12/6/2018
Keith Haney
'Labor of Love' for MWPMS Videographer Jimmy Biggs
According to official videographer Jimmy Biggs, he has the best job on the grounds during each event for the Tulsa-based Frankenstein Engine Dynamics Mid-West Pro Mod Series (MWPMS).
"It's a labor of love; it really is," Biggs insists. "I consider it a privilege and an honor to tell the stories of the race teams and sponsors that make the Mid-West Pro Mod Series happen. And everybody has a cool story. With this whole industry it's like that because everybody comes from different backgrounds and has different experiences. Plus, everyone knows 99.5-percent of all drag racers are great guys and my experience with the Mid-West Series absolutely confirms that."
For the better part of two decades, Biggs, 62, has concentrated on providing drag racing coverage, working with the NMCA, Fun Ford, ADRL and PDRA before MWPMS owner, promoter and competitor Keith Haney came calling. Biggs estimates he posted between 150 and 200 MWPMS video clips to the MWPMS Facebook page this year.
"I can't tell you how many drivers and crew guys come to me the next day to say they never expected to see things get posted so fast. They're more used to seeing video from events go up a week or two, maybe more, after an event, but coming from a TV news background I work fast. I know how to shoot and edit for speed," he says.
"Jimmy is just awesome for our racers and the series," Haney adds. "I've really been impressed with what he's able to accomplish all on his own. What he does, along with Al Tucci on the P.A. and Chad Reynolds with the live feed, really adds to the atmosphere and contributes so much information and knowledge about the Mid-West Series."
Biggs shoots both trackside and in the pits during MWPMS races and creates short product features from MWPMS sponsor visits between events. He is the camera operator, director, interviewer and editor, typically traveling the country alone--sometimes flying, but most often driving--from his home base in Delaware, though an imminent move to North Carolina is planned.
"I used to be paired up with Brian Olson, who was one of the greatest announcers and interviewers this sport has ever known. He and I just clicked to where we pretty much knew where the other was going even before they did, but ever since Brian passed away (in 2015), I've pretty much been a solo act," Biggs says.
"I make my own schedule, I go visit race shops and manufacturers when I want, and if I want to stay up and edit all night and then go for something to eat at 3 in the morning, I can do that. And all that is thanks to Keith (Haney). He lets me do my thing, make my own decisions and set my own agenda. There's not a bit of pressure, which actually makes me want to work harder and create more stuff. Seriously, you can't ask for anything more than that."
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Photos courtesy MWPMS/Dyan Lover
ABOUT THE MID-WEST PRO MOD SERIES
The Mid-West Pro Mod Series (MWPMS) is an all-eighth-mile, no-profit organization that typically competes during each host track’s biggest event of the year. Its appearance is entirely funded by sponsorships passed along to benefit the host tracks (typically about $10,000). The Mid-West Pro Mod Series also provides trackside sponsor banners to be displayed at each event, on-site PA sponsor announcements, and links to each company on the MWPMS website (www.MidWestProModSeries.com), plus an extensive social-media presence, texts and e-mail blasts, and commercials during all events.