Memphis , St . Louis return to eight-race schedule By Josh Hachat

The new season opens with the MWDRS Xtreme Texas Nationals at Xtreme Raceway in Ferris , Texas , on March 18-19 and ends with the MWDRS Xtreme Texas World Finals on Oct . 21- 22 at the same facility .

The MWDRS will compete at five additional tracks at the other six events , bringing back stops at Memphis International Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway in St . Louis .

The series will have its customary stops at its home facility , Tulsa Raceway Park , for the two Throwdown in T-Town races , and also head to U . S . 131 Motorsports Park in Martin , Michigan , and SRCA Dragstrip in Great Bend , Kansas , showcasing the incredible action and big-money purses in Pro Mod , Top Alcohol Funny Car , Top Sportsman and Top Dragster , as well as Jr . Dragster .

“ I would say this is the best schedule we ’ ve put together since we ’ ve started ,” Mid-West Drag Racing Series Founder Keith Haney said . “ I truly love the schedule we ’ ve put together for next year and the feedback has been amazing . We ’ re all excited about this . Our marketing partners like to be in different areas or areas they haven ’ t been in a while , so they love this schedule as well .”

Another noteworthy aspect of the 2022 schedule is the mid-year break the MWDRS will take . After starting in Ferris , Texas , the MWDRS will race in Memphis for the Memphis Nationals on

April 22-23 , the Throwdown in T-Town on May 6-7 and the Great Bend Nationals at SRCA Dragstrip on June 3-4 . Two weeks later , on June 17-18 , the MWDRS will close out the first portion of the season with the Summer Speed Spectacular in St . Louis . It will be the first race in Memphis since 2019 and first in St . Louis since 2020 .

The series will take nearly three months off before returning in the fall , something Haney believes will serve the MWDRS well .

“ Being off during the hottest months of the year in the Midwest doesn ’ t hurt anybody ’ s feelings ,” Haney says . “ It will allow everyone to regroup , restock and finish out the year strong . We wanted to load up the first half of the year and load the back half of the year .”

Due to weather cancellations this year , the MWDRS had an extended absence in 2021 , having a few months off before returning to action in the late summer . It wasn ’ t planned that way this year , but it worked out well for all parties and MWDRS will repeat that in 2022 , setting up a big finish that includes the U . S . 131 Nationals on Sept . 9-10 in Martin , the fall Throwdown in T-Town

on Oct . 7-8 and the Xtreme Texas World Finals .

The MWDRS also worked closely with the PDRA and NMCA to ensure there wasn ’ t an overlap of events on the same date , something that took extensive planning from all parties .

That ’ s a huge positive for the MWDRS , which finished off a thrilling 2021 season in October in Texas . With remarkable side-by-side racing in all categories , the MWDRS takes considerable momentum into the 2022 campaign . Joey Oksas won the world title in Pro Mod and Sean Bellemeur took the championship in Top Alcohol Funny Car for the second straight year , and the series will look to continue the same great action next year .

“ There ’ s so many things to be excited about with this schedule ,” Haney says . “ Picking back up in St . Louis , they always do a great job and it ’ s been one of our best attended races . Getting back on the roster at Memphis , we ’ re looking forward to it . It ’ s a great facility . You can ’ t beat the two Throwdown races , and Xtreme Raceway Park is just a phenomenal facility . Great Bend , that ’ s a great track and we ’ re excited to go back to U . S . 131 as well . There ’ s a lot to be excited about .” DI

PHOTOGRAPHS BY COLE ROKOSKY

38 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com