Nearly thirty thousand fans packed Tulsa Raceway Park for the famous Throwdown in T-Town that has been contested on the Friday and Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend for over ten years.
The Mid-West Drag Racing Series (MWDRS) has suffered three rainout weekends in 2024 with the postponement of Pine Valley from April to October as well as the season-opener at Xtreme Raceway Park. The XRP race was scheduled for March, postponed until April, and eventually canceled preceding the event after the Dallas area received over 10” of rain that week.
“It has been a very tough Spring for all of us and the MW staff. We just want to race and it seemed like weather roulette the last couple months,” states Series Founder Keith Haney. “Tulsa was tremendous for all the fans, racers, and our staff. It was huge!”
The Stroud Safety Pro Mod class saw seventeen drivers competing for the first win of the season. Defending Pro Mod Champion Keith Haney went through the rounds eliminating Mike Labbate, Jon Stouffer, Mark Micke, and Aaron Wells with a best pass of 3.694 in the finals.
“Brandon (Switzer) has this car running flawlessly. After the XRP Rainout, we went to PDRA Virginia and made some great passes during the event”, states Haney. “Picking up right where we left off after winning the championship!”
The Pro Mod Slammers class received a purse boost from Flying H Drag Strip granting the racers free entry and an additional purse. Ron Muenks beat Brian Lewis, Ed Thornton, and series newcomer Todd Bennett en route to the win.
A familiar sight in J&A Service Funny Car saw husband and wife Jim & Annie Whiteley facing off in the finals with Annie taking home the win after Jim turned on the red light. Some of the closest side-by-side passes of the weekend came in Funny Car.
Icon Forged Pistons Top Dragster saw young gun Jordan Eperjesi come up just shy of her first MWDRS Top Dragster win when perennial bracket racing favorite Jeremy Maples took home the win. Maples overcame round fights with Lloyd McClure, Tim White, and Eperjesi to take the win.
Top Sportsman welcomed new class sponsor Performance Bearing to its class title for the 2024 season. Performance Bearing is owned by series Funny Car racer Steve Macklyn who also owns the familiar B&J Transmission. Top Sportsman action saw Michael Chitty as the top qualifier but fell to event runner-up Mark Griffin in the second round. Two-time series champion Rod Moore took home the win over Mark Griffin in the finals.
M&M Transmission Pro 4.20 saw nine cars entered for this five-race series championship. Fellow racer and car owner Dave Pierce has put a tremendous amount of time into building this class and expects to see it grow each event. Derrol Hubbard qualified number one but fell in round one to Pierce. Former Top Sportsman racer James Ogden made the switch to Pro 4.20 and took home the win over Pierce in the finals. The next race for this class is Flying H Drag Strip May 30-June 1.
Zimmerman Properties Sportsman Junior Dragster saw a lot of familiar names competing this season. Breccan Whiteley, son of Steven & Delaina, took four round wins to start the season. Breccan beat Ellie Carson, Braylee Blevens, Landon Maples, and Presley Moberly. Almost all these names are recognizable as the kids of current racers, making this truly a family affair.
Race Star Wheels Pro Junior Dragster also found many of the smiling faces from last year while several who had aged out and moved up to “big cars” this year. A familiar battle in the finals with recent 2-time class champion Alexis Kesterson taking the win over former champion Tyler Wells. Alexis had to run the table on five rounds, besting Race Ragland, Gannon Carson, Reid Clocker, and Tyler Wells. Junior Slammers winner was Rage Ragland.
“The start of the season was very tough on everyone, we needed this race to get in the groove and begin these title chases,” states Event Director Ellen Eschenbacher. “We have huge momentum going into the brand new Flying H Drag Strip in the Kansas City area later in the month. This area has been so starved for racing that we are certain our show will pack the place.”
The next stop on the Summit Racing Equipment Mid-West Drag Racing Series Tour is Flying H Drag Strip in Odessa, Missouri May 30-June 1, 2024. The Fall Smack Down in September boasts the largest Pro Mod Payout in History with the class competing for $150,000 to win.
