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“ When we walk in the door, the tracks make money. We keep nothing. We give them money. It’ s a no-lose for a dragstrip.”
eight cars with a $ 10,000-to-win purse. Everybody had low expectations that the purse would be paid in full, but Haney, a highly respected businessman, kept his word.“ I paid [ the winner ] $ 10,000 cash and they showed it on the trunk lid of their car,” Haney says.“ And at that point, I didn’ t really have any worries.”
Now as the MWDRS enters into its 10th season, Haney admits that the Pro Modified landscape has changed since its inception. However, even with the return of sanctioning bodies, such as the International Hot Rod Association as well as the expansion of the NHRA Pro Mod class, Haney remains confident in the series he has grown with his own blood, sweat, and finances. He also attributes a lot of the series’ success to the marketing partners he has built relationships with over the past decade.“ We’ ve got all these great racing companies and we’ ve got people outside of racing looking at us and doing stuff with us,” he says.“ So, it’ s worked out really good for 10 years.”
Haney is especially excited to announce the large increase in total payout this year for each event across the 2026 Mid-West Drag Racing Series
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tour.“ Our total payout this year will be $ 40,000 for Pro Mod at every race. We have three major sponsors that came onboard – Robin Roberts, Jim Whiteley, and Robert Costa – to increase the payout for each round of competition. $ 20,000 to win, $ 5,000 runner-up, $ 2,000 for semis, $ 1,250 for quarters, and $ 750 if you qualify. And the big thing is it’ s still a $ 450 entry fee,” Haney says.
Another aspect that sets the MWDRS apart from other organizations is that each event will continue to broadcast live on YouTube, free of charge to viewers, through
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their in-house production team.
And what sometimes goes unnoticed, but remains a significant part of Haney’ s organization, is the financial benefit racetracks and owners who host MDWRS events receive. The series’ business model helps racetracks retain their revenue streams directly, Haney explains.
“ When we walk in the door, they make money,” he says.“ We keep nothing. We get none of the gate money, none of the concession, none of the entry, none of the crew, none of the testing. We get nothing, and we give them money. It’ s a nolose
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for a dragstrip.”
As a racetrack owner himself, Haney knows the importance of helping the racetracks across the Midwest make a living. He credits major sponsors, including Summit Racing Equipment, J & A Service, Jerry Bickel Race Cars, Quarter-Max, and a slew of other companies for believing in his vision for Midwest drag racing.
“ I think that my greatest accomplishment is that I created a series. I got great people that run it. I got great racetracks that we run at, and these sponsors believe in me, and
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