Sizzle 2026: A New Championship Racing Year Begins

A new year of Upland Championship Racing starts now, and every racer is back on the starting line.

The standings have been reset. Every racer begins at zero, every racer begins at zero, and every point earned from Sizzle 2026 forward will build toward the Genesis 2027 Grand Final. Whether you are a returning champion or entering the circuit for the first time, this is your chance to establish your place in the new Championship year.

Sizzle 2026 brings five weeks of community-built tracks, a Season Championship Final, and several major racing updates designed to make every race more competitive, strategic, and exciting.

The following updates for racing will go live on Monday August 3rd.

Week 5 Is Bonus Points Week

Week 5 will give racers one final chance to close the gap, climb the standings, or protect their position before the Season Championship Final.

Racing during Week 5 will award bonus points. The exact bonus point boost will be announced before Week 5 begins, so every racer will know what is at stake before qualifying opens.

A difficult early week no longer has to end your season. Stay in the fight, because Week 5 could change everything.

More Powerful Power-Up Boosts

Power-up boosts have been overhauled to make them significantly more powerful. Racers will need to test them, learn how the updated boosts behave, and rethink how they build around the Max Performance Score limit.

Power-ups will no longer feel like a small advantage. Used correctly, they can be the difference between winning and losing.

Stock Cars Are Ready for Professional Racing

Stock Cars have been adjusted to better represent the vehicles they were intended to be. Their performance has been updated to make them a more viable option in professional Championship Racing.

Racers should test their Stock Cars again rather than relying on how they performed in previous seasons.

Track Structures & Textures

The bug that caused structures around some tracks to appear black has been resolved. Racers and viewers should now see the track environment as intended. This update also fixes the wheel texture issues affecting some vehicles.

The updated version is not currently available on Android, and the iOS update is still under review. Mobile players may therefore continue to experience this issue. For the best and most up-to-date racing experience, we recommend racing on the web.

Join the Lobby as a Racer or Viewer

Players entering a race lobby can now choose whether they are joining as a Racer or a Viewer. This gives streamers, commentators, and other community members the ability to join a race and watch the action without competing.

Register, Race, and Start Your Championship Run

This is Championship Racing, where skill, speed, and strategy lead to real rewards.

To compete in the Sizzle 2026 Championship Racing Season, players must purchase the collectible Sizzle 2026 Championship Racing Pass from the Upland Store for 30,000 UPX. The pass sale opens Thursday, July 30th at 9 AM PT, with up to 1,000 passes available.

Players must continue holding the Racing Pass through the eligibility snapshot on Wednesday, August 5th at 9 AM PT to compete. Only players holding the pass at that time will be eligible for the season. Your name will appear on the leaderboard after your first race on the designated track.

All registration UPX goes directly into the seasonal prize pool, creating a purse that will be distributed among the season’s top-performing racers.

Sale Start: Thursday, July 30 9 AM PT
Sale End: Wednesday, August 5th 8 AM PT
Snapshot: Wednesday, August 5th 9 AM PT

Sizzle 2026 Racing Schedule

Registered racers will compete each week on a public community-designed track. Qualifying runs from Thursday through Monday, with each week’s finals taking place on Friday.

Week 1: Tyner Zephyr by ifily

Distance: 2.40 miles
Address: 6043 Zephyr Ln, Bakersfield, CA, US
Qualifying: Thursday, August 6th through Monday, August 10th
Finals: Friday, August 14th at 3:00 PM PT / 6:00 PM ET

Week 2: Road Rager Square by antman89

Distance: 2.06 miles
Address: 6804 S Main St, Los Angeles, CA, US
Qualifying: Thursday, August 13th through Monday, August 17th
Finals: Friday, August 21st at 10:30 AM PT / 1:30 PM ET

Week 3: Rancho Oakey by mikebenzie

Distance: 2.39 miles
Address: 2805 Bryant Ave, Las Vegas, NV, US
Qualifying: Thursday, August 20th through Monday, August 24th
Finals: Friday, August 28th at 10:30 AM PT / 1:30 PM ET

Week 4: Do Galeao by cruzerito

Distance: 1.12 miles
Address: Rua Gustavo Augusto de Resende, 471A, Rio
Qualifying: Thursday, August 27th through Monday, August 31st
Finals: Friday, September 4th at 3:00 PM PT / 6:00 PM ET

Week 5: Country Club Drive by mistermojave

Distance: 2.33 miles
Address: 3292 Radio Dr, Bronx, NY, US
Qualifying: Thursday, September 3rd through Monday, September 7th
Finals: Friday, September 11th at 3:00 PM PT / 6:00 PM ET
Special: Bonus Points Week. The bonus point boost will be announced before Week 5 begins.

Sizzle Season Championship Final: Paris Track by Upland Bureau

Distance: 6.63 miles
Address: 28 Rue de Valois, Paris, France
Finals: Friday, September 18th at 11:00 AM PT / 2:00 PM ET

Alternate tracks: Goose Island Raceway in New York and 1 Crazy Pigeon 0 may be used if issues arise with the scheduled track.

