2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series

Last updated

2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season
League NHRA
Sport Drag Racing
League championsTBD (Top Fuel)
TBD (Funny Car)
TBD (Pro Stock)
TBD (Pro Stock Motorcycle)
NHRA seasons
2027 

The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season was announced on August 28, 2025. [1]

Contents

It will be the 71st season of the National Hot Rod Association's top drag racing competition. This season will also celebrate the 75th anniversary of the NHRA. [2] The NHRA will host 20 national events this season. Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock will compete at all 20 events, one (Top Fuel and Funny Car) or three (Pro Stock Car) more than in 2025. Pro Stock Motorcycle will compete at 14 events, the same as 2025. There will be All-Star Call Out races, which are based on a format used by the Discovery television program Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings, where the drivers select their opponents in early rounds. [3] Nineteen tracks will host NHRA races, including two new national event tracks in well-established drag racing markets and one hosting its first national event since 1998.

The 2026 season also is the first since John Force announced his retirement late in the prior year after more than 40 years as a driver. [4] Force is expected to expand his team to four cars, with Josh Hart replacing Brittany Force (planning to start family) in Top Fuel, and a third Funny Car to join reigning champion Austin Prock and Jack Beckman.

The Top Fuel Call Out, which is held at the Gatornationals, has its field set on November 1, 2025, at the conclusion of the Nevada Nationals, the last professional race qualifying session of the 2025 season. Champion Doug Kalitta won the top seed and will call out his opponent among Shawn Langdon (No. 2), Justin Ashley (No. 3), Tony Stewart (No. 5), Clay Millican (No. 6), Steve Torrence (No. 7, may skip the event; would be replaced by Josh Hart, No. 10), Shawn Reed (No. 8), and Antron Brown (No. 9, replaces Brittany Force, who retired).

Schedule

Schedule was released August 28, 2025. Pro Stock & Pro Stock Motorcycle as well the Callouts got confirmed October 2, 2025. Revised when Rockingham was added on November 10, 2025.

2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Schedule [1]
DateRaceSiteTVWinners
Top FuelFunny CarPro StockPro Stock Motorcycle
March 5–8 NHRA Gatornationals TFCO, PM Gainesville Raceway
Gainesville, Florida
FOX or FS1
March 20–22NHRA Arizona Nationals PM Firebird Motorsports Park
Chandler, Arizona
N/A [a]
April 9–12 NHRA Winternationals In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip
Pomona, California
N/A [a]
April 24–26NHRA 4-Wide Nationals 4 Lanes, PM zMax Dragway
Concord, North Carolina
May 1–3NHRA Southern Nationals PM South Georgia Motorsports Park
Adel, Georgia
May 14–17Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals Presented By PEAK PM Route 66 Raceway
Joliet, Illinois
May 29–31NHRA Potomac Nationals Maryland International Raceway
Mechanicsville, Maryland
June 5–7NHRA New England Nationals PM New England Dragway
Epping, New Hampshire
N/A [a]
June 12–14Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Bristol Dragway
Bristol, Tennessee
June 25–28Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals PSCO, PM Summit Motorsports Park
Norwalk, Ohio
July 17–19 DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals PSMCO Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma, California
NC [b]
July 24–26Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals Pacific Raceways
Kent, Washington
N/A [a]
August 20–23NHRA Brainerd Nationals Brainerd International Raceway
Brainerd, Minnesota
N/A [a]
September 2–7 Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals 1.5FCCO, PM Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
Brownsburg, Indiana
Countdown to the Championship
September 17–20NHRA Reading Nationals Maple Grove Raceway
Mohnton, Pennsylvania
FOX or FS1
September 25–27NHRA Nationals at The Rock PM Rockingham Dragway, Rockingham, North Carolina
October 2–4NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals PM World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway
Madison, Illinois
October 14–18Texas NHRA FallNationals Texas Motorplex
Ennis, Texas
October 29–November 1NHRA Nevada Nationals PM Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nevada
November 12–15In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals 1.5 In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip
Pomona, California
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Pro Stock Motorcycle did not compete at this event.
  2. Non-championship speciality round for Pro Stock Motorcycle. Only top eight in speciality round points participate.

Schedule Changes

The 2026 schedule features several key changes. The Winternationals moves two weeks later. Sonoma and Seattle have swapped dates. [2]

The Las Vegas race in April was removed and replaced by a round in Adel, Georgia at South Georgia Motorsports Park, 2,200 miles east. It will be the first NHRA event in Georgia since 2021, as well as the return of the Southern Nationals which was previously held at Atlanta Dragway.

The DMV race moves from Virginia Motorsports Park to Maryland International Raceway in Mechanicsville, Maryland, which is 117 miles north of Dinwiddie.

The fall North Carolina race moves from Concord to Rockingham Dragway, 82 miles southeast in Rockingham, North Carolina.

The Las Vegas race will be a standard two-lane race, making the April Charlotte round the only four-lane race of the season.

Additional rules for specially marked races

4 Lanes: The National events in Charlotte will compete with cars on four lanes.

1.5: The U.S. Nationals and In-N-Out Burger Finals will have their race points increased by 50% . Drivers who qualify but are eliminated in the first round receive 30 points, and each round win is worth 30 points. The top four receive 10, 9, 8, and 7 points, respectively, for qualifying positions, with the 5–6 drivers receiving 6 points, 7–8 drivers receiving 5 points, 9–12 receiving 4 points, and 13–16 receiving 3 points. Also, the top four, not three, drivers after each session receive points for fastest times in each round (4-3-2-1).

TF/FC/PS/PSM CO: All-Star Call Out competition for that category.

References

  1. 1 2 "NHRA announces historic 2026 schedule for 75th Anniversary season". NHRA. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "NHRA adds Georgia, Maryland to 2026 schedule". ESPN.com. August 28, 2025. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  3. Wade, Susan. "How NHRA Is Thinking Outside the Box for Big-Money Callout Specialty Race". AutoWeek. Hearst Publications. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  4. https://johnforceracing.com/blog/john-force-announces-retirement-after-unparalleled-nhra-career/