July 2, 2025 | By Ben Sheton

Wild West Shootout Returns Home to Arizona in 2026

CASA GRANDE, Ariz.—The more things change, the more they stay the same.

With this fact in mind, miniseries officials are proud to announce that the 20th running of the Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts will be held at Central Arizona Raceway (Casa Grande, Ariz.) on Jan. 10 – 18, 2026.

“First and foremost, I can’t stress enough how thankful we are for all that Royal Jones and Vado Speedway Park have done for us over the past four years of the Wild West Shootout. He provided us with a state-of-the-art facility along with continuing to be a devoted event marketing partner. There’s no way the Wild West Shootout would be entering year twenty without his support,” shared Wild West Shootout co-promoter Chris Kearns. “From the time we moved the event to New Mexico, we all knew that we hoped to one day get the event back to where it all started in Arizona.

“Brad Whitfield and his staff have done some incredible things with Central Arizona Raceway over the last few years with even more improvements on the docket. With that in mind, we are thrilled to be working with him and his staff at Central Arizona Raceway to ‘bring the event back home’.”

It marks a homecoming for the mega miniseries not only to Arizona but specifically to the track, where the Wild West Shootout became a reality with the creativity and risk taking of the late Ernie Mincy. The promotional pioneer laid the foundations for the Wild West Shootout in 2001, when he started the Early Thaw Series at Central Arizona Raceway with additional dates dotting the schedule at the now defunct Manzanita Speedway (Phoenix, Ariz.).

Over the next several years the Wild West Shootout grew from a large regional event to one of the most successful unsanctioned Super Late Model events in the country at USA Raceway (Tucson, Ariz.) and Arizona Speedway (Queen Creek, Ariz.).

Following the closing of Arizona Speedway at the conclusion of the 2021 season, the event vacated ‘The Grand Canyon State’ for the first time. The Wild West Shootout moved to Royal Jones’ Vado (N.M.) Speedway Park for 2022 and contested four consecutive years of events at the state-of-the-art facility.

Stellar racing at the 3/8-mile oval rewarded the track and miniseries with DirtOnDirt.com Race of the Year accolades in 2022 and 2023.

For its 20th anniversary the Wild West Shootout now returns to Arizona. On Jan. 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, and 18, 2026 Central Arizona Raceway hosts the miniseries. The facility is conveniently located less than an hour southeast of Phoenix.

“The return of the Wild West Shootout back home to Arizona, where it all began, has always been in the back of my mind. For it to become a reality by partnering with the Wild West Shootout ownership group is a huge honor,” comments Central Arizona Raceway promoter, Brad Whitfield. “It’s also a great tribute to Ernie Mincy. He got this event off the ground in the early 2000’s here at Central Arizona Raceway. Again, I couldn't be more proud, and I can’t wait for January 2026 to get here!”

The 20th running of the Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts features six complete programs for Super Late Models, Modifieds, and X-Mods on Jan. 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, and 18 at FK Rod Ends Central Arizona Raceway presented by Low Voltage Solutions.

Additionally, open practice sessions are slated for Friday, January 9 and Tuesday, January 13.

Full event details will soon be available at www.WildWestShootout.net.