Built by the Community, for the Community

Upland provides the tools and platform, but Championship Racing is led by the community. Community Racing CommissionersMasschef and Antman89 will coordinate championship races, live shows, qualifying results, and leaderboard updates throughout the season.

Each week’s racing finals will be featured during the Weekly Racing Stream, bringing the competition front and center with live commentary, results, and updated standings.

To join the racing community, ask questions, or follow race-day updates, head to the Racing Channels in the official Upland Discord. Players can opt in to racing notifications through the racing role in the #about-racing channel.

Prizes and Rewards

Every registered racer contributes to the seasonal prize pool through the 30,000 UPX registration fee. Racers will earn weekly UPX prizes based on placement, with payouts tracked and distributed after the Season Championship Final.

Upland will also add a bonus contribution to the seasonal prize pool, increasing the rewards available to the top racers. The top three racers this season will earn exclusive racing badges recognizing their place on the podium.

Sizzle 2026 is also the first step toward Genesis 2027. Championship Series points earned throughout the new racing year will accumulate across each season and determine who qualifies for the Genesis 2027 Grand Final. Annual Championship prizes will include larger UPX payouts, custom-made prizes, and exclusive rewards for Upland’s elite racers, with full details announced closer to Genesis 2027.

Community Tracks and Creator Rewards

Community-designed track submissions remain open through the official Upland Discord. Selected tracks will be reviewed for fairness, balance, and reliable racing before being featured in official competition.

The creator of each selected track will receive 25,000 UPX after the track is featured in a live competitive week. Every UPX race completed on a featured track also supports the track owner, so practicing on the official courses helps both racers and the builders behind the raceways.

Ready to Race?

The road to Genesis 2027 starts with Sizzle 2026.

The standings are clear, the field is wide open, and every racer has the same opportunity to take control of the new Championship year. Learn the updated cars. Master the stronger power-ups. Stay within reach of Week 5. Then put everything on the line in Paris.

Who will set the pace for the year ahead? The answer will be decided on the track.

Here Are the Complete Racing Rules

That is everything you need to know about what is new, how to register, where to race, and what is at stake in Sizzle 2026. The remainder of this announcement is the complete rules reference. Returning racers who already know the Championship Racing format can stop reading here.

Season Format

The Sizzle 2026 Championship Racing Season includes five weeks of competitive racing followed by the Season Championship Final in Week 6.
Each week features a public community-designed track selected by the Racing Commissioners.
Qualifying runs from Thursday at 9 AM PT through Monday at 9 AM PT.
Racers may run the qualifying track as many times as they want. Only their fastest time counts.
The top 24 fastest drivers qualify for that week’s competition.
Weekly points accumulate across the five-week Sizzle season and determine who advances to the Sizzle Season Championship Final.
The top 12 racers after five weeks advance to the Season Championship Final in Week 6.
Week 5 is Bonus Points Week. The bonus point boost will be announced before Week 5 qualifying begins.
Results from each Season Championship award points on the annual Championship Series Leaderboard. Those points accumulate across the racing year and determine qualification for the Genesis 2027 Grand Final.

Race Settings and Advancement

Max Performance Score Cap: All Championship races are limited to MPS 260.
Public Races: All qualifying and competition races must be set to public.
Qualifying Phase: Thursday at 9 AM PT through Monday at 9 AM PT on the designated weekly track.
Eliminations: The six slowest qualifiers are eliminated. The top 18 advance.
Semi-Finals: The 18 advancing racers are split into three balanced heats based on qualifying times:
Heat 1: Positions 1, 6, 7, 12, 13, and 18
Heat 2: Positions 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, and 17
Heat 3: Positions 3, 4, 9, 10, 15, and 16
Final Heat: The top two finishers from each semi-final advance to the Final Heat, for a total of six racers.
Final Rankings: All 24 racers are ranked across the three race phases:
Positions 1 through 6 are based on Final Heat results.
Positions 7 through 18 are based on semi-final race times.
Positions 19 through 24 are based on qualifying times.

Weekly Points System

Points are awarded by finishing position for all 24 weekly finalists:

1st Place: 40 points
2nd Place: 37 points
3rd Place: 35 points
4th Place: 33 points
5th Place: 31 points
6th Place: 29 points
7th Place: 27 points
8th Place: 25 points
9th Place: 23 points
10th Place: 21 points
11th Place: 20 points
12th Place: 19 points
13th Place: 18 points
14th Place: 17 points
15th Place: 16 points
16th Place: 15 points
17th Place: 14 points
18th Place: 13 points
19th Place: 12 points
20th Place: 11 points
21st Place: 10 points
22nd Place: 9 points
23rd Place: 8 points
24th Place: 7 points

The Week 5 bonus will be applied to this points system. The exact boost will be announced before Week 5 begins.

Power-Ups and MPS

Power-ups are included in a racer’s total Max Performance Score.
Racers may choose a higher-performance vehicle with fewer boosts or a lower-MPS vehicle that leaves more room for power-ups.
Updated power-up boosts are significantly stronger in Sizzle 2026. Racers are responsible for testing the new boosts and understanding their effect before competition.
Power-ups may be purchased on the secondary market and are also available in the Upland Store every Thursday.