There were plenty of things to do around his family\u2019s home near Tulsa, Oklahoma, but a teenage Bobby Savedra III chose to spend time working on street cars with his father. They spent hour upon hour in the garage turning wrenches, and as soon as he was 16, Savedra purchased a 2005 Mustang GT and promptly pumped up its power with a Roush supercharger.<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #197, the 30 Under 30 Issue, in November\/December 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI have always been good with my hands, and working on cars seemed to come naturally,\u201d says Savedra. \u201cI am motivated to make whatever car I am working on perform better.\u201d<\/p>\n As a result, Savedra had one of the most muscular cars at his high school, and appreciated the accolades he received while driving around town.<\/p>\n When he turned 18, Savedra\u2019s father ran into Keith Haney, a successful Pro Mod racer who stands out in the Mid-West Drag Racing Series and the Drag Illustrated Winter Series, and asked if he would consider giving his son a position on his championship-winning Pro Mod team.<\/p>\n \u201cMy father told him that I was a hard worker and would love the opportunity to be part of his racing team, and fortunately, Keith welcomed me aboard,\u201d says Savedra. \u201cI was very happy, and my father told me to buckle up and get ready for the opportunity I was given.\u201d<\/p>\n As determined as he could be, Savedra, who was working at a car wash at the time, closely observed what the team did to prepare for a race, what they did at a race, and what they did after a race. He soaked in as much information as he could the first year, and by the second year, he was helping with engine maintenance and tire and wheel maintenance on a full-time basis.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I remember most about the very first race I went to as a member of Keith\u2019s team is how bone-shaking it felt to be standing on the starting line when his car launched,\u201d says Savedra. \u201cIt was awesome, and because of the team I was surrounded by, it was not intimidating or imposing. Instead, it was incredible. Now I have worked my way up to car chief, so I am checking over everything, writing things down, making jet changes, putting pistons together and more. Among the many things I am proud of is our 2023 Mid-West Drag Racing Series Pro Mod championship.\u201d<\/p>\n Savedra realizes he\u2019s working on a high-caliber piece. Haney\u2019s Jerry Bickel-built \u201cBlack Mamba\u201d Camaro sports a 998-cubic-inch Pat Musi engine, a nitrous system by tuner Brandon Switzer\u2019s Switzer Dynamics, and a Lenco and Ty-Drive and runs 3.61 at 209 mph in the eighth mile.<\/p>\n Savedra III, who has developed a close bond with Haney, acknowledges that being part of the team requires a huge amount of commitment and hard work, but his heart is in it.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is rewarding for me personally, and I am grateful to my family, especially my dad, and to Keith, who believes in me and gave me this opportunity,\u201d says Savedra. \u201cI also owe a lot to Steve Cooks, who taught me so much; Shane Goodnight, who taught me about the engine; Dale Hancock, who taught me how to do the nitrous bottles and about how dangerous they can be; and Brandon Switzer, who taught me how to set up the four-link and suspension and so many other things. I also appreciate that my fianc\u00e9e, Lakin Shelton, is by my side while I follow my dream.\u201d<\/p>\n The ambitious Savedra, who aspires to reach even greater heights, will climb into the driver\u2019s seat of Haney\u2019s Camaro in 2026, as Haney is set to debut a new hot rod.<\/p>\n \u201cI will make test passes in the Camaro over winter, just to get the feel of it, and take it from there,\u201d says Savedra, who will get his start in the MWDRS Pro 4.20 class. \u201cThat opportunity just makes this whole experience even better.\u201d<\/p>\n The post DI 30 Under 30 2025: Bobby Savedra III<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There were plenty of things to do around his family\u2019s home near Tulsa, Oklahoma, but a teenage Bobby Savedra III chose to spend time working on street cars with his father. They spent hour upon hour in the garage turning wrenches, and as soon as he was 16, Savedra purchased a 2005 Mustang GT and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102861\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}