USA Nationals Friday Card Moves to Saturday After Rain
NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 1, 2026
Rain postponement
Heavy rain pushed Friday’s USA Nationals program at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wisconsin, to Saturday after the grounds were saturated, and the change sends the full weekend into a tighter schedule. The rescheduled Friday card will now run first on Saturday, with hot laps set for 5 p.m. CT. The regularly scheduled Saturday program is set to start about 45 minutes after that makeup show ends, which makes the track’s Saturday slate a two-part deal built around the weather delay. The shift keeps the event moving, but it also changes the rhythm for teams and fans who planned for a standard Friday night opener. Instead, Saturday now carries the weight of both programs, with the makeup feature first and the original Saturday show waiting behind it. Cedar Lake had already opened the weekend with racing on Thursday night, and the rain only added another twist to a busy stretch at the speedway. The conditions left no room to race Friday, so officials moved the schedule back one day and set the revised order for the rest of the weekend.
Saturday schedule
Saturday now comes with a full slate of gates, sessions and race action. Pit gates are scheduled to open at noon, giving crews an early start before the grandstands open at 3 p.m. An autograph session is set for 3:30 p.m., part of the track’s pre-race lineup before the on-track action begins. Friday tickets will be honored for the makeup program, while only Saturday tickets will be valid for the regularly scheduled Saturday show. That split keeps the two programs separate even though they will run back to back. The makeup Friday card is set to begin with hot laps at 5 p.m. CT, and the second program will follow roughly 45 minutes after it wraps. That leaves fans at Cedar Lake Speedway with a long Saturday schedule and a late finish once both shows are complete. The new order also puts a premium on patience, since the track will have to clear one full program before moving straight into the next. For a weekend built around the USA Nationals, the rain delay turned Saturday into the key day on the calendar.
Erb victory
Tyler Erb kept the momentum on track Thursday night by winning the 30-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series Feature at Cedar Lake Speedway, and he led every lap in a run that gave him his first victory at the track. The win was his third World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory of 2026, and it came with Hudson O’Neal pressing on restarts but never breaking through. O’Neal briefly pulled alongside Erb on a Lap 8 restart, but Erb held firm and stayed in control. Brandon Sheppard then worked past O’Neal for second on a Lap 23 restart and tried to close the gap, but he finished runner-up without catching Erb before the checkered flag. Nick Hoffman took fourth and Devin Moran finished fifth. Erb’s clean sweep at the front stood out because he never gave up the lead, even as the field tightened on the restarts that usually open the door for challengers. The result gives him another strong line in a 2026 season that already includes three World of Outlaws Late Model Series wins, and it also sets the tone for Cedar Lake’s weekend with the No. 1 driver already having banked a win before the weather reshaped Friday’s schedule.
