An exciting weekend at Flying H Drag Strip in Odessa, Missouri, gave the MWDRS first time winners, new champions, and more! The Mid-West Drag Racing Series came into the penultimate race of the season with close fights in Pro Mod, Pro 4.20, Funny Car, Top Dragster, and a possible clinching scenario in Top Sportsman.
Stroud Safety Pro Modified presented by Larry Jeffers Race Cars gave Robin Roberts his first-ever Pro Mod win in front of his hometown crowd at Flying H. Roberts looked great from Q1 to E4 as he found himself ahead of the field and the only driver in the 3.50s when opening ceremonies came around. Roberts alongside his wife Melody and crew Allan, Tara, and Brian, were ecstatic to have their first win in front of a stout field.
Keith Haney earned runner-up honors after beating Kallee Mills in the semis, and Jacob McNeal went out in the semis as well. A round two matchup between McNeal and Aaron Wells had major championship implications when Wells couldn’t fire to run alongside McNeal. Ryan Griffin took the upset of the evening in his MWDRS debut in his beautiful twin-turbo Mustang, beating Shawn Ellington in the first round via red light.
The first major development came not long after noon on Saturday as Tyler Wells in Compressed Air Supercharging Top Sportsman became the youngest-ever big car champion in Mid-West Drag Racing Series history. With his first-round victory over Doug Woody, the Top Sportsman rookie sealed his fourth Mid-West Drag Racing Series championship en route to another win on Saturday night. He eliminated the always stout Kyle Baker in his Willys in the final round of eliminations to take home the $4,000 prize.
With two Zimmerman Sportsman Junior championships and one Race Star Wheels Pro Junior championship already to his name, Wells moved past Keith Haney and Rod Moore into the role of the most decorated driver in Mid-West Drag Racing Series history.
“When I first started in this car, I didn’t think I’d do this good,” Wells said. “Actually, I didn’t even think I’d win a race – a few rounds was the goal. Winning a championship is pretty crazy.”
In Race Star Wheels Top Dragster presented by UEM Pistons, it was local Joe Carollo who took his first MWDRS win over Kati Laughter. Carollo piloted his dragster in the high 4.40s with excellent consistency all weekend and nabbed a semifinals victory over championship hopeful Keith Youngblood of Pennington Motorsports.
Laughter was not without accomplishment either this weekend. The runner-up reset the stock block LS record down to 4.006 seconds with a blistering pass in round one of time trials Friday night. Fans at the Ronnie Hobbs World Finals in Tulsa may be in for an additional treat as the Travis Canon and Kati Laughter duo may try to push Pennington Motorsports into the first-ever stock block LS pass in the 3s on Friday night.
Fueltech Pro 4.20 saw a masterful qualifying session for Rich Smith, who grabbed a dead-on 4.200 to make him the Skyview Race Cars #1 Qualifier. The luck would run out for him, however, as the finals saw Dave Pierce leapfrog Derrol Hubbard in the standings with a finals victory between the two championship hopefuls. The Pierce/Hubbard duel will have to settle the championship in Tulsa.
In J&A Service Funny Car, it was an amazing night for Kyle Smith, as he took home his first MWDRS victory with a stout 3.644s run over Robbie Massey. Massey made Smith work for it, as he ran a 3.67 in the beautiful evening air on Saturday night in Kansas City. Smith became the 12th first-time winner in MWDRS competition this season with the run. Smith will throw himself into the mathematical hunt for the Funny Car Championship thanks to some help from Massey, who eliminated the always quick Jim Whiteley in the second round.
In Zimmerman Sportsman Junior, Ryan Clark took the win over Mason Manley for the $500 payout and the always great Brundidge family took the $500 for Race Star Wheels Pro Junior thanks to a red light by Brian Stallbaumer.
The MWDRS will name champions and set the track ablaze next at the Ronnie Hobbs World Finals/Throwdown in T-Town in Tulsa October 17-18.
Story by Luke Clevenger
This story was originally published on September 23, 2025. 
The post First-Time Winners Shine as Robin Roberts Captures Hometown Pro Mod Victory at MWDRS Smack Down first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
