Keith Haney accomplished his goal of finishing off the 2022 Summit Racing Equipment Mid-West Drag Racing Series (MWDRS) presented by J&A Service season on a high note, as he raced to a runner-up finish in Stroud Safety Pro Mod at the Xtreme Texas World Finals at Xtreme Raceway Park. Haney in his nitrous-assisted “Black Mamba” Camaro left the starting line first in the final round, but came up short at the finish line with a 3.676-second pass at 204.36 MPH to Ron Muenks’ 3.618 at 208.62.
“It’s a good, positive start to 2023 that we’re already excited about getting started on, even though it’s not until March,” Haney said. “But it was a great team effort. Without the crew and my family there, we couldn’t have gotten to where we were. We had a lot of thrashing going on – changed motors and tore down a couple motors. My team – Dale Hancock, Shane Goodnight, Andy Hoffman, Steve Cooks, Brandon Switzer, Lil Bobby Savedra – they worked their butts off to get us to the finals. I drove good. I had good lights – a great light in the final, just didn’t have enough in it to get that .61.”
The No. 5 qualifier, Haney started race day with a 3.739 at 202.61 over Keith Goolsby, followed by a 3.713 at 203.16 over Tony Strachan’s 3.869. The Oklahoma native then used a holeshot advantage and 3.669 at 204.17 to defeat newly crowned champion Dustin Nesloney and his 3.673.
The runner-up finish allowed Haney to finish third in points, a solid finish considering he went into the Xtreme Texas World Finals just outside the top 5. He’s the only driver with a nitrous car in the top 10. Still, the past series champion was looking for more and hopes to come back even stronger in 2023.
“We didn’t have the year that we wanted,” Haney said. “It was a good year, but it wasn’t great. We needed another runner-up finish or a win to get up there to the No. 2 spot, but I was happy to get to the third spot, that’s for sure. Especially being the only nitrous car up there. I’m just a little behind on power to the screw cars and the ProChargers. We have to work to get there. It’s not so easy to make those low 3.60 runs without hurting stuff.”
The season finale was the high point of the year for Haney, but he also counts the experience of racing with his Keith Haney Racing team and the MWDRS family as a season-long highlight.
“Our team has been together a long time,” Haney said. “That’s probably the highlight, the fun that we’ve had racing together. This race was big for us, though. We really worked hard to get to where we were. Everything fell into place once we started eliminations. Finishing third in points and finishing the year going to the finals, I think that was probably our highlight for the year.”
Along with his crew, Haney offered up thanks to his family and the team’s sponsors for their support of his program this season.
“I want to thank my wife, Misty, and my kids for supporting me,” Haney said. “Obviously, my crew deserves a ton of credit for their efforts all season. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without our longtime partners like Summit Racing Equipment, Strange Engineering, Kryptonite Kustomz, Lucas Oil, RacingJunk.com, and Total Seal Piston Rings.”
Haney and his team will celebrate their 2022 season at the MWDRS Awards Banquet Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, in Claremore, Okla.
This story was originally published on October 27, 2022. 
