HAUBSTADT, Ind. — A check worth $20,000 awaits the winner of this Saturday’s 17th annual Haubstadt Hustler at Tri-State Speedway.
Six past winners, a major payday, the $100,000 Trifecta, the Master of Going Faster title race, the tug-of-war for Tri-State supremacy between Kevin Thomas Jr. and Kyle Cummins…it’s all in play when the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship comes to play this weekend for 40 laps at the quarter-mile oval.
PAST WINNERS
A record six past Haubstadt Hustler winners are lock, stock, barrel and ready to rock this Saturday at Tri-State. The field presents a four-time event winner in Kevin Thomas Jr. (2013-2017-2018-2021) and a two-time victor in Kyle Cummins (2016 and 2019).
Brady Short (2015), Chase Stockon (2020), Jadon Rogers (2022) and Brady Bacon (2023) have all scored once in their careers at the Haubstadt Hustler, and all look to join the fellowship of two-time winners this time around.
Five past Haubstadt Hustler winners were in the feature lineup in both 2014 and 2023.
$100,000 TRIFECTA
And then there were three.
Justin Grant, Mitchel Moles and Robert Ballou are gunning for their share of the USAC NOS Energy Drink Hoosier Trifecta at Tri-State.
Two Trifecta events remain with a pair of $20,000-to-win USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car showdowns on Saturday at Tri-State Speedway’s Haubstadt Hustler and on Oct. 12, during Lawrenceburg Speedway’s Fall Nationals.
Grant took round one of the Trifecta in August at Kokomo Speedway’s Sprint Car Smackdown ahead of runner-up Mitchel Moles and third-place finisher Robert Ballou. Now Grant is chasing a clean sweep worth more than $100,000 in prize money if he can win at both Tri-State and Lawrenceburg.
The driver with the highest average Trifecta finishing position and also finishes inside the top three in the trio of events will earn a bonus — more than $100,000 to win all three, a $20,000 bonus to finish second or better in all three and $10,000 bucks to score a top-three result in all three.
BUBBY JONES TITLE RACE
Saturday’s Haubstadt Hustler also marks race eight of 10 for the 2024 Bubby Jones Master of Going Faster Presented By Spire Sports + Entertainment.
Brady Bacon commands the standings entering the weekend by 27 points after winning at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway on June 15. Bacon was the first Master of Going Faster series champion in 2022. C.J. Leary is the defending titlist from 2023.
Logan Seavey has won twice in the “series within a series” on Feb. 13 at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park and on May 21 at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track.
Four other drivers have solo victories: Justin Grant on May 4 at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway; Daison Pursley on June 1 at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway; Kevin Thomas Jr. at Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway on June 14; and Kyle Cummins at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway on July 27.
Two races remain in the series following Tri-State – Sept. 21 at Eldora and on Oct. 12 at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway.
ONE FOR THE THUMB
Only two drivers have captured victories in both the Spring Showdown and the Haubstadt Hustler within the same year at Tri-State Speedway: Kevin Thomas Jr. (2013 and 2018) and Daron Clayton (2014).
Thomas has accomplished the feat twice, and now has an opportunity to achieve it once again in 2024 after previously winning this past May’s Spring Showdown for the Rock Steady Racing team, themselves a two-time winner entrant of the Haubstadt Hustler in 2016 and 2019 with Kyle Cummins as their driver.
Thomas stands as the only four-time winner in the history of the Haubstadt Hustler, which dates back to 2008. Thomas scored in 2013-2017-2018-2021.
In May, he also became the winningest USAC National Sprint Car driver at Tri-State with his seventh victory.
HOME GAME
Not to be outdone, Kyle Cummins from nearby Princeton, Ind., stands as the only other driver besides Kevin Thomas Jr. to capture to multiple Haubstadt Hustler victories in his career, doing so in 2016 and 2019.
With Rock Steady as his rock for over a decade, and as the team he drove for during his two Haubstadt Hustler scores, Cummins’ name is now synonymous with the track. Now, Cummins looks to take the new Petty Performance Racing team to its first Tri-State USAC triumph.
Cummins owns six career USAC National Sprint Car victories at Tri-State, second only to KTJ’s seven.
FRIENDLY CONFINES
“I can’t wait to get back to Haubstadt.”
That was the sentiment shared by Mitchel Moles after winning with the Midwest Thunder Sprint Cars at Tri-State in June. Moles loves the place, and back in August of this year during USAC Indiana Sprint Week, he engaged in a memorable duel for the win with Justin Grant, leading for two laps before finishing second.
When looking at potential first-time Haubstadt Hustler winners this weekend, the list is jaw-dropping. USAC National Sprint Car champions Justin Grant and Robert Ballou have each won multiple USAC Sprint Car features at Tri-State, but none yet have been the Haubstadt Hustler.