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Mid-West Drag Racing Series Teams Show up Big at World Series

The Drag Illustrated Winter Series wrapped up with the World Series of Pro Mod and when the Florida heat made elimination Saturday a driver's duel, the Summitt Racing Equipment Mid-West Drag Racing Series proved quickly that their drivers are among the best of the best.

"That was a driver's first round," said Bobby Savedra II, co-crew chief of Keith Haney Racing and future pilot of the Black Mamba. It started out dramatically, as Rian Hayward went on an extremely wild ride that he turned into just a tail slap as his first round opponent Joey Martin also pedaled to the win. That was followed quickly by a tremendous save by Jacob McNeal as he wheeled his way to a first round win over Vic Alvarez.

As the round of 8 came during the florida sunset, it had several MWDRS representatives in both the main field and Wild Card Shootout (the field for qualifiers 33-64). Shawn Ellington and Peter Norton in the main field alongside Ed Thornton, Robert Costa, and Keith Haney in the Wild Card Shootout.

Shawn Ellington

Shawn Ellington and "Blue" would feel like the team of destiny as a seemingly unstoppable force of momentum built around Blue and the 187 team. The team didn't seem to have it during testing and qualifying, despite making the field. Parts broke, tires shook, the car pulled, and overall it seemed as if the team was still figuring out the transition from their turbo setup to the new Procharger centrifugal combo they were debuting. While the team made the field, they hardly could have asked for harder competition after drawing chips "We've always been bad at chip draws," said Ellington. Afer drawing Ryan Martin and Stevie "Fast" Jackson in rounds 1 and 2, he would draw Gustafson for the round of 8. "Gustafson is arguably the best, most consistent car on the property."

But after sending 3 heavy hitters packing it was hard to ignore the narrative. With 4 cars left would the street outlaw finally stand in winners circle against the best of the drag racing world? As momentum built like a unstoppable force, the immovable object of fate would tell us a story of heartbreak for the 187 crew. Blue lost oil pressure and couldn't answer the bell against Aaron Stanfield. This was not their evening to dance with history, not their tale to tell this time.

Peter Norton

Norton seemingly came out of nowhere in the Pro Mod world. in 2025 he was standing on the fence at Bradenton Motorsports Park and thought to himself "I want to try this," and he made it so.

Walking into testing at the MWDRS Funny Car Nationals in Michigan in September, he had a name recognizable in tractor pulling, but not yet Pro Mod racing. The september race would be his first in a Pro Mod. "It's pretty incredible, honestly," said MWDRS Announcer Luke Clevenger "When I recieved the entry list to be honest I had never heard his name. I asked some other staffers if they were familiar with him and we all kind of were like 'who is this guy?' But when I saw the Salemis walking by his car I knew he was serious. That's obviously a family who knows their stuff and to debut with them by your side is a statement. He had some trouble getting staged at the light, which is only natural for your first time on the strip in a car of that power. I remember looking at Ellen and saying 'I really like the way he handles the car, he's got some serious talent.'"

Norton would win not just 4 rounds, but thanks to early exits by Stevie "Fast" Jackson and Jason Harris, would be able to defeat Randy Weatherford and take the Drag Illustrated Winter Series Points Championship in his rookie year, making for an unbeatable rookie of the year season in the DI Winter Series history. "I don't think it'll set in for a while," Norton said, after reflecting on how many drivers in the pits had never been in his spot before. When it came down to showdown against Aaron Stanfield, it would be the mulitple time Wally winner that would get the win, leaving Norton as runner-up.

Ed Thornton

Ed battled both car and health problems during the 2025 season, as the D bar D driver had a significant injury during a bycicle crash midway through the year. "The car is getting there and I'm getting used to driving the car again," Ed would say as he made his way into the round of 4 in the wild card shootout.

Tuner Shane Tecklenburg noted that while eventually they would be bit by a crack in the heads, it was a "tremendous week with lots of knowledge gained and some really decent runs down the race track. None of this would be possible without Jeff Holloway and Jeff Pierce and of course our fearless leader Derrol Hubbard. Plus the amazing crew of Rayce and Ed Thornton, Doug Steward, Tom Esbri, Derrick Luedtka, and Tucker Holloway."

Mr. MPH would return at World Series, making 220mph passes and ultimateley winning 3 rounds before losing to Malenie Salemi. "I feel good about running Midwest this year," said Thornton, "If we can run consistently in this heat we can handle the heat that the MWDRS will throw at us."

Robert Costa

Costa made his first winter series field last month at the US Street Nationals as well as ran his first pass in the sub-3.60 range. There was a lot to be excited for as the CJR crew ran into World Series of Pro Mod with high hopes. But thursday would change that as the team would damage their blower. "We had to buy a new one from another racer here in the pits, and with a new blower you really have to sneak up on the pace," said Costa. After shaking the tires in qualifying, the team was on the back foot and missed the main field.

"The B-field is just about the strongest field you'll find anywhere outside of the a-field at this race," said Costa. "Ultimately a little disappointing of a weekend but we went two rounds and were among the 8 left standing for the $25k prize."

Keith Haney

"The Black Widow is acting like a turd right now," Haney said recording a video before qualifying started on Thursday. Indeed it was over 25 passes and the KHR crew and tuner Brandon Switzer could not seem to make the widow want to make a clean A-B pass. It wouldn't be unitl later in qualifying that the team erupted in celebration as a 3.68 second pass would prove to be the widow's first pass worth talking about. It was something to work with. The Black Widow would make passes in difficult heat in the 3.68-3.7s range in the Wild Card shootout, including an impressive win over the always fearsome Kurt Steding where Haney and Steding both had to pedal the cars on a tricky track.

After beating Nate Sayler by way of red light, Haney would ultimately be sent home in the round of 8 against Luis De Leon.

"We have a starting point, we have something to build on. Now we can go somewhere," said Haney.

The Mid-West Drag Racing Series starts at Xtreme Raceway Park April 17-18th as the stars mentioned in this article and more will light up the drag strip in a wild west shootout in Ferris, Texas.

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