Both Las Vegas and Charlotte lose one of their two events.
Four-wide racing still alive but trimmed from three this year to one in ’26.
Countdown Race No. 2 still has no home or name.
In its 2026 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule released Thursday morning, the NHRA has added two facilities that will be making a first-time appearance on the coast-to-coast tour.
South Georgia Motorsports Park, near Valdosta, Georgia, and Maryland International Raceway, just south of Washington, DC, will join the 20-race line-up. Gone from the 75th-anniversary calendar is Virginia Motorsports Park, near Richmond.
South Georgia and Maryland International will combine with Route 66 Raceway in the Chicago suburb of Joliet as May racing expands from one event to three.
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and zMAX Dragway, home to four-wide racing, will host just one race apiece rather than their customary two. The Las Vegas four-wide spectacle will disappear, but the Charlotte race will be in four-abreast style. This year, both zMAX Dragway events—including the second of six Countdown to the Championship races—are four-wide affairs.
Although the Seattle and Sonoma, California, races will flip-flop their order, the Western Swing will remain intact. Southern California’s iconic In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip is the only facility that the series will visit twice. The season will open at Gainesville, Fla., for the fourth straight time and will close at Pomona.
Details about Race No. 2 of the six-event Countdown to the Championship are to be determined.
South Georgia Motorsports Park owner Raul Torres will use this October’s Peach State Showcase of Speed Exhibition as a dress rehearsal for his May 1-3 national-event debut. He said, “Immediately after purchasing SGMP, we had a vision to host an NHRA national event at our facility. Today, that vision is coming to fruition by signing a multi-year agreement to bring back the Southern Nationals to Georgia.” That race belonged for 30 years to Atlanta Dragway, which was sold following the 2021 season and turned into a commercial/industrial site.
“Our fans, city, county, and state will reap the benefits for many years to come. This is a true testament that dreams do come true with hard work,” Torres said, “and our family cannot be more grateful for the opportunity.”
Royce Miller, 36-year owner of Maryland International Raceway, said he’s “excited to showcase the stars of our sport and incredible nitro racing to our dedicated and loyal MIR fans. I am also looking forward to the NHRA touring racers and crews experiencing Southern Maryland’s culture. With its location between the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River, it features great seafood restaurants, a large Amish community, a very rural lifestyle and many historic places to see and visit.”
All 2026 races on the geographically balanced calendar will air exclusively on FOX Sports, with select events on the FOX broadcast network.
2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Season Schedule
March 5-8: 57th annual NHRA Gatornationals, Gainesville Raceway, Gainesville, Fla.
March 20-22: 41st annual NHRA Arizona Nationals, Firebird Motorsports Park, Phoenix
April 9-12: 66th annual NHRA Winternationals, In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, Pomona, Calif.
April 24-26: 16th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals, zMAX Dragway, Charlotte
May 1-3: NHRA Southern Nationals, South Georgia Motorsports Park, Adel, Ga.
May 14-17: 26th annual Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance, Route 66 Raceway, Chicago
May 29-31: Inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals, Maryland International Raceway, Mechanicsville, Md.
June 5-7: 13th annual NHRA New England Nationals, New England Dragway, Epping, N.H.
June 12-14: 25th annual Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol Dragway, Bristol, Tenn.
June 25-28: 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Summit Motorsports Park, Norwalk, Ohio
July 17-19: 38th annual Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals, Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, Calif.
July 24-26: 37th annual Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals, Pacific Raceways, Seattle
Aug. 20-23: 44th annual NHRA Nationals, Brainerd International Raceway, Brainerd, Minn.
Sept. 2-7: 72nd annual Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Indianapolis
NHRA COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Sept. 17-20: 41st annual NHRA Reading Nationals, Maple Grove Raceway, Reading, Pa.
Sept. 25-27: TBD Oct. 2-4: 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals, World Wide Technology Raceway, St. Louis
Oct. 14-18: 41st annual Texas NHRA FallNationals, Texas Motorplex, Dallas
Oct. 29-Nov. 1: 26th annual NHRA Nevada Nationals, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas
Nov. 12-15: 61st annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, Pomona, Calif.
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