February 4, 2026, for immediate release
It’s been a bit quiet here on the SMC web site since we published our 2025 Season Summary. Don’t mistake that for nothing going on, though. Indeed, we set our schedule, confirmed our 2026 supporter/sponsor relationships, and (most exciting) have been helping and welcoming the eleven drivers who are aimed at joining us. Yep, ELEVEN (can you imagine a Stranger Thing?)
New Drivers
First off, we are beyond thrilled to have those ELEVEN drivers aimed at joining (in two cases, re-joining) us in 2026: Karlo, Mark, Clete, Al, Patrick, Devon, Drew, Gary, Ehab, Coley, and Nolan (and maybe a couple more): WELCOME. We cannot wait to be on-track with you and introduce you to our style of competition, comradery, and paddock-fun.
Keep an eye on the driver bio page for lots of updates soon!
Supporters
We are humbled to be supported by great companies…Hoosier, Victory Lane, Race Car Resurrections, and Trackside Tires. And what would evenings in the paddock be without Barley Pop Brewing returning as our bespoke SMC beer-brewing sponsor?
Schedule: Five Races, Two States, Two Countries
We are thrilled to add the SOVREN Spring Sprints at Pacific Raceways to our Sprite-Midget Challenge race schedule for 2026. Set for the weekend of May 2-3, this is SOVREN’s kick-off event for the season. It can be sunny with highs in the 70s, and it can be a truly wet and wild weekend. Whether we’re searching the paddock for sunscreen or practicing “The Art of Racing in the Rain”, we’ll be out there racing hard and having a great time in the paddock.
June 6-7 we’ll load up and head to usually sunny eastern Washington to race in the Spokane Festival of Speed at Qlispé Raceway Park. SOVREN returned to this event in 2025 after a multi-year absence and the Spridget racing that weekend was epic. Under new ownership the last few years, the track is making improvements and really rolls out the red carpet for the SMC, SOVREN, and spectators.
July 3-5 you’ll find us at SOVREN’s flagship event, the Pacific Northwest Historic Races at Pacific Raceways. This three-day extravaganza of racing and car culture includes days packed full of on-track action, a track-side street car show (with lunchtime parade laps for entrants), a great vendor row, and special guest Peter Brock, with a ticketed evening dinner meet & greet with Mr. Brock. And of course, the Sprite-Midget Challenge will be there, as a part of Battle of the Brits II. Yep, inviting the Minis into the fray last year was a hit with drivers and spectators, featuring great competition throughout the grid. The 2026 Historics are a can’t-miss event.
We earn our “International” tag August 8-9 when we take the show back on the road to Mission, British Columbia to race in the VRCBC/SCCBC British Columbia Historic Motor Races at Mission Raceway Park. The track at Mission feels like it was designed for Spridgets, with complex, copious, and sharp turns liberally scattered amid very miserly straights. Indeed, drivers need to choose *one* gauge to check on the front straight, which passes in a blink before they brake hard and turn sharp for the first of back-to-back hairpins. The weekend, like Spokane, includes a street car show and offers a great Saturday evening dinner and awards show. We can’t wait to be there this year!
Portland is our fourth destination and fifth and final event of 2026. This year SOVREN’s Columbia River Classic at Portland International Raceway slides back to Labor Day weekend, September 5-6, and there will be two days of racing action along the Columbia River, this year with a full sound variance, which means our friends in the big-bore group will be out in force. The SMC will crown its season champions on Saturday. The 2025 race was wild and crazy with loops, lead changes, a thrilling Le Mans-style start, and a finish decided by less than 0.5 seconds. As always, the Portland-area All British Field Meet for street cars will be trackside with us and get parade laps on one day and run an autocross/giant slalom the other.
