The United Auto Racing Alliance has a very ambitious season set before them in 2026. Between five separate divisions, the UARA looks to hold events at tracks from Central Florida to the Midwest with stops in Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Before we dig into the upcoming season, let’s take a quick look at what turned out to be an adventurous 2025 season. The season began with Michael Atwell winning the 49th running of the Rattler 250 at South Alabama Speedway and ended in November with the 10th running of the Bill Bigley Sr. Memorial 128 in Bradenton, FL. The race ended with an underdog driver overcoming the incumbent competition as George Gorham bested Ty Majeski in the season finale.

It was a season that saw the Ricky Brooks led organization face the immense task of a massive schedule shake up following the departure of Brooks and the UARA from Cordele Motor Speedway in April. The sanctioning body went to work revamping their summer plans, adding additional events at Auburndale Motor Speedway, South Alabama Speedway and the Freedom Factory while leaning on return visits to Berlin Raceway and Mobile International Speedway. 

This set the stage for the National Tour to run a complete season, culminating in a championship run for UARA National Tour regular Michael Atwell and breakout performances by the likes of Colin Allman and Austin Hull.

After the successful season, the UARA used the remainder of the year to announce a bevy of additions to the schedule for 2026 with events ranging from the 50th running of the Rattler 250 at South Alabama Speedway to three brand new divisions joining the UARA National Tour and UARA Sportsman Series.

PRO SERIES

In mid-November, the UARA folks announced the formation of a new Pro Late Model division to the UARA lineup. Dubbed simply the UARA Pro Late Model Series, the new division will allow many of the same pro late model teams that have bolstered the UARA National Tour over the past three seasons to stand alone, fighting for their own championship. Much like the National Tour, the champion will be crowned using a system based on race earnings rather than traditional points standings.

“We run our race series based on what is good for the race teams and what is good for the tracks that host our events, we base our decisions and our direction on what is best for everyone involved,” said Ricky Brooks.

Brooks is attempting build a budget-friendly division that also be used as a proving ground for young talent.

“We’ve had a great response about our expansion into the Pro Late Model division, especially as some have moved away from the original concept of the Pros to create a more affordable race car that can be used to train young racers,” said Brooks.

The first season of the UARA Pro Late Model series will be set around three participating UARA tracks; Auburndale Motor Speedway in central Florida, South Alabama Speedway in Opp, and Highland Rim Speedway in Tennessee.

MARCH 7 — Auburndale Motor Speedway
MARCH 20 — Baby Rattler 125 at South Alabama Speedway
APRIL 4 — Auburndale Motor Speedway
MAY 2 — Auburndale Motor Speedway
JUNE 20 — Auburndale Motor Speedway
JULY 18 — Highland Rim Speedway
AUGUST 8 — Auburndale Motor Speedway
AUGUST 15 — Highland Rim Speedway
SEPTEMBER 26 — Auburndale Motor Speedway
OCTOBER 10 — Auburndale Motor Speedway

NATIONAL TOUR

As it enters its third full season of competition, a hardy 12 race schedule awaits the drivers of the UARA National Tour. 

The season kicks off in central Florida at Auburndale Motor Speedway with the Ken Hyatt Memorial 142. An avid racing and motorsports fan, Hyatt was an entrepreneur and previously owned and operated Tiki Village campground and Auburndale Speedway with his wife. 

“We are glad to be racing once again in the deep south and bigger Florida events are long overdue,” said UARA President Ricky Brooks. “We can’t thank the Hyatt and Guy family enough for the opportunity to sanction this memorial event at Auburndale for a great man that they recently lost.”

From there, the super late models travel to what has become one of pillar events for the Tour; Opp, Alabama with the 50th running of the Rattler 250 at South Alabama Speedway. With 2026 marking the 50th edition of this event, the prize purse is set a very sizable $50,050.50, making it one of the highest paying late model races in the country.

