Nearing New Event Record!

By Brian Walker – Maximum Dirt Marion, IL | May 30, 2017 – With only 74 hours of cheapened pre-entry remaining, Southern Illinois Raceway is approaching an all-time event record for High Banks Hustle pre-entries. Standing at 107 pre-entries from 18 different states, the fifth annual Engler Machine & Tool High Banks Hustle is only three entries away from topping last year’s 109 pre-entries. Scheduled for June 15th-17th, this year’s High Banks Hustle is set to payout a staggering $10,000 to the event winner with all feature starters garnering a cool $500.

The fifth annual High Banks Hustle will kick off on Thursday, June 15th with a practice night from 6-9 PM. On Friday, June 16th, the Lightning Wings Preliminary Night presented by Maximum Dirt will take to the Marion 1/8th mile, with the top six finishers locking-in to the main event. The weekend will conclude on Saturday, June 17th with the Engler Machine & Tool High Banks Hustle finale. The 40-lap championship feature will pay $10,000/Win and $500/Start.

Pricing will remain at $129 for pre-entry all throughout Friday, until the clock strikes midnight and the calendar flips to Saturday, June 3rd. On Saturday, entry will jump to a still reasonable $179 cut. Drivers can still pre-enter up until the day of the event, but prices will rise on June 3rd.

For the first full preview of this year’s race, I wanted to try something different with the format you’ll find below. I would’ve liked to cover more drivers in this preview, but I got a little behind and needed to get this out with the pre-entry deadline looming (My apologies, I plan on doing another edition with more drivers). The High Banks Hustle coverage will continue in the weeks leading up to the race as more entries are announced.

2017 High Banks Hustle Preview (First of Many):

Nathan Benson (Concordia, Missouri) – BOSS Chassis #2B With a career-best finish of second place back in 2013, Nathan Benson will look to overcome his HBH shortcomings at this year’s $10,000/Win running. The four-time and defending POWRi Micro champion has started all four HBH features and never ran outside the top ten once, finishing 2nd (2013), 8th (2014), 6th (2015), and 4th (2016). However, a big-time victory at the Marion, Illinois facility has haunted Benson to this day, but he could alter history this year in his BOSS Chassis #2B entry.

Ayrton Gennetten (Gravois Mills, Missouri) – Pace Chassis #3X Scoring the biggest win of his career in January, Missouri’s Ayrton Gennetten led the A-Class feature from start-to-finish as he earned his first “Golden Driller” at the Tulsa Shootout. The 17-year old also swept the Stock Non-Wing and A-Class divisions of Sweet Springs’ Show-Me Showdown. Driving a Pace Chassis No. 3, Gennetten claimed a podium finish in the 2016 Tulsa Shootout Outlaw feature and won the preliminary feature of the 2015 High Banks Hustle, before claiming a career-best HBH finish of 7th.

Craig Ronk (Warsaw, Indiana) – CS9 Chassis #5R One of the fasting rising stars in the Midwest, Warsaw, Indiana’s Craig Ronk has burst onto the scene in 2017. Driving a Brad Coleman owned CS9 Chassis, Engler Machine & Tool No. 5R, the 17-year old wheelman has scored a strong 12th in the Outlaw feature at the Tulsa Shootout, a win at Du Quoin at 73 cars, an SIR victory in April, and his first POWRi Micro triumph at Jacksonville Speedway. Last year, California’s Michael Faccinto piloted Coleman’s 5R to a podium finish at the HBH, but this year the attention will turn to a rising Ronk.

Chris Andrews (Tulsa, Oklahoma) – Sawyer Chassis #8 Driving a Justin & Adri Blevins owned Sawyer Chassis #8, Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Chris Andrews enters this year HBH as a favorite, like always. Andrews is the only one of 106 entrants to ever win a previous $10,000 event at SIR, as he & Blevins dominated the 2012 edition of the Mike Phillips “The 66” Memorial. In 2016, he overwhelmingly shined on micro sprint racing’s biggest stages; earning a third Tulsa Shootout title, a top ten at the HBH, a California Speedweek championsip, and an $8,000 triumph at Port City’s Outlaw Nationals.

Matthew Howard (Lawrence, Kansas) – Pace Chassis #8H The older Howard twin, Matt, has started two High Banks Hustle features and wheeled his Pace Chassis No. 8H to a career-best finish of 9th at the 2014 running. As a 17-year old, Matt has already success at Southern Illinois Raceway. The Kansan led several laps in the 2016 edition of the Terry Sprague Memorial and ended up finishing third in only his third-career Non-Wing event.

