6/15/2026
Salina Highbanks Speedway
MLRA Super Dirt Late Models Arrive Friday & Saturday Freedom Tour event to pay $5,000 to win each night
Staff Report
The Freedom Tour happens this weekend at the Salina Highbanks Speedway with live music on Friday and a fireworks show on Saturday. This special 2-day event will be headlined by the Midwest Late-Model Racing Association (MLRA) super dirt series. Now under the full control of Ernie Leftwhich (former series race director), the MLRA late models will be making their series return to the Highbanks for the first time since 2021 and each night will feature a full purse to the drivers with $5,000 going to the winner of each main event.
The MLRA series has been established since 1989 when Ken Essary and Randy Mooneyham teamed up together to provide another regional traveling late model series. Over 1300 drivers have competed in MLRA racing action. The Salina Highbanks has hosted 26 MLRA events over the years with Terry Phillips winning the first visit to the Highbanks on April 10, 1999. Tony Jackson Jr. and Jesse Stovall were winners during those final appearances by MLRA in 2021. In all, there have been 15 different drivers who have won MLRA events at the Highbanks. The list looks like this:
Terry Phillips, Scott Drake, Al Purkey, Leslie Essary, Jason Bodenhamer, Alan Vaughn, David Turner, Jeremy Payne, Jesse Stovall, Rodney Sanders, Chad Simpson, Will Vaught, Payton Looney, Johnny Scott and Tony Jackson Jr. Phillips has the most wins at the track with five, 1999, 2006, 2014 and two wins in 2017.
Al Purkey has won the most MLRA titles with seven. Those came in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010. Chad Simpson has captured recent titles with those coming in 2022, 2023 and 2024 as well as titles in 2014 and 2018. The series was on hiatus in 2025 so there was no champion last year. Other series champions include:
Alan Vaughn (5 times), Terry Phillips (4 times), John Anderson (3 times). Drivers with two titles each are: Ken Essary, Leslie Essary, Rex McCroskey and Tony Jackson Jr. Those with one title include: Jeremiah Hurst, Will Vaught, Bill Frye and Jesse Stovall. Phillips is the all-time MLRA wins leader with 115 trips to victory lane.
Tony Jackson Jr. heads to the Highbanks as the current MLRA point leader with 3 wins on the season. Twice at Springfield Speedway and at 34 Raceway. There is a huge battle for second in the standings as Aaron Marrant, Brennan Willard and Jeff Herzog are all within 35 points of each other. Matthew Larson rounds out the MLRA top five. Other feature winners for 2026 include Jonathan Davenport with back to back wins at Lucas Oil Speedway in April and Ryan Gustin who scored at Farmington Empire Speedway.
Friday nights program will see the Dawson Roofing B-Mods, S&J Plumbing Pure Stocks and the Colvin Aircraft FWD Tuners on the card as well PLUS, after the races, the Highway 69’ers will be performing live music in the pits after the races and everyone is invited to join the party.
Saturday night's program will have the Dawson Roofing B-Mods, AmeriFlex factory stocks and the Colvin Aircraft RWD interceptors in action with the MLRA late models PLUS there will be a fireworks show for everyone's enjoyment.
We are looking forward to having the sleek and powerful MLRA late models here at the Highbanks for their only appearance in 2026.
See ya this Friday and Saturday night!
Freedom Tour event pricing for each night:
Adult GA: $20
Kids 6-12: $10
Kids 5 & under: Free
Adult pit pass: $40
Kids pit pass: $20
Notable times of interest:
Pit gates: 3pm
Grandstands: 5pm
Finishline Restaurant: 5pm
Hot laps: 6:30pm
Invocation and National Anthem: 6:55pm
Racing starts: 7pm
Track phone: 918.434.7223
Email: salinahighbanksspeedway@yahoo.com
Website: salinahighbanksspeedway.com
Facebook page: Salina Highbanks Speedway
Submitted By: Elizabeth Davis
