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Breaking a long-held Georgia-Florida Speedweeks scheduling tradition, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series today announced the national tour’s 2026 season-opening winter events will shift to the three weeks following NASCAR’s Daytona 500. | Lucas Oil's 2026 Speedweeks dates

Next winter’s revamped dates are Feb. 19-21 at All-Tech Raceway in Ellisville, Fla.; Feb. 24-28 at Ocala (Fla.) Speedway; and March 4-7 at Golden Isles Speedway near Brunswick, Ga., with more than $650,000 up for grabs over 12 nights of action following Daytona's NASCAR opener that has traditionally ended Speedweeks.

“Teams have been looking for a change to Speedweeks. We listened,” series director Rick Schwallie said in a press release. “Racing in mid-January has become too daunting for everyone. The offseason isn’t long enough, and the gap between Speedweeks and the regular season is too much. The weather is also very unpredictable. If teams and fans are going to travel for Speedweeks, we want to provide them with a sure bet and give them an experience they can enjoy.”

The Lucas Oil Series, which has opened its season in January the last five seasons, including a Jan. 17 event this season that marked the earliest in tour history, has sanctioned Speedweeks events since 2005 with 158 events, 116 of them at the now-closed East Bay Raceway Park near Tampa. East Bay was Lucas Oil’s lone Speedweeks stop from 2005-13.

Next season’s Speedweeks purses range from $7,000- to $25,000-to-win. All-Tech’s finale pays $15,000-to-win while finales at Ocala and Golden Isles pay $25,000-to-win apiece. The first two events at Ocala will be non-points events. Practice dates are scheduled for Feb. 18 at All-Tech, Feb. 23 at Ocala and March 3 at Golden Isles.

The remainder of Lucas Oil’s 2026 schedule is expected for an October release.