Rockingham Dragway will return to NHRA’s national event stage in 2026, filling a key Countdown to the Championship slot once held by zMAX Dragway. For the first time in its history, the North Carolina facility known simply as “The Rock” will host a full-fledged NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series national event.
The race will unfold September 25–27, 2026, during the heart of the playoffs. Positioned between Maple Grove and St. Louis, Rockingham will serve as the second of six Countdown races, replacing its more modern North Carolina neighbor, zMAX Dragway.
That’s fitting for a venue whose name is synonymous with horsepower. For more than half a century, Rockingham has been a proving ground under every major sanction—AHRA, IHRA, and NHRA—and a place where reputations were built on sheer performance.
The revival of national-event racing at The Rock is the result of a three-year transformation under track owners Dan VanHorn and Al Gennarelli. When they purchased the property in 2022, the once-iconic dragstrip was showing its age. What followed was a meticulous reconstruction from the ground up, aimed at restoring the facility’s standing while creating a blueprint for modern operations.
VanHorn said the process has been nonstop. “It’s been a fast and a busy and an unbelievable three years,” he said. “And just humble to sit next to [Greg Anderson] and talk about how amazing of a day this is for Rockingham Dragway.”
That day is now reality. The NHRA’s letter of requirements for national-event consideration became the owners’ checklist—each upgrade addressing safety, logistics, and racer experience. The new concrete grandstands are nearly complete. Retaining walls have been raised three inches past the 1,000-foot mark, the left-side fencing relocated, scoreboards pushed farther from the track, and pit and EMS access points expanded. The work has been relentless, but the owners view it as the beginning, not the end, of their effort.
The decision also marks a symbolic turning point for NHRA’s 75th anniversary season. As the sanctioning body celebrates its diamond year, Rockingham’s reemergence reinforces drag racing’s deep Southern roots and the sport’s ability to reinvent itself.
For VanHorn, that connection runs deeper than a date on the calendar. “There’s a lot of history here, an enormous amount of history,” he said. “We’re proud to continue that forward, but I think we’re even more proud that this is going to be the first of this level period—and it’s going to be for a long time as far as we’re concerned.”
Rockingham’s past is legendary. The track hosted the Winston Invitational during the 1990s, when NHRA’s biggest stars met in all-star combat that never counted toward championship points but defined eras. The quarter-mile became known for quick times, old-school charm, and the kind of tension that television couldn’t manufacture.
Now, The Rock will host a race that matters—one that can swing championships in all four professional categories: Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
VanHorn and Gennarelli’s vision has gone beyond the fence line. Their ability to align with Richmond County officials and tourism partners has been a cornerstone of Rockingham’s resurgence. Local government support, business collaboration, and civic enthusiasm have combined to make the facility a regional centerpiece once again.
“I know that we’re unique,” VanHorn said. “There’s not another track in the country I don’t feel that has the support that we have. I’m proud of it, and it’s just going to keep getting better.”
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It’s a model for other independent facilities—proof that community investment can coexist with racing passion. That partnership is the kind of cooperation that NHRA hopes to see replicated elsewhere as it expands the Mission Foods tour into new regions.
No one understands the significance of this move more than Greg Anderson, who is based in Mooresville, N.C., just a short drive from Rockingham. For him, the racetrack isn’t just another stop on the circuit—it’s where his Pro Stock career began.
“This is where it all started for me,” Anderson said. “This very room is where it all started for me.” He earned his Pro Stock license at Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School at Rockingham before eventually becoming a six-time world champion.
Anderson has been a regular fixture there for testing, calling it “a fantastic surface.” The dragstrip has become a trusted barometer for his KB Titan Racing program. “It relates 100% to all the racetracks we go to across the country,” he said. “It really helps our program. I bring every one of my cars over here, probably two every other week. It’s been a great place for me.”
When news broke that Rockingham would take over the zMAX Countdown slot, Anderson admitted he was “shocked, surprised, but certainly very happy.” Losing nearby zMAX was disappointing, he said, “but it couldn’t get any better than this.”
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That proximity could translate to real advantages once championship season arrives. Anderson joked, “I think it’s advantage when we come to the playoffs and we slide over to Rockingham where I spend really most of my year.”
His comfort level could pay off. In testing, Anderson has clocked 6.40-second passes there—a testament to both the surface quality and the track’s ability to replicate national-event conditions. “It’s a very fast racetrack,” he said. “The surface is fantastic and that’s why I test here. What we learn here, we can take right to the next national event.”
It’s not lost on competitors that Anderson’s home test track will now decide points deep in the Countdown. But that’s part of what makes The Rock’s reintroduction so compelling: it’s not a neutral venue—it’s a battleground with built-in storylines, veteran ghosts, and fresh stakes.
Beyond the racers, the work behind the scenes at Rockingham has been exhaustive. The infrastructure overhaul goes far beyond what fans see on race weekend. “People just don’t realize the amount of electrical work and plumbing work and everything that goes in behind the scenes,” VanHorn said. “We stepped into a track that in all reality was about decimated.”
That reality shaped the rebuild. “We couldn’t have afforded this track if it was in mint condition,” VanHorn added. “We fixed a lot of band-aids and just pulled everything out and started fresh. Everything’s done appropriately now, and it’s going to continue to be that way.”
For a facility that was once defined by quick times and rainy-day lakes, it’s an evolution built on stability and foresight. The Rock is no longer surviving—it’s being set up to thrive.
The 2026 race is also part of a broader NHRA calendar realignment designed to bring fresh energy into traditional strongholds. Rockingham joins Maryland International Raceway and South Georgia Motorsports Park as new additions to the Mission Foods series. Together, they represent a Southeastern resurgence that reconnects drag racing with its grassroots fan base while maintaining national reach.
Rockingham’s return provides a geographic and cultural bridge between the Carolinas and the NHRA’s Mid-Atlantic and Southern markets. Its inclusion in the Countdown gives racers a stretch of quick, weather-friendly conditions before the tour moves west for the closing rounds.
The event’s timing—late September, when daytime highs typically hover in the mid-70s—could mean record-setting performances. “It’s going to be fast,” Anderson said with a grin. “People are going to love the surface, and this time of year, it’s going to be quick.”
For VanHorn and Gennarelli, this announcement isn’t the finish line; it’s motivation for what comes next. “Now it’s just giving us more motivation to do that,” VanHorn said. “Now, it’s not done—this is where the heavy lifting even starts to happen more.”
That sentiment resonates with Rockingham’s history. The facility has always demanded persistence from those who tried to shape it, from the early AHRA days to its IHRA glory years and its all-star NHRA showcases. The Rock has never been a turnkey operation—it’s been a racer’s track, one that rewards effort and commitment.
The same can be said for the new ownership group and their crew. The work ahead—finishing infrastructure, managing logistics, preparing for the national spotlight—will determine whether The Rock’s next chapter is a nostalgic cameo or a lasting return.
Come next September, The Rock will finally be back where it belongs — under power. Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle will be back on that old strip, and this time with the NHRA, the runs are going to count.
“Every drop of sweat, every dollar spent, every late night — it’s all been for this,” Dan VanHorn said. “Rockingham’s not just coming back. It’s coming back to stay.”
