney
Haney Unfazed by Breakage at MWPMS Event in Topeka
Keith Haney enjoyed a good, solid start to his race weekend June 29-30 at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, KS, but a few broken bolts on race day cost him a likely final-round appearance and possible win in the Frankenstein Engine Dynamics Mid-West Pro Mod Series (MWPMS) event.
After 20 cars completed four rounds of qualifying, Haney and “Notorious,” his nitrous-boosted 2014 Camaro, placed fifth overall with a 3.89-seconds pass at 193.13 mph.
“That was the quickest run of all the nitrous entries on the grounds, so we were pretty proud of that,” said Haney, who also owns and promotes the all-eighth-mile MWPMS. “Brandon Switzer couldn’t be there in person but he made some great tuning calls over the phone from Virginia and my co-crew chief, Brandon Pesz, he handled everything at the track in addition to racing his own car to the semi finals.”
Haney opened eliminations with a 3.98 to 4.19 win over Chad Javers and his supercharged ’67 Mustang, and then made a 4.43 solo pass in the quarter finals after Tommy Cunningham was unable to make the call to stage with another blown ’67 Mustang. Unfortunately, Haney’s off-the-pace pass reflected his own mechanical woes as several bolts sheared off between the flywheel and torque converter.
“The car was running consistent every pass, but some really hot temperatures and marginal conditions on the race track made it hard to get after it, so we were experiencing a whole lot of tire shake. Not so bad I had to pedal it, but definitely bad enough to hurt things,” Haney explained.
“It was the same thing that happened to us down in Valdosta (GA) earlier this year with “Enigma,” my drag radial car, but this time we just didn’t have enough turnaround time to get it fixed. It’s a shame, too, because we were supposed to run Jim Sackuvich in the semis and he shook pretty bad so we would’ve been in the finals with even just a halfway decent run.”
Regardless, after missing the previous two MWPMS events due to business demands, Haney moved up a couple of positions on the Pro Mod points list and is looking forward to the next MWPMS race Aug. 2-4, at Gateway Motorsports Park, near St. Louis.
“Going to the finals would’ve helped me a ton, but this race really tightened things up,” Haney observed. “Aaron Wells was in the top five, but he didn’t qualify and who would’ve thought that? Then Jonas Aleshire who was second overall, still is, but he qualifies number one and loses in the first round, and Ron Muenks, our points leader, he loses second round, so that keeps things pretty tight. And Jason Hamstra, he wins the race from the number-two start and breaks into the top 10, so he could be a player if he keeps that up with three races still to go.
“And don’t count me out, either,” Haney added. “St. Louis, is one of my favorite tracks and I’m looking forward to winning there. These guys may have caught a break when our stuff broke in Topeka, but it’s all gonna’ be fixed and ready to turn on the win lights at Gateway. I promise you, this is far from over; those guys better be ready for a fight.”
Photos courtesy KHR/MWPMS
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.
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