Sabine High School graduate competes in Monster Truck Wars

HENDERSON, Texas (KLTV) - Monster Truck Wars visited East Texas on Saturday, and a Sabine High School graduate is one of the most promising new drivers.

Preston Collins drives the Equalizer, and he’s at the top of the charts in the rookie standings so far this year. He’s also a 2020 graduate of Sabine High School, with the support of his Liberty City community behind him.

Preston started learning about trucks at an early age, following his dad to monster truck shows.

“I saw the interest at a really young age,” said Dan Collins, crew chief for the Equalizer and also Preston’s dad. “Every show that we went to, his eyes just lit up like a little kid in a candy store, just happy to be there, and everybody treated us like family, and I knew that this was a sport that I wanted him to be a part of, and he just followed his footsteps, his dreams.”

“I’ve just been hooked ever since,” Preston agreed.

When Preston was young, Dan was helping other teams that ran for bigger-name promoters, and he got his foot in the door.

“My face was recognized basically everywhere I went,” Preston said, explaining how he built connections with people in the monster truck community.

At 18, he was helping move the trucks from place to place, and last November, at 21 years old, he started driving for himself. He’s one of the youngest competitors.

“There’s not very many of them out there,” Preston said. “A lot of these guys are getting older, and they’re getting slower. That just gives us more time to speed up.”

He would be glad of the chance to represent a new, younger generation of monster truck enthusiasts.

“I’m just trying to get my name out there; trying to get this [truck’s] name back out there too,” Preston said. “It’s a 1989 world champion.”

He faces experienced competition in the show on Saturday, though. “Outlaw has been doing this for 31 years, and he’s still kicking, so he’s probably my number one competitor this weekend,” Preston said.

Even so, Preston has a lot of support behind him. The Liberty City newspaper ran an article on him, and Dan said the community has been “nothing but positive.”

“The community has supported us through a tragedy before, and they’re supporting us through positivity now,” Dan said. “The sky’s the limit for him, I believe. He’s got a great team owner behind him.”

Preston is committed to doing his best and said there aren’t any worries on his mind when he’s in the truck.

“I’m wide open all the time; I run until the truck quits, basically,” he said.

Dan said his advice for his son is simple, “More or less just stay focused. Don’t let any of these guys get in your head, just go out there and race your own race, but most importantly go have fun.” After watching Preston grow up to take on his dreams, he said he’s mostly just a proud dad.

The circuit Preston is competing in now is officially called “Monster Truck Wars,” and it will keep the two of them busy.

“We’ll be on the road pretty much the whole year,” Dan said. “We are in what’s called our first quarter right now, from January until about April. We’ll do some other shows off and on through the summer, then we’ll hit it hard again during the fall and winter months, traveling the country.”

Shows were held in Henderson at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday. Those who bought VIP tickets were able to participate in the Pit Party, where the crew opened the gates so visitors could meet the drivers, get autographs, take pictures and sit on the tires of the monster trucks.

If you’d like to attend a future show, you can find more information on the website.

Preston said, if you plan to come to a show, be ready for “a lot of loud noise and a lot of loud cheering!”

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