The dreamer in Keith Haney knows a victory this weekend (Mar. 18-19) in the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) 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 race track with Todd Martin.
Keith Haney
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.”
This story was originally published on March 16, 2016. 