This year, the Rattler will once again be scheduled as a Saturday event, providing a spare day in case of inclement weather — an occurrence that has plagued this event for much of its long history. 

In conjunction with the Super Late Model race, the UARA Sportsman will serve as a preliminary undercard, though the racing seen by these wedge-bodied race cars has been top notch in recent visits. Also on tap is the Baby Rattler 125, this year under the full sanction of the UARA as a part of the newly created Pro Series. 

Returning for the first time since 2022, the Full Throttle 125 at Citrus County Speedway marks the third leg of the 2026 UARA National Tour. Bubba Pollard has won the previous two editions of this event, then set at 100 laps. 

Following Citrus is a trip up the Gulf Coast to Irvington, Alabama for a 100 lapper at Mobile International Speedway. Mobile played host to UARA racing in 2025 where eventual season champion took the victory, holding off local hotshoe Dustin Smith and UARA regular Daniel Webster.

Dodging the early summer heat of the Deep South, the UARA super late models next head north to Marne, Michigan’s Berlin Raceway for the Money in the Bank 150. This race always features stars from the NASCAR ranks, and 2025 was no exception as Cup Series standout Carson Hocevar claimed his third Money in the Bank win at his home track. 

The month of August is all about the Cheese Head State, as the UARA travels to a new circuit for the Tour at Golden sands Speedway before a return visit to Berlin for the Battle at Berlin 250.

The action heads back down south to close out the year with races at Auburndale, South Alabama and the Freedom Factory before finishing off the season with the 11th running of the Bill Bigley Sr. Memorial 128 at the Freedom Factory. 

FEBRUARY 28 — Ken Hyatt Memorial 142 – Auburndale Motor Speedway
MARCH 21 — 50th Rattler 250 – South Alabama Speedway
APRIL 11 — Full Throttle 125 – Citrus County Speedway
MAY 9 — Backyard Brawl 100 – Mobile International Speedway
JUNE 10 — Money in the Bank 150 – Berlin Raceway
AUGUST 1 — TBA 125 – Golden Sands Speedway
AUGUST 12– Battle at Berlin 250 – Berlin Raceway
TBA
SEPTEMBER 19 — Billy Joe Ingram Memorial 154 – Auburndale Speedway
OCTOBER 3 — Frank Grill Memorial 112 – South Alabama Speedway
OCTOBER 24 — Bigley Memorial Tune-Up 125 – Freedom Factory
NOVEMBER 28 — Bill Bigley Memorial 128 – Freedom Factory

SPORTSMAN, PURE STOCK and CROWN VIC

The UARA Sportsman Series, formerly known as the Wheelman Series, is already underway at the time of this article as the Frostbite 100 at Citrus County Speedway kicks off their season. Joining the Sportsman in Inverness are two new additions to the UARA lineup in the UARA Pro Stock Division and the UARA Crown Vic Division. With aim of providing a home for racing for the blue collar crowd, these three divisions will serve as undercard contests at UARA National shows in addition to having their own stand alone feature events, such as the aforementioned Frostbite 100 weekend.

OH, ONE MORE THING… ULTRA BROADCASTING

Just prior to the first racing weekend of the 2026 UARA season, the sanctioning body announced yet another new partnership. All events this year will be streamed online by the Ultra Broadcasting network. Not just the super late model races… ALL races. 

“Every year since we started with the UARA we have seen growth and this move to Ultra Broadcasting will

continue into what we believe will be our biggest season yet,” said UARA President, Ricky Brooks. 

“We appreciate everything our partners have done in the past to cover the series, and we know Ultra Broadcasting will only help our series grow as we look to the future. Ultra is a family-run business like UARA, and we both are committed to putting blue-collar racers first.”

Ultra Broadcasting is entering its second year of operation, having been created by Florence Motor Speedway owner Steve Zacharias.

Complete details, including all division schedules, ticket information and more can be found at https://www.uararacing.com/.

PHOTOS: Daniel Vining/DanielVining.com