Ultra-4 off-road race coming to Perry County this October

Perry County’s biggest ATV park is about to be tested as a regional tourism engine. Ultra4 Racing’s planned October stop at Leatherwood Off Road Park is expected to draw thousands of visitors, putting hotel rooms, campgrounds, gas stations, restaurants and convenience stores in play well beyond the race venue itself.

The event is scheduled for Oct. 14-18, 2026, at Leatherwood Off-Road Park in Leatherwood, and it comes with a clear message: this is being treated as more than a one-off spectacle. The series’ Kentucky expansion is tied to a broader push to build a lasting motorsports footprint in Appalachia, with Ultra4 Racing, Backroads of Appalachia and the State of Kentucky announcing a partnership on Aug. 18, 2025, aimed at expanding Ultra4’s national reach while driving tourism and economic development.

That matters in a county where visitor traffic can move the local economy quickly. Perry County tourism says its mission is to serve as a catalyst for economic growth and to attract new visitors, and it markets the county around four-wheeling, ATV and dirt-bike riding, kayaking, horseback riding, hiking and specialty shopping. Hazard-Perry County is also designated the 20th Kentucky Trail Town by the Kentucky Office of Adventure Tourism.

Leatherwood gives the race a concrete local anchor. Perry County tourism identifies Leatherwood Off Road Park as the largest ATV park in Kentucky, while other draws such as Buckhorn Lake State Resort Park, the North Fork of the Kentucky River and the county’s trail systems already help define the area’s outdoor identity.

The county’s appeal also fits into a larger regional network. Backroads of Appalachia says it works through 56 routes and more than 1,300 highlighted points of interest, a scale that helps explain why the Ultra4 deal is being viewed as part of a longer East Kentucky strategy rather than an isolated date on a racing calendar.

For Perry County, the real question is whether the October race becomes a repeat event that keeps bringing people back. If the crowds arrive as expected, the payoff will not be limited to the dirt at Leatherwood. It will show up in filled rooms, busier roads and a stronger case that Perry County can turn high-speed off-road racing into a durable part of its tourism economy.