USAC Midget Weekend Rained Out, Saturday Race Postponed to Monday
NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 15, 2026
USAC weekend plans
USAC’s NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship lined up a fast three-race stretch in four nights, but rain changed the shape of the weekend before it could get moving. The opener at Coles County Speedway in Mattoon was rained out, leaving the series without the first step in the run it had built around three tracks in Illinois and Wisconsin. The plan called for Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, Illinois, to host the opening race, followed by Coles County Speedway and then Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. That schedule gave the national midget tour a tight, travel-heavy route with little margin for weather. Rain took that margin away right away.
The disruption landed at a moment when USAC’s national racing season was already back on track. The series had returned with a late-summer rhythm and then set out to keep that momentum going with one of its busiest short stretches of the season. The weekend was designed to showcase the midget tour in a compact format, moving quickly from one venue to the next and keeping the focus on national competition. Instead, the first event never got off the ground, and the weekend immediately shifted from a full slate to a salvage operation. That put more pressure on the remaining races and made every weather decision carry more weight. The original plan still showed the reach of the series, with Illinois and Wisconsin both on the route, but the weather trimmed the opening act before the tour could settle into its groove.
Saturday program
Saturday’s Lake Land College King of Coles stayed on the books longer than the opener, but rain eventually pushed the program back and broke up the weekend even more. The event was set for Coles County Speedway in Mattoon and included USAC National Midgets, non-wing Junior Sprints and Restricted Sprints. That mix gave the card a broad local and national feel, with the headline midget show backed by support classes that added depth to the evening. The feature was scheduled for 40 laps and carried a $6,000-to-win purse, clear signs that the race was built as the centerpiece of the night. The schedule also laid out a full evening at the track, with gates opening at 3 p.m. Central, the drivers meeting at 5:15 p.m. and track activity at 6 p.m.
The weather forced that show back to Monday, which kept the event alive but changed the flow of the weekend. Coles County Speedway still held a place in the series itinerary, but the original Saturday placement disappeared under the rain. The postponement mattered because the Lake Land College King of Coles was not just a standalone race. It was one piece of the larger weekend plan, and it was set to give the USAC National Midgets a prime role in front of a full program of racing. When the rain moved the event, it also shifted the timing of the entire midget weekend, leaving the tour to adjust around a delayed feature and a reduced slate. The race itself still carried the same structure, the same purse and the same class lineup. Only the timing changed.
Sunday finale
Sunday’s Premiere at Jacksonville Speedway did not get a second chance. Rain canceled the event and officials did not reschedule it, closing the weekend on a note that left USAC with one rainout and one postponement already on the books. That final cancellation meant the national midget tour lost more than an individual race. It lost the chance to complete the original four-night rhythm it had set up for the stretch. The series had built the weekend around a clean flow from one track to the next, with Wayne County Speedway, Coles County Speedway and Angell Park Speedway all part of the original route. The finale at Jacksonville Speedway was supposed to cap off that run, but the weather ended the plan before the cars ever reached the track.
The cancellation also underscored how quickly a tightly packed schedule can unravel in racing. Three races in four nights leaves little room for postponements, and the weekend proved that point. One event was washed out, one was pushed back and one was dropped entirely. That left USAC with a partial weekend instead of the full series swing it had mapped out. Even so, the original lineup showed the strength of the national midget tour and the scope of the venues it can draw to in a short span. Illinois carried the bulk of the weekend, while Wisconsin held a place in the middle of the plan. The weather cut into all of it. By the end, the weekend still had a race on the board, but it no longer had the complete run USAC had scheduled.
