The last Ultra4 USA regional of 2026 is not next month. It is this weekend at Prairie City SVRA in Rancho Cordova.
Official window: September 16–20. The racing that matters is Friday the 18th and Saturday the 19th. Ultra4’s own page calls the Metalcloak NorCal Stampede the final regional before Nationals, and the championship finale for Nor Cal Rock Racing. Rocks, technical line, high-speed sections, 4400 cars, UTVs, and the NCRR classes on the same piece of dirt. Official schedule and classes: ultra4usa.com/events/norcal-stampede.
This is not a SCORE peninsula 1,000. It is unlimited 4x4 and rock racing in a state recreation area, with PCI on the series board. You still have to talk to chase when the car is on its side in a boulder field.
What this weekend actually is
Venue: Prairie City SVRA, 13300 White Rock Rd, Rancho Cordova, CA 95742.
Friday, September 18: late tech in the morning, mandatory drivers meeting at the grandstands at 9:00 a.m., practice by class, then single-car qualifying 2:00–5:30 p.m. Practice includes 4900 Stock, 4500/4600, 4900 Open, 4800, 4400, 4900 Pro-Mod, Youth 1000, UTV 170, and the Nor Cal classes that are not on the rocks.
Saturday, September 19: green flag 7:30 a.m. Prelims, then mains. The 4400 main is 10 laps, 20-car max, last on the card after driver introductions. Ultra4 had not posted results when we published this. When they do, they will be on that event page.
Spectator tickets, camping, and hotel info are on Ultra4’s event page. Host hotel is the Hampton Inn in Folsom.
Why a Prairie City weekend still needs a real radio
A 4400 car that can climb a waterfall and then run a high-speed section is loud, dusty, and a long way from a cell tower that works. Cabin talk without a radio is just two people yelling. Chase without a radio is a truck on White Rock Road hoping the car comes back.
Race car: the Comlink X Elite Race Intercom is PCI’s race package — two-person intercom, driver isolation, camera audio out. DSP if there is no windshield, a V8, or exhaust that eats voice. Pair it with a 110-watt Kenwood NX-5700. Race variants include the intercom interface cable. Chase variants are hand-mic. PCI’s copy: 110 watts, 136–174 MHz, active DSP noise cancelling, IP54/55, Part 90 and Part 80, pre-programmed with PCI’s licensed channels.
UTV / sportsman that is not a 110-watt 4400: the Trax Communications Package is the stereo intercom plus a 50-watt Icom F5021 or Kenwood NX-1700, hole-mount coax, stealth no-ground-plane antenna, PTTs, KLF-2 line filter. Bluetooth is standard on Trax Plus. DSP is the exhaust/V8 upgrade. Stay in one connector family. Elite 4-conductor does not become Trax stereo because you bought an adapter.
Chase / base: the Mobile Radio Chase Package is the 50-watt Icom F5021 or Kenwood NX-1700 with no-ground-plane antenna, mag-mount or hole-mount. Programmed with PCI’s licensed list. That is the truck on the road, not a second race intercom.
Air in the helmet: Prairie City dust is not Glamis, but visors still load up. The RaceAir Pro is the race blower — dual independent fans, 2 lb with the bracket, hoses sold separate. If the car already has air, leave it. If you are adding it for the first time on a race car, start Pro, not a recreational dual-hose box.
Read the PCI FCC License Agreement before you key up. Shared PCI channels are not a free-for-all. Do not transmit channels labeled Baja inside the United States.
Do this before Saturday’s 4400 main
- Match the band. Race and chase on the same Part 90 service. Trax/F5021 does not talk to a random GMRS blister pack.
- Test PTT, helmet cable, and antenna base today, not at 7:25 a.m. Saturday.
- If the cabin is still yelling over the motor, you do not have a radio problem. You have an intercom / DSP / helmet-kit problem.
- Schedule, class order, and results are on Ultra4’s event page.
Nationals are next: Ultra4 USA Nationals, October 14–18, Hazard, Kentucky. Prairie City is the last regional chance to get the stack right before that trip. Spec the car, spec chase, then go race the rocks that are actually on the card.
