McCutcheons to Compete Again at Brick's
Dustin and Whitney McCutcheon being presented their check by Brick’s owner Scott Brickell in front of Dirty Hooker, the first truck to ever make it through “The Slough” in the six years of the Mud Truck Challenge
What do you do when you win $10,000 in Brick’s Mud Truck Challenge and win the title “Slough Terminator”?
You come back and try to win it again!
That’s exactly what Dustin McCutcheon of Marquand, Mo., intends to do September 26-28 when he brings his truck back to Brick’s Offroad Park for their Mud Truck Challenge.
Named “Dirty Hooker,” he has become the crowd favorite having become the first truck to ever make it through Brick’s world famous mud slough. Last year, twenty-three trucks tried, and 22 of them failed. His wife, Whitney, rode with Dusty in their truck to victory last year.
In all, more than 100 trucks in the six years of the Mud Truck Challenge have attempted to do what Dusty and Whitney did.
“It was so exciting,” recalls Whitney. “We really didn’t have a strategy, we just got in and drove.”
She says the crowd went wild when it looked like they were going to actually make it through to the other side.
“Everyone rushed to the other side yelling, screaming and cheering us on,” said Whitney. “It was just amazing. We were as shocked as anyone that we made it!”
So what did they do with the $10,000 win?
“We decided to build a shop for the truck to make it easier to work on it,” explained Whitney.
She said she and Dustin have been into mud trucks for about ten years.
“It was just a fun hobby for us to do with family and friends. It took Dustin a long time to get this truck to where he wants it,” she said. It takes a lot of time and a lot of money. She added that they only take the truck to two or three events a year because it is so expensive.
Dustin is 28 years old, and she is 26. It’s been a great way for them to bond with one another and with other friends and family. Dustin’s brother, Cody, helps him a lot with the truck, and she thinks that has been important for them in developing the close relationship they have.
“Our entire family has been very supportive, and they love coming to the events to cheer us on,” said Whitney.
Dustin is a diesel mechanic, and Whitney says as soon as he gets home at the end of the day, he’s ready to head to the workshop to work on the truck. He has invested hundreds of hours and dollars in his monument to Mud Truck Craziness.
Dustin and Whitney in front of their Dirty Hooker
Dustin explains the tires on Dirty Hooker are 84-inches tall. The engine is a 440 block four-speed, all in a 1974 model Dodge.
“I don’t know if I can win it again,” said Dustin. “It’s going to be tough.”
He explained this year will be harder. “Last time it was start to finish. This time they have reversed it and I have to do it finish to start. I’ve also heard they are going to work on the slough more to make it even harder to get through.”
He said there are logs in the slough, and a tree. He said the key is getting past that tree.
Still, win or not, Dustin knows it will be a blast.
“If I do get the truck stuck, it will be the first time I have ever gotten it stuck anywhere,” he said. He says nothing can beat the feeling of driving the closest thing to a Monster Truck that he could create. “It feels just a little bit dangerous,” he said. “But it feels good. I’d drive her to work every day if it was street legal!”
The $10,000 Mud Truck Challenge is September 26-28 at Brick’s Offroad Park south of Poplar Bluff.
