Inside the colorful chaos of Phoenix Idiotarod 2026

Colorful chaos rolled through downtown Phoenix this past weekend.

The Phoenix Idiotarod returned on Feb. 7, bringing a loud, weird and wildly unserious afternoon to Valley streets. Shopping carts rattled along Roosevelt Row as amusing and absurd fun ensued.

Exactly as planned.

A total of 18 teams took part in this year’s Phoenix Idiotarod. Each showed up with a theme and a willingness to fully commit. Some leaned into pop culture. Pokémon characters darted through traffic. Super Mario made an appearance. So did the wizards of “The Lord of the Rings.” Others skipped subtlety and went straight for innuendo. Team names like Autoerotic Acceleration and Sloppy Seconds Bakery made sure of that.

As always, the carts were one of the most amusing and impressive attractions.

Several teams went far beyond duct tape and decorations. Racacoonie, inspired by “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” brought one of the most ambitious builds of the day. Their cart doubled as a rolling teppanyaki-style hibachi, nodding to one of the Oscar-winning film’s most memorable scenes. During a pit stop at downtown bar Bacanora, they even cooked and served shrimp fried rice to fellow racers.

Mile-High Club leaned into the bit just as hard. The team repurposed an airline beverage cart and dressed as flight attendants. They stayed in character while pushing their cart and offering drinks to fellow racers. In-flight service was enthusiastic.

Monster Truck Money Makers went big. Literally. The team transformed two shopping carts into a hulking, Big Wheel-style monster truck. Oversized wheels and a cartoonish stance gave it the look of a toy brought dangerously to life.

This year’s Idiotarod also included a special guest with deep ties to the event’s roots. Tom “Tundra Tommy” Kramer, one of the co-founders of the original Urban Idiotarod in San Francisco in 1994, joined one of the teams.

Throughout the afternoon, teams bounced between bar stops, tackled challenges and entertained anyone unlucky enough to be nearby. Speed did not matter. Winning was subjective. Commitment to the bit was everything.

From overbuilt carts to barely contained chaos, the 2026 Phoenix Idiotarod delivered exactly what it promised. Dumb. Creative. Colorful. And very Phoenix.

Here’s a look at the wild, absurd fun from this year’s race.