REINBOLD RAISES THE STAKES FOR ‘26 USAC MIDGET SEASON
#19AZ Hayden Reinbold. (Josh James Artwork Photo)
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (April 21, 2026)………No driver showed more growth throughout the past USAC season than Hayden Reinbold.
Now, the 22-year-old Gilbert, Arizona native is back on the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship trail full-time again in 2026 as the driver of the Reinbold-Underwood Motorsports No. 19AZ on the 29-race tour.
The results don’t lie about his performance from one year ago. In 2025, he surpassed his total combined USAC National Midget output from his first five years in a single season.
He earned two top-fives in 2025, after accruing one total in his first five years with the series. His seven top-ten finishes in 2025 doubled from the seven total he earned between 2020-2024. Late in 2025, he became a first-time USAC National Midget winner in what was his 101st career series start, leading to an 11th place result in the standings.
It’s an elevation Reinbold chalks up to more seat time.
“It’s just about running a lot more,” Reinbold explained. “Of course, any time you’re in a car, you’re gaining knowledge, laps and just getting the feel for things. Midgets are the first cars I raced. I was just learning to drive them, then learning to race.”
At the conclusion of the 2025 campaign, coupled between his exploits in USAC’s National Midget and National Sprint Car divisions, Reinbold was named the USAC National Most Improved Driver.
“It was cool to be recognized for our efforts and our progress throughout the years,” Reinbold beamed. “I was super honored to receive it.”
In fact, Reinbold is a rarity. He didn’t grow up competing in quarter midgets, karts, outlaw karts or anything in that realm. His first race of any kind was a USAC National Midget event at Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Port City Raceway as a 16-year-old in 2020.
All those years paid off in September of 2025 during the 4-Crown Nationals at Rossburg, Ohio’s Eldora Speedway where Reinbold not only earned his first career fast qualifying time with the series, but also his first ever USAC feature victory, just in the nick of time as he slowed across the finish line, practically running on fumes.
“That was super fun,” Reinbold recalled. “When we showed up, I knew we were going to be pretty good because our midget program is really good on big tracks that have grip. There were grip spots throughout the track and I was pretty excited about it. We almost ran out of fuel, but we were super-fast. When your car is that good, I can run around sliding myself. When I ran the bottom, I just kept gaining speed on them.”
In 2025, he was the first Arizonan to be named USAC’s National Most Improved Driver since Jerry Coons Jr. in 2001. Now, 2026 presents an even greater opportunity to continue his rise up the USAC National Midget tally.
When posed the question of where he looks to find improvement in his game this year, Reinbold provided a simple two-word answer. “Drive harder.”
Reinbold will start off his USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship season in 2026 beginning with back-to-back nights at Indiana’s Kokomo Speedway for the Kokomo Grand Prix on Friday-Saturday, April 24-25.
