2/6/2026
Midget Auto Racing Association
Six Different Tracks With Eighteen Dates Await MARA In 2026
Six different tracks will host the stars of the Midget Auto Racing Association (MARA) in 2026. In all, there will be 18 races with Lincoln Speedway (Lincoln, IL) serving as the club’s unofficial home track.
Friday night action will dominate the slate with Lincoln opening the season on April 3. MARA will be back at the track April 24. From there, Lincoln Speedway will host MARA six more times during the year.
On May 1, the organization headlines the card at Coles County Speedway (Mattoon, IL) for the first of two visits. Coles recently announced their races will all be available on FloRacing.
Davenport Speedway (Davenport, IA) will serve as the first co-sanctioned venue between MARA and their sister organization the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association. The May 8 event may give an advantage to the MARA teams as they should have three races under their belts prior to this date, while it is the opener for the Wisconsin-based club. The track will be unfamiliar to all of the teams and situations like this also increase the possibility of a surprise winner.
On May 22, MARA takes to Jacksonville Speedway (Jacksonville, IL) for the first of three visits. They will be back on June 26 and September 25.
Saturday, June 20, will be the first of three MARA/Badger co-sanctioned events at Sycamore Speedway (Maple Park, IL). In 2025 the clubs split feature wins (and had a couple of rainouts). These familiar confines give no real advantage to either organization and fans can look forward to an interesting night of racing.
LaSalle Speedway (La Salle, IL) will host the last co-sanction event of season and will likely offer another challenge to teams of both MARA and Badger as the track reopened in 2025 after being shuttered for years. The green flag will drop here on Saturday, September 26.
While LaSalle will conclude the Badger season, MARA will close 2026 at Coles County Speedway on October 10.
The official MARA schedule will be posted on mararacing.com soon. Fans are also encouraged to follow their Facebook page, “MARA Racing,” for race day updates.
2026 MARA schedule:
April:
3 Lincoln Speedway
24 Lincoln Speedway
May:
1 Coles County Speedway
8 Davenport Speedway
15 Lincoln Speedway
22 Jacksonville Speedway
June:
5 Lincoln Speedway
20 Sycamore Speedway
26 Jacksonville Speedway
July:
3 Lincoln Speedway
17 Lincoln Speedway
August:
21 Lincoln Speedway
22 Sycamore Speedway
September:
4 Lincoln Speedway
5 Sycamore Speedway
25 Jacksonville Speedway
26 LaSalle Speedway
October:
10 Coles County Speedway
Article by Bill Blumer Jr.
Photo Credit: Scott Leeman
Submitted By: William Blumer