9/9/2016
Keith Haney
Keith Haney ready to win with Notorious at Dragstock XII
Keith Haney has done a lot for the sport of drag racing, especially in 2016, bringing a lot of publicity to eighth-mile racing and the drag-radial world.
But Haney isn't bringing his Keith Haney Racing team to the dragstrip just for publicity. No, Haney wants to win, and he wants to win at Dragstock XIII this weekend at GALOT Motorsports Park.
"I'm going to be respectful, but I'm going to say what I feel: I want to win," Haney said. "That's it. We're due: Keith Haney Racing, Switzer Dynamics, Brandon Pesz, RacingJunk.com, Total Seal, Larry Jeffers Race Cars. It's time for us to go out there and win."
Haney will race his Pro Nitrous Lucas Oil/RacingJunk.com Chevrolet, nicknamed "Notorious," at the revamped facility near Raleigh, N.C.
"We're concentrating on Notorious and getting ready to go down there and take care of some business," Haney said. "We're sick of listening to all this other stuff. It's time for Reher-Morrison power to show its head. We've got to put that Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater on the trailer."
That would be Jay Cox, whose bright-orange race car draws the "pumpkin" nickname.
"He has beaten me twice in eliminations and once in a grudge race," Haney said. "He's got me 0-3 right now. It's time to get revenge. He may be leading the points and all that, but I'm coming for him. I'm coming for him and everyone else around him."
Haney has shown a lot of speed out of Notorious this season, sitting ninth in the Pro Nitrous points standings despite missing a PDRA race, but he has also done his share of stirring the pot.
"The smack-talking has been happening lately on the Drag Radial side because we're real close to the No Mercy race at South Georgia Motorsports Park," Haney said. "Stevie Jackson and I have some cross words going on with each other."
Haney and some of his competitors have exchanged friendly barbs via Facebook, generating a lot of attention, and that's part of Haney's brilliance as a promoter. He has challenged several drivers to old-school grudge races, and that has created a movement of sorts.
"Take a look at it now: You've got five grudge races going at the PDRA race at GALOT," Haney said. "It's time to bring reality back to the sport, and at the end of the day, everybody wants to win. It doesn't matter who's on the other lane.
"For me, it doesn't matter who it is. If they're in the other lane, I want to kick their ass, just like they want to kick mine."
But it has also helped Haney, too, of course.
"We got some good news from Lucas Oil," Haney said. "They came back on board for 2017, RacingJunk.com has come back on board, Total Seal has come back on. We've got some companies we're talking to now. With the two cars and the notoriety we have, we've got a lot of people interested. In the social media world, in the media world, Keith Haney Racing is on everybody's minds. Like Wes Buck and I say, 'We're trying to make drag racing great again.' "
Sponsors Lucas Oil, RacingJunk.com, Switzer Dynamics, Pesz Performance & Tuning, Reher-Morrison, M&M Transmission, and Adam Lambert from Precision Racing Suspension help make Haney's PDRA team possible, and he continues to appreciate the support from wife Dee and his children Timber, Alex, Madison and Logan.
Haney's family of car dealerships includes Suburban Chevrolet in Claremore; 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.
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