Matt Moore (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) – D1 Chassis #9M Earning his first career POWRi West Midget victory this past weekend, OKC’s Matt Moore is entering this year’s Hustle with more confidence than ever. The 17-year old rising star has attempted the HBH twice and made the LCQ in both showings, finishing 10th in 2015 and 7th in 2016. Piloting his D1 Chassis, Western Flyer Xpress No. 9M, Moore is sure to be a contender as he chases his first feature start in the fifth annual event.

Jeremy Camp (Sullivan, Illinois) – Sawyer Chassis #23 One of three former champions set to compete in this year’s Hustle, Jeremy Camp left his mark on the event back in 2015, when the Sullivan, Illinois native scored the first-ever $7,500 edition of the race. Driving for Chad Bartosik in a Sawyer Chassis, Lightning Wings No. 23, Camp has long-been a threat around the Midwest. The 2010 POWRi Micro champion fell several spots short of making last year’s HBH feature, so he’ll be on the hunt for vengeance come this June.

Scott Sawyer (Bixby, Oklahoma) – Sawyer Chassis #29 One of the greatest micro sprint competitors of his generation, Bixby, Oklahoma’s Scott Sawyer has multiple Tulsa Shootout titles, countless NMMA victories, a $10,000 triumph at Pike County (IL), and has recorded success all over the country from California to Pennsylvania. In two High Banks Hustle starts, Sawyer has recorded a 4th (2013) and a 10th (2015), but his memorable run at SIR came in 2012 at the Mike Phillips “The 66” Memorial, when Sawyer nearly stole a late-race victory over race winner Chris Andrews. Narrowing his races, Sawyer proved he can still duel with the best of them at the Tulsa Shootout this year, taking Justin Blevins’ Sawyer Chassis to a 12th place finish.

Dereck King (Goreville, Illinois) – BOSS Chassis #32K One of the most-well known drivers to rise from the dirt of Southern Illinois Raceway, Dereck King, has competed and succeeded at the track for years on years, but lady luck has yet to remain on “DK’s” side at the Hustle. His best career-finish at the HBH remains a 10th place finish at the 2014 showing. Driving a BOSS Chassis No. 32K, the Goreville, Illinois native will look to earn a new career-best while serving as a strong challenger for the victory.

KJ Snow (Kingsburg, California) – Sawyer Chassis #34S The “California Kid,” KJ Snow, will be making his first career attempt at SIR’s High Banks Hustle this June. A west coast transplant living in Oklahoma, Snow favors the Non-Wing kind, but has shown a strong winged prowess of late. In January, he wheeled his Sawyer Chassis #34S from 23rd-to-11th in the Outlaw feature of the Tulsa Shootout.

Nicholas Howard (Lawrence, Kansas) – Pace Chassis #37H The younger of the Howard twins, Nick, has been an emerging factor in micro sprint racing around the Midwest for several years now. Wheeling his family-owned Pace Chassis No. 37H, Nick raced to a career-best High Banks Hustle finish in 2016 with a 6th place run from 19th, earning him hard-charger honors. At the age of 15, Nick turned in an impressive 15th-to-4th run in the Outlaw feature of the Tulsa Shootout.

Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Oklahoma) – Factor One Racing #73 A young and diverse 19-year old Oklahoman, Jason McDougal has already proven himself in the micro sprint, midget and sprint car ranks. Driving the Factor One Racing house car, McDougal has consistently shown speed and ran up front at the biggest of races. In his one attempt at the High Banks Hustle, McDougal DNF’ed in 20th place after locking-in through the preliminary feature in 2015. The Broken Arrow native has three Show-Me Showdown triumphs, a Tulsa Shootout best of 2nd in Outlaw Non-Wing, and in last October, he managed an incredible 17th-to-2nd bid at Port City’s Outlaw Nationals.

Frank Flud (Tulsa, Oklahoma) – D1 Chassis #81 The reigning High Banks Hustle champion, Frank Flud, will return to SIR in two weeks with hopes of becoming the events first back-to-back winner. Competing in his Driven Midwest, Keizer Wheels, Outlaw Wings, Infinity Shocks No. 81, Flud will enter the fifth annual running on a hot streak. The Oklahoman has already won over 30 races in 2017 including his fourth “Golden Driller” at the Tulsa Shootout.

Jake Hagopian (Fresno, California) – D1 Chassis #88J The 2014 High Banks Hustle champion, Jake Hagopian, will return to SIR in an Eric Wright, D1 Chassis entry for the third consecutive year. Stealing a breakthrough victory at the 2014 showing, Hagopian outlasted Frank Flud in arguably the most exciting High Banks Hustle feature to date. Since his $5,000 victory that night, Hagopian has yet to crack the top ten again, finishing 13th (2015) and 19th (2016). After starting all four Stock/Outlaw features at the Tulsa Shootout and racking up several early-season wins in California, the Driven Performance owner will return to Marion with confidence and hopes of a $10,000 payday in his sight.