As the late Paul Harvey would say, “Here is the rest of the story.”
NHRA announced weeks ago that it is putting Pomona back where longtime drag racing fans remember it in 2027: at both ends of the schedule.
NHRA released its complete 20-race Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule Thursday. Pomona will once again open and close the season, while John Force’s 50 years in the sport will be celebrated at every stop.
The 76th NHRA season will open Feb. 18-21 with the 67th annual NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. The season will return to Pomona Nov. 11-14 for the 62nd annual NHRA Finals and the crowning of the 2027 world champions.
Force, the 16-time Funny Car world champion whose career has been intertwined with NHRA for five decades, will be honored throughout the schedule with a “50 Years of Force” celebration at all 20 national events.
Additional details surrounding the Force celebration will be announced in the coming months.
The opening stretch restores a familiar look to the schedule. After Pomona, the series moves to Firebird Motorsports Park near Phoenix on Feb. 26-28 before heading to Gainesville Raceway for the March 11-14 Gatornationals.
Charlotte’s zMAX Dragway follows April 2-4 before the tour returns to a pair of tracks that joined the national-event schedule in 2026.
South Georgia Motorsports Park gets its second NHRA Southern Nationals on April 30-May 2 after hosting a sellout crowd in its debut season. Maryland International Raceway also returns for the NHRA Potomac Nationals on May 21-23 following its first national event in 2026.
June’s schedule hosts three races, beginning with the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway on June 4-6. Bristol Dragway follows June 11-13 before the month closes June 24-27 at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Route 66 Raceway moves from May to a summertime shift, with its Chicago-area national event moving to July 9-11.
The Western Swing will continue its shortened two-race schedule. Sonoma Raceway hosts the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals on July 23-25, followed by the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways on July 30-Aug. 1.
Brainerd International Raceway occupies its familiar late-summer position Aug. 19-22, serving as the lead-in to Indy.
The 73rd annual NHRA U.S. Nationals runs Sept. 1-6 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, where the regular-season championships will be decided before the six-race Countdown to the Championship begins.
For the second consecutive season, the playoffs will open with a three-race stretch at tracks in Michigan, North Carolina and Missouri.
U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, which joined the NHRA national-event schedule in 2026, hosts the NHRA Great Lakes Nationals on Sept. 17-19. The following weekend sends the series to Rockingham Dragway for the NHRA Nationals at The Rock on Sept. 24-26.
World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis completes the three-week run with the NHRA Midwest Nationals on Oct. 1-3.
Texas Motorplex follows with the Texas NHRA FallNationals on Oct. 13-17 as part of the track’s Stampede of Speed festivities.
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosts the penultimate race Oct. 28-31, leaving Pomona as the final stop and restoring one of NHRA’s longest-running traditions as a bookended season.
