After a sellout crowd in 2025, promoter Corey Stamper and track co-owners Seth and Zach Buff are bringing the 9th annual Strange Engineering Ronnie Buff Memorial featuring King of the South 3 into Shadyside Dragway May 21-24. The event guarantees to be better than ever, with more classes, bigger payouts, and a brand-new livestreaming partner in FloRacing.
Once again, the King of the South small-tire invitational – 64 of the baddest 28×10.5 cars in the country – will headline the show, with the winner taking home $75,000. Last year, Larry Larson defeated Lyle Barnett by a miniscule .004 margin of victory to walk away with $75k. The two veterans will once again lead a stacked field with names like Ryan Martin, Bill Lutz, Kye Kelley, Ryan Mitchell and Brandon Sandlian returning once again. They’ll be joined by a host of huge names making their King of the South debut, including Shawn “Murder Nova” Ellington, Cory Reed, Scott Taylor, Cole Pesz, and Russell Stone.
New this year will be payouts beyond the winner, with $2,000 going to the runner-up, $1,000 to semifinalists, $500 to the quarters, and $200 to the round-of-16. There is also a free entry, $1,000-to-win second chance race for first-round losers.
“These are the baddest of the bad on a 28×10.5 tire,” said Stamper. “You can’t take anybody lightly in this field. I want the fastest of the fast, with side-by-side action, and when we put these 64 cars together, that’s what we looked for. We’re just trying to push it to make it better. We were talking about whether we should add money [to the winner] or pay back more, and I said, ‘Let’s pay back more.’ $75,000 is pretty big to win anyways, and if you make it down to16 cars in this field, you’re doing work, because it’s gangsters every round.”
Making its debut in 2026 is the Knight of the South, a 16-car invitational on even smaller 26×8.5 tires. The class will pay $8,000 to win, with $1,000 for the runner-up and $500 for semifinalists.
Returning to the Ronnie Buff Memorial is the hugely popular Lil Gangstas class led by Tom Gunner (better known as Jimmy Dale) and Michael Poland. The 64-car invitational will feature two races in one weekend, with $15,000 being paid to the winner on both Saturday and Sunday.
In addition, the event will feature SC Raceworks Street Racer 6.30 Index, the Bracket Misfits 16-car invitational, IHRA Teen Championship Race, and the $7,500-to-win Kettle Kings Concessions Practice Tree Shootout on Friday night.
“Our 6.30 Index class is probably one of the biggest growing classes we have at Shadyside,” Stamper said. “It’s averaging 20 to 35 cars, with a lot of people showing out in street-style cars. And the cool thing is it has the same rule set as Lil Gangstas, so if they decide next year they want to step up, all they got to do is get a little faster.”
With King of the South exploding in popularity – last year, the fire marshal had to come and close the gates on Saturday due to the immense crowd – Stamper knew he needed to step up the production level in all facets of the event; not just with the race itself, but with the livestreaming broadcast as well. FloRacing stepped up, partnering with Stamper and Shadyside to bring complete eliminations coverage on Saturday and Sunday.
“The past couple years my company, Spoold Media, has handled the feed,” said Stamper. “Flo came in with an opportunity to really put this out to the world, and they bring in such a professional operation, from interviews to multiple camera angles. After watching their coverage of the Winter Series and seeing the production and professionalism with it, I knew we needed the Strange Engineering Ronnie Buff Memorial to take that next step up in coverage. It’s awesome to see these racers, from the bigger names to even our local guys, be put on a national stage like never before.”
Heading up FloRacing’s stream will be longtime drag racer Kayla Morton, who burst onto the reporting scene at the Drag Illustrated Winter Series, joining Courtney Enders, Brian Lohnes, and Mike Carpenter during Flo’s broadcasts of all three events. With close ties to many of the racers competing at Shadyside, Morton will be able to give an inside look at everything going on behind-the-scenes throughout the weekend.
“This is an iconic race, the pinnacle for small-tire racers from across the U.S.,” said Morton. “An invite-only for cars that have proven their worth for a guaranteed purse of nearly $83,000. Shadyside feels gritty, exciting, and raw. It’s a mean dragstrip that is full of diversity. A place where all the people come together to be a part of a legendary event. There are big names here, but a 28-inch tire will humble those names quick. It’s a challenging tire to drive on and a race that requires six winning passes to secure the title.
“I’m fired up to bring coverage for this event through Flo and to showcase the little things that make this event so special,” Morton added. “This is a race where you’re gonna find chicken on the bbq you’re welcome to eat, a beer to wash it down with, and then get to throw dice for dessert. Flo hit the jackpot here if you ask me. King of the South is always one for the books and I’m privileged to be the girl who gets to share it with the drag racing fans that can’t attend.”
As in previous years, tickets will only be sold at the gate. Fans can watch testing on Thursday and Friday for $20 per day; Eliminations take place on Saturday and Sunday, which are both $35 per day. A “King Pass” is also available for $80, allowing spectators to attend all four days. For those on the fence, Stamper suggests arriving early and securing a weekend pass, as the event is almost guaranteed to sell out, and preparations are well under way to handle the crowds.
“Show up early because it’s going to sell out,” said Stamper. “We’re already plowing the field that’s up by Seth and Zach’s grandma’s house, tearing trees down and flattening that out to add even more parking. They went and bulldozed the land on the third level of the pits to have room to bring in more rigs. They acquired new land to park spectators. We’re building up on as much as we can right now.”
Fans can subscribe to FloRacing at www.FloRacing.com and watch the livestream via the following link: https://flosports.link/4rO8QAL
The post King of the South Small-Tire Invitational Continues to Grow, Partners with FloRacing first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
