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“For Racers, By Racers,” states Mid-West Pro Mod Series
Founder and Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park Co-owner Keith
Haney.
Early in 2017, a group of racers realized that there were a
lot of Mid-west-based Pro Mod teams sitting at home and not
racing. The reason for their lack of participation was the
fact that most major Pro Mod events are staged on the East and
West Coast, thereby adding a lot of additional travel expenses
and time off work to compete in these series. This left a lot
of Pro Mods sitting in the shop and racers sitting at home.
The Mid-West Pro Mod Series was created to alleviate this
problem and allow Mid-west racers the opportunity to compete
in the central US without having to travel a long distance.
Drag racing is a sport built on passion, but passion alone
can’t keep the lights on, employees paid and the track gates
open. For that, a track needs to be profitable, offering a
facility and events that make its customers-racers, fans and
sponsors want to come back time after time. Keith Haney helped
create the Mid-West Pro Mod Series (MWPMS), a professional
drag racing organization that delivers a generous sponsor
package, star drivers, immaculate cars and an unrivaled
eighth-mile show to complement each host track’s special
event. This group of racers formed the MWPMS to make a place
for Nitrous, Roots-Blower, Turbocharged, Pro Chargers and
Screw Blown Racers to compete on a level playing field. They
decided to keep it simple - one class that promoted parity
among the different combinations.
“We’re not trying to be the whole show, we want to come in and
help boost a track’s already established event,” Haney
explains.
They also wanted to stage well-run events at premier tracks in
conjunction with their existing – well attended - large scale
events. In 2019, we ran a total of 9 events: 2 at Worldwide
Technology Raceway (Formerly Gateway Motorsports Park), 2 at
Tulsa Raceway Park, 1 at the Texas Motorplex, 1 at Xtreme
Raceway Park, 1 at Beech Bend Raceway, and 1 at Memphis
International Raceway. In addition to these events the series
was also invited by NHRA to hold an exclusive 22-car
invitational event in conjunction with the NHRA national event
held in Dallas in October 2019. The MWPMS became the first
eighth mile Pro Mod organization invited to compete on the
NHRA stage with the 330-MPH Nitro and Pro Stock cars.
The racers loved the feel of competing in front of tens of
thousands of fans. In addition to the many fans at the NHRA
event, the races at Tulsa Raceway Park saw the racers compete
in front of almost 50,000 spectators, while the inaugural
event held at the new Xtreme Raceway Park hosted 7,700 paid
spectators.
Over 60 different Pro Mod teams competed at the 2019 events.
At the St Louis event, we set the single event car count
record with 38 competitors showing up for a 16-car qualified
field.
As the series grew and became known as a series that truly
cares for the racers, opportunities began to open up to expand
the series. One of those options became available in 2020 when
the series added junior dragsters to the show. “Drag racing
has always been a sport that can be enjoyed by the entire
family of all ages, and we saw the opportunity to bring in the
young racers and their families to compete at races right
alongside their big car counterparts. The junior drivers and
families are a great addition and we truly enjoy having them
as a part of the series”, states Event Director Ellen
Eschenbacher.
In mid-2020, after a race that was run in conjunction with the
NHRA Lucas Oil Top Alcohol classes, another opportunity
presented itself to the series when Jim and Annie Whiteley of
J & A Service approached Keith about adding a Top Alcohol
Funny car class to the series. In no time at all a deal was
struck and Top Alcohol Funny Car was added as the sixth class
to the Mid-West Pro Mod Series.
With these two class additions it became apparent that the
series, which was originally founded to provide a place for
Pro Mod racers to race, had outgrown the Mid-West Pro Mod
name. “The series was no longer synonymous with just Pro Mods,
so a decision was made to change the name to something that
would better reflect the variety of classes we have involved
in the series, and the series was re-branded as the Mid-West
Drag Racing Series”, states series founder Keith Haney.
Our business model is very lean and mean. We don’t want a lot
of overhead, but we do want to make it one of the top
organizations in drag racing. The MWDRS team consists of Jimmy
Boles as Race Director, Lonnie Grim as Technical Consultant,
Ellen Eschenbacher as the Event Marketing Director, and Keith
Haney as Owner/Director of Marketing and Sales.
In addition to providing a variety of entries in six different
classes from Pro Mods to Junior Dragsters, the Mid-West Drag
Racing Series brings to each host track its own tech
inspector, a professional live feed operation and the
formidable reach and frequency of a sophisticated online
marketing presence.
• 2018 Live feed viewership via Bangshift.com
o 2.61 million minutes viewed
o 99K views
o 26:22 average duration per view
• 2019 Live feed viewership via Bangshift.com
o 2.34 million minutes viewed
o 101K views
o 22:27 average duration per view
• Socially interactive on Facebook Live
o 2.6 million views
o 171 hours live
o 119K likes
o 101K comments
o 28K shares
Every day we field calls from race teams who are building new
combinations that are planning to run the entire Series with
us. We think having 40+ cars per event is in the near future.
We have tons of racetracks calling us to have an event at
their track. As the rules have aligned with NHRA and many
teams choosing to compete with MWDRS, the potential is huge!
Our racers are successful, self-employed business owners who
own trucking companies, auto and RV dealerships, communication
companies, etc. What they all have in common is that they are
passionate about their sport and willing to spend a lot of
money towards making their cars go faster. Many of these teams
have six-figure annual racing budgets. This is where you
benefit…
One of the benefits of coming on board with MWDRS is the
diversity in the events we are part of. Our 8-race regular
season brings us to tracks where we will run with
already-established races running Nitro and Bracket Racing,
Grassroots local classes, Super Pro, Bikes, to Super Chevy and
Jet Cars. The reach is exponential! Our new venue for 2020,
Martin, Michigan will be a Nitro event with a new demographic
reach for the series.
Unique and customized sponsorship opportunities are available
within the Series.
According to Haney, that’s what it’s all about for the
Mid-West Drag Racing Series. In fact, he insists he doesn’t
even want to profit on his end; it’s all about promoting the
class and helping make sure tracks are able remain solvent and
open for the future.
“We’re running this as a zero-profit business, which means
everything we take in gets paid out again to either the tracks
or to support our racers. The money that comes in from the
sponsors allows us to pay the race tracks, allows us to pay
for our Website, allows us to pay for our live feed, which we
do through Bangshift.com so you know it’s done right, and they
get to sell it to their marketing partners and make money,
too,” Haney says.
In addition to its thrilling show for fans and a great-and
profitable-attraction for tracks, the Mid-West Drag Racing
Series provides an outstanding value for series and event
sponsors who can expect to receive trackside banners displayed
at each event, links to each backing company on the MWDRS
website, plus an extensive social-media presence, which now
extends to more than 200,000 targeted users and continues to
increase with e-mail blasts and commercials during all events.
We look forward to YOU being part of the Mid-West Drag Racing
Series! |
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