The 2026 season marks the 12th year of the Texas Sprint Racing Series. The Superkarts! USA and International Kart Federation regional program has grown to one of the largest karting championships in the country, offering both 2-cycle and 4-cycle competition. The opening event is slated for this weekend – March 13-15 – at the Speedsportz Racing Park in New Caney, Texas.

Prior to setting up trackside for the weekend, EKN was able to reach series promoter Brittany Lobaugh to help set the stage for the 2026 season.

eKartingNews.com: Thank you Brittany for giving us a few moments before you kick off the 12th season of the Texas Sprint Racing Series. From your perspective, what is different about the TSRS from that first season and going into the 2026 championship?

Brittany Lobaugh: Well, I actually wasn’t involved the first year so that is definitely different. This year we have really stepped up our staff, added the T4 senior class and brought back a fun community event for each event. Last year, we went paperless and got rid of drivers meeting and a few other things, so this year we will continue that and see what other ways we can continue to both entertain and give back to our racers. We have also stepped up our prize packages this year to add cash purses.

EKN: Track selection is a big part of developing a championship series. This year, TSRS will visit four different tracks for five events with Speedsportz Racing Park hosting the opener and the finale. What led to the track selections this year?

BL: We are always looking for tracks large enough to meet our paddock needs and still allow overnight camping. With Speedsportz being a fan favorite, we decided to start and end there this year. We are hopeful to go back to five different tracks next year with possibly a new track coming up over this year, ready for us potentially in 2027.

The T4 Senior category has been added to the 2026 Texas Sprint Racing Series championship program (Photo: Tillotson Racing)

EKN: In January, Texas Sprint Racing Series announced the addition of the T4 Series USA platform joining for 2026 with a Senior class and the option to add more categories in the future. What led to the decision to add this category, replacing the Shifter division?

BL: While we love a good shifter class, we were just unable to keep consistent counts over the year to validate keeping the class. We felt the T4 program was a great fit for our regional series to give an actual steppingstone class for those newer to karting. I get emails all the time for those looking to move from indoor or league racing to outdoor karting. This is a simple and cost effective way to move those drivers to our series. Reasonable cost to rent or buy, little race day changes to make so you don’t have to be an expert mechanic from day 1 and has the get up and go most are looking for. This class will also be awesome for dads and mechanics that want to have fun as well but are busy with their other drivers’ karts keeping them up to speed but can basically make sure tires are tight, fuel is in and just drive. We hope the region sees the need for this as much as we do and anticipate these classes growing in the region as budgets get tighter.

EKN: What can competitors and teams expect from the TSRS this year in terms of changes in officials working with the series in 2026 or procedures that will be implemented? And please expand on the cash purse you mentioned for this year.

BL: We have the purses broken down on our prize package link on TexasSprintSeries.com. Any classes eligible for prize money must reach an average of 20 entries for the full season, half payout for any classes with an average of 15-19. No payment will be given for classes 14 or under. For all prize money you will be asked to complete a 1099 and provide account information for direct deposit, otherwise prize will be issued as TSRS credit in RaceSelect.

We have most of the same officials this year, but you will see some new faces on the gird, and we are moving a track official over as a new protest steward Logan McDonough. We think this will be a great change for our competitors this year. On track you will still see Darren McDonough and Robbie Venable as our Race directors. We had a lot of success with the removal of the drivers meeting last year so we will continue with that. Also, this race will show the continuation of our Penalty Point system in work as points have not fallen off yet. They each carry the points through 5 races so anyone who left 2025 with higher points may need to think hard about how they approach the track this year to stay under the thresholds.

Big fields are expected in 2026 when the green flag waves on the Texas Sprint Racing Series (Photo: Ken Johnson – Studio52.us)

EKN: Overall, what do you expect the 2026 season to produce for the Texas Sprint Racing Series?

BL: We expect great racing and fun times. Our group has been working hard to make things fun and enjoyable at each event. We want to see great racing and the community feeling that started this off way back in 2015. We know we’ve grown a bit, but we’ve been working hard to keep that feeling in the paddock of less stress and seriousness while still having fair racing and tech. We hope this year proves that even more than previous years!

EKN: Thank you for taking the time to join us and set the stage for the 2026 Texas Sprint Racing Series. Enjoy the opening event this weekend.

BL: Thank you EKN. We will see everyone at Speedsportz this weekend.

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