It is a rarity that someone gets into a class or a new car and then proceeds to go out and compete at a high level, especially when that’s in the radial tire world. Well, after this weekend Kieffer proved that he has what it takes to be the big dog in the yard.

Sweet 16 is an annual event that happens at South Georgia Motorsports Park each March. The event started as a gathering of Radial vs. The World and X275. Since its inception though, it has grown to include Pro 275, Ultra Street, and Limited Drag Radial. No longer is this once a year event just a class class show.

Going into the weekend, Kieffer had made huge strides with the assistance of his fiancé Haley James and his Tuner/Crew Chief, Dwayne James. Yes, Dwayne is also Haley’s father and Kieffer’s future Father-in-Law. The team has shown that the Coyote platform is one that has the ability to run up front with the small block and big block pushrod setups. If you haven’t taken the time to check out the feature on Kieffer that we did earlier this year, you really should.

Twenty five drivers took at shot at the Ultra Street field over the weekend. When qualifying was said and done, Kieffer was in a solid place to make a run at victory. His 4.572 placed him in #5 after it was wrapped up, while his fiancé Haley was atop the field with an outstanding 4.48. That meant that Kieffer was going to face off against NMRA veteran Alton Clements in the first round of eliminations. Alton had the better light (.070 vs. .074) but wasn’t able to make a clean pass, while Kieffer laid down a solid 4.645 at a blistering 158.46 MPH.

Off to the next round of eliminations, this time Kieffer was prepared to squared off against another “new kid” on the block, none other than second generation racer Kyla Hubbard and her beautiful G-Body. Kieffer slammed the door on the matchup as soon as three yellows came on. He laid a .002 light on Kyla in their bout and ran a 4.552 to Kyla’s stout 4.589. This time the mph was tapping on the door or 160 mph (159.70).

For his next opponent, Kieffer was pulling into the box to see if he could keep the rounds wins coming, and he was going to face down Jason Spina. While in the previous rounds Kieffer had enough steam to our ET his competition, sometimes you need to hit the tree before your competitor and use that to your advantage. In his matchup with Jason, Kieffer had an .025 light to Jason’s .078 light and that made all the difference, as Jason had the quicker ET, a 4.516 to Kieffer’s 4.525. Staying killer on the light meant that Kieffer was able to take another round win.

All this time, his fiancé Haley was mowing down competition with killer runs in the high 4.40’s and it was looking like she was the clear favorite to win the deal. With all that said…there is a reason we race on the track and not on paper. Just like the previous round, Kieffer utilized his skills on the tree to snag yet another holeshot victory. In the other lane, set for battle, was none other than his wonderful fiancé and teammate Haley James though. Haley, who bumped in way deep was uncharacteristically late as the tree dropped and had a reaction time of .100. This left that door open for Kieffer as he hammered out an .013 tree and took the victory with a 4.572 to Haley’s 4.525.

Finals time rolled in at SGMP and Kieffer was pumped to seal the deal. Yet again he was starring down the barrel of another titan in Ultra Street. Dave Fiscus in his V6 Buick powered foxbody was in the lane next to him. Dave had trouble’s wasn’t able to make a pass. Kieffer took the light, even went red, but it didn’t matter because victory was already his. A smooth 4.668 and Kieffer took home victory and a small slice of immortality that comes along with winning at Sweet 16.

Look for both Haley and Kieffer to be in the hunt for the Ultra Street Championship this season and congratulations to Kieffer for slaying all the titans while taking home that victory.