It accelerates the Earth, with all it's mass upward at 9.81 m/s, so with no mass in it's path, it would of course move faster.
Don't get the wrong impression, I think UA is a load of junk to attempt to explain away gravity so that gravity doesn't force the Earth into a sphere. But there are just some arguments you have to concede to as the very basics of quite a few of the FE theories are sensible, its when you get into the grit of the theories that they look weird.
You see the dark energy, responsible for pushing the earth upwards at 9.81 m/s as it comes across resistance. As you might well know, the earth moves in a vacuum. All objects, no matter what mass, move at the same rate in a vacuum. So even if there is some DE pushing the earth upwards, it cannot overtake itself.
In fact, if the forces on the outside move at a higher speed than the earth, it will even take the air with it, away from the earth. There is nothing preventing the air from horizontal disperse.
See my image for better understanding.
