NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

When the NHRA announced its 2026 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule for its 75th anniversary season, many Southeast fans were thrilled to see one of their favorite tracks, South Georgia Motorsports Park, on the list for a renewal of NHRA’s famed Southern Nationals, which was hosted for more than 40 years in Commerce, Ga. The new event is scheduled for May 1-3, 2026.

South Georgia Motorsports Park, located in Adel, Ga., has already created a legacy as a venue for exciting big-dollar bracket races , small tire and radial tire shootouts and the like with an enthusiastic and loyal fan base and has hosted NHRA Division 2 Lucas Oil Drag racing series events, and the ascent to national event status is something that track owners Raul Torres, wife Jennifer, and the SGMP staff have been eagerly awaiting.

The Torres were at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park to take in the spectacle of the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, meet with NHRA officials, and get a chance to share their vision with the assembled media at the sport’s biggest drag race.

“This is monumental for South Georgia and the area in the region as well,” said Torres after officially signing the agreement contract with NHRA President Glen Cromwell. “This racetrack has been around for 23 years and my wife and I honestly could say we found our calling in the industry. We've done several other things as a business, and once we had the opportunity to buy this track, we couldn't pass up on the opportunity. This is going to be a historic race, and we're extremely excited.”

The SGMP staff will welcome its longtime fans and new NHRA fans with open arms as the team expands its vision.

“There's nothing like Southern hospitality in the south, so we're going to open our doors and make you guys feel at home,” he said. “It's going to be like a Thanksgiving dinner in May. We're going to make you feel at home, and you're going to leave the property just as happy as you were when you came in. I promise. This is going to be the pinnacle of races here at South Georgia Motorsports Park. That's not the knock on anything else we've ever done in the past. Like I said, we treat our bracket racers and our test-and-tuners like they're our only guest, but this is an extremely prestigious race, and everyone knows it.

“It is going to be a different spectator base and demographics, and that's the bridge we want to gap, not only from them, but the entry-level racers, the Sportsmen, the Jr. dragsters -- folks that understand what we do at South Georgia, but aren't necessarily ones that follow the tour throughout the country. And we want to bridge that gap between NHRA and smaller markets like SGMP.”

“Just about every event we've had, we've knocked it out of the park because we give it all we've got, whether it's a monthly bracket race or Lucas double divisional, we give it all we've got. And apparently, it's showing because NHRA is giving us the opportunity.

“I've been anticipating this for just over two years. This is a goal we've set from the get-go. I'm not surprised that NHRA has seen my vision. We're very passionate about drag racing and the industry itself, so I'm not one bit surprised. We expected this at some point. I'm extremely grateful and blessed and appreciative that they gave us the opportunity sooner rather than later, but we're going to run with it.”

Cromwell expressed the NHRA’s excitement at going not only to a new venue but also returning to a region that for so many years was an NHRA stronghold.

“This is important, not only for the Southern Nationals and South Georgia, but this is about making a change for the NHRA moving forward,” said Cromwell. “For us to grow, we have to go to new markets. We need to take our athletes and our superstars to new fans, new eyeballs. And this is just the beginning of what I see in the future of NHRA. And it starts with Raul, Jennifer, a great team, and that's important. And, of course, a great market, not only Atlanta, Tallahassee, and Savannah, but it gets us in a place that we haven't been, and I'm excited to bring the superstars of the NHRA to a great racetrack and a great track owner.

“Commerce was a big event for us for many, many years and it was a difficult decision for us [when NHRA sold the track] coming out of COVID, but we knew when we did it, we wanted to be back there, and now we're back there, and we're in a great place with a great track owner that's going to take us to new heights.

“There are a lot of market opportunities out there, and we've talked to different tracks, and I think that will be the new norm for us, that we're going to take our superstars to new places, and this is a beautiful facility, but I will tell you, it starts with the people that run the facility, or own the facility. That's where it starts. And I believe in him. I believe in his wife, and there are great things to come.”

Although South Georgia Motorsports Park is located on 350 acres outside of Valdosta, Ga., the track staff has yet to fully utilize all of it, which will be a great asset as the event is launched and continues to grow in carefully-managed steps

“Arguably, it's the biggest event we've had in its history, but we're going to cap the [ticket] sales,” said Torres. “It’s important for spectators to understand they need to buy their tickets sooner rather than later. We're not going to sell 40,000 tickets. That's not what we want. We want everyone to have an experience, not just watch a race and a pair go down the racetrack. We're capping it at [a number] we've been able to manage in the past, we are bringing in more grandstands, and we're going to extend our campsites. Even in our bigger events, when we have 12,000, 14,000 spectators, we don't open up the other side, near I-75, so we've got another 117 acres that's never been touched.

“We've walked it with NHRA, and they're very confident that we can fit a race of this size at our facility. Aside from the grandstands and the obvious, we're going to move the scoreboards, we're going to lift the walls, and we're going to improve some of the parking spots. But we're extremely, extremely, extremely excited, and we know we're capable of hosting it.

“It's huge for us to be able to represent Wally Parks and his family and his legacy during NHRA’s 75th anniversary season. That isn't taken lightly, and we want to make sure he and his family are proud.

“I think that's safe to say, but we want to prove ourselves in this industry we've just begun, and we are going to be a force to be reckoned with.”

Buy tickets now for the 2026 NHRA Southern Nationals!