Utah Motorsports Campus Announces 2019 Schedule
‘Rebuilding Year’ Sees Fewer Major Events, More Variety
TOOELE VALLEY, UTAH — Following the long-delayed sale of Utah Motorsports Campus (UMC) from Tooele County to Mitime Utah Investment, LLC in late 2018, the track is proud to announce its 2019 event schedule.
UMC’s 2019 season will provide fewer “major” events due to the fact that the sale closing was delayed longer than anticipated, making it impossible to commit to 2019 dates in a timely manner. There will, however, be some new events, some old favorites and more variety.
“We’re really excited to finally start building a future for UMC,” said Dixon Hunt, UMC Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “With the schedule complete, we can turn our attention to a number of projects that we have been considering and we also have a lot of ‘sprucing up’ to do that would not have been appropriate when we were spending the hard-earned money of Tooele County’s taxpayers.
“Despite the fact that we’ll have a few less ‘major’ events in 2019, we maintain good relationships with the sanctioning bodies that have raced here and we expect to have more such events in the future. We have put together a great schedule for this year, though, and we can’t wait to get going. In addition, we have had an amazing number of requests for corporate and manufacturer events in 2019. We want to thank all of our racers, fans and neighbors for their patience and understanding. Now, let’s go racing!”
The highlight of the year will undoubtedly be the return of the Nitro World Games. Travis Pastrana’s innovative event was a smash hit and an overnight international sensation, and the second year is shaping up to be even more epic than the first. Nitro World Games will be announcing their event dates in the near future.
Also returning will be the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship on June 14-16. North America’s top professional motorcycle road racers will return to one of their favorite tracks, defying gravity as they rip around the track with knees and elbows dragging in the corners.
Endurance racing seems to be undergoing a bit of a resurgence, and UMC will host a number of endurance races this year. These include the Lucky Dog Racing League’s Salty Dawg Sprint-Duro on May 24-26, the ChampCar Endurance Series Double 8 on July 27-28, as well as two enduros for NASA Utah and one for the USBA Law Tigers Masters of the Mountains. There will be a pair of national-level kart races, with Superkarts! USA returning after a few years’ absence on May 3-4 and Stars and Stripes Rotax Racing make an inaugural appearance May 17-19.
Old favorites returning include the AHRMA Bonneville Vintage Grand Prix for vintage and historic motorcycles on Labor Day Weekend, our longest-running event, as well as the Porsche Pirelli Trophy West series on July 19-21. We will also have a couple of events with the Porsche Club of America’s Intermountain Region.
If you prefer your track action with less noise and speed, UMC has two bicycle races booked this season. The Utah Criterium Series will race on the West Track on June 7, and Extra Mile Racing will race on the same track on July 26.
Our two car shows that proved to be so popular last year will return in 2019. The third annual Cruzer Palooza Classic and Custom Car Show is scheduled for May 25, while the Import Sprint Showoff will take place June 1.
A new feature this year will be Xtreme Xperience on August 23-24. This is an interactive event that allows participants to drive (or be driven in) an exotic sports car such as a Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsche on the racetrack. We expect this to be very popular with Utah’s sports car enthusiasts.
Other non-racing events include Night Lights (formerly known as Lantern Fest) on May 18 and September 28 and the Muddy Princess 5K Obstacle Mud Run on June 9.
UMC’s vibrant amateur racing scene will continue to be strong in 2019. The sports cars of NASA Utah will present a seven-race schedule, the Utah Sport Bike Association will sanction six-round championships for both the Law Tigers Masters of the Mountains road racing series and the Utah Supermoto Championship, and the Utah Kart Championship will be a 12-round series. Also, Salt City Drift will conduct amateur drifting events and the Utah Region of the Sports Car Club of America will host autocross competitions throughout the season.
As was the case last year, and as a “thank-you” to our neighbors in Tooele County, all of UMC’s amateur racing events will be free admission.
The UMC Kart Center will open for kart rentals and group/corporate events on April 1, the Ford Performance Racing School will be conducting classes throughout the season and the onsite Rodizio Grill restaurant continues to serve amazing Brazilian fare on the weekends.
For event or ticket information, or for questions regarding UMC, call 435-277-8000 or visit the track’s website at www.UtahMotorsportsCampus.com.