Sources close to the IHRA tell CompetitionPlus.com the sanctioning body is moving quickly toward announcing that the long-shuttered facilities in Commerce, Ga., and Memphis, Tenn., will be part of its ten-race national-event schedule next season. Insiders say IHRA President Darryl Cuttell has surrounded himself with construction and operations professionals who are prepared to tackle the extensive work required to revive both tracks.

Atlanta Dragway’s 2021 shutdown was treated as permanent after NHRA sold the property and local developers looked to the future without drag racing. The idea of Commerce returning to the national spotlight was considered unrealistic given the region’s booming commercial growth and the belief that the Southern Nationals’ home was gone forever. Any move to reopen it would upend years of industry assumptions.

Memphis International Raceway followed a similar script when IRGSE closed the gates in 2022. The property was widely expected to be repurposed for non-motorsports use, and few believed the multi-use complex would ever host another sanctioned event. Its reappearance on an IHRA schedule would amount to one of the sport’s most unexpected comebacks.

Those tied to the discussions say more announcements may be on the horizon — developments they claim will “shock even the people who think they already know everything.” Whether those surprises involve additional tracks, expanded partnerships, or structural changes within the series remains tightly guarded.

For now, the possibility of Commerce and Memphis returning under the IHRA banner is enough to set off industrywide chatter. If these revivals materialize, the 2026 season could rewrite expectations for where the sanctioning body is heading and how aggressively it intends to reshape the national drag-racing landscape.