10/9/2024
Keith Haney
Keith Haney Racing wins Texas Tango at Pine Valley Raceway!
Keith Haney Racing wins Texas Tango at Pine Valley Raceway!
The team at Keith Haney Racing loaded up the Black Mamba and headed south to Pine Valley Raceway for the Summit Racing Mid-West Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service LLC Texas Tango. The track is set in a beautiful valley along a great stretch of Texas two lane highway. But, pay attention, the driveway sneaks up on you. It opens up to a great facility that has the feel of small town track but don’t let that fool you, this place gets down!
The crew for the weekend included Steve Crooks and Bobby Salvedra III, meaning we needed to make the most of our limited test passes and keep the car together. We turned the car down out of the hole and poured in down track, which worked to put us in the 3.7xxs leading in to Qualifying.
During Q2, we ran what would be our best pass of the weekend, with a 3.699, landing us the #1 Qualifier Spot! We elected to skip Q3 as it was so hot and had faith that our pass from the night before would hold. It turned out to be a great idea, during our nut/bolt of the car before Eliminations, we noticed the driveshaft had damage. We quickly changed it and made our way to the lanes shortly after.
With the limited car count, that meant we would get a bye into the Finals against the winner of Ed Thornton and Tina Pierce. Ed did what Ed does and made a great pass, sending Tina to the Slammers Class. We took the bye as a test pass to make sure everything was good to go, and it was, with us clicking off a 3.724.
The Finals would put us side by side with Ed “Mr MPH” Thornton in his twin turbo Camaro tuned by Shane Tecklenburg. Ed and I have raced several times over the years and we know we have to get after the tune-up at the launch to stay out ahead of that hard charging turbo car. Ed could come by you running 20+ MPH more than you if you aren’t on a great pass. By 60’, we had a fender on him and by 150’ most of the car. The Black Mamba burned all of the nitrous through the Pat Musi 998 cubic inches and gave the fans a side by side race to about 400’ when Ed let out. We would end the run with a 3.708 and 204 MPH.
The Texas Tango win puts us in the points lead, by just 10 points over Mark Micke, for the MWDRS Stroud Safety Pro Mod Championship going into the Ronnie Hobbs World Finals Throwdown in T-Town. Can we Repeat our 2023 Pro Mod Championship?? With your help we have a chance, but you need to be at Tulsa Raceway Park to cheer us on!! “I hope to see all my fans at Osage Casino & Hotel Tulsa Raceway Park on Oct 18 & 19! We’re doing Free Entry for every spectator for the weekend! Load your friends, family, neighbors and strangers and come watch some of the best racing of the 2024 season!” - Keith Haney
Article Credit: Michael Narx
Submitted By: Michael Narx
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