NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

After a far-too-long wait, the NHRA Southern Nationals returns but with a twist as the event will now be staged at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Adel, Ga. One of four new venues on the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule, the event is the fifth of 20 races this season.

Heading into the new event, the championship leaders include Doug Kalitta, Ron Capps, Dallas Glenn, and Richard Gadson, all of whom are world champions with Kalitta, Glenn, and Gadson each wearing a No. 1 this season.

While South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP) has a strong reputation in regards to a great track surface and record-setting performances, it has a very limited history when it comes to nitro racing, which should make for a very interesting event, particularly for Top Fuel and Funny Car crew chiefs.

In Top Fuel, Langdon and Kalitta have been dominant through the first four events of the season in terms of both performance and round-wins, which explains why they are 1-2 in the standings.

Leah Pruett’s return to the driver’s seat has also been a positive as she’s currently third followed by her husband, Tony Stewart, and Josh Hart, each of whom have a win this season.

After what he has called a subpar 2025 season, Capps is off to a great start this year with two wins in the first four events. As a result, he has a 48-point lead over Matt Hagan in the standings with J.R. Todd, Gainesville winner Chad Green, and Funny Car rookie Jordan Vandergriff rounding out the top five.

In Pro Stock, Dallas Glenn and KB Titan teammate Greg Anderson are once again leading the way, although they’ve got company in Matt Hartford, who has claimed two wins in four events, including last weekend’s four-wide race in Charlotte. While the KB Titan team has won each of the first four events, the rival Elite squad has made gains as Greg Stanfield, Erica Enders, Aaron Stanfield, and Jeg Coughlin Jr. are each seeded in the Top 10.

So far, there have been just two Pro Stock Motorcycle events with reigning champ Richard Gadson earning a win in Gainesville, while Vance & Hines teammate Gaige Herrera won last week’s Charlotte event. As a result, they lead the standings.

While the Vance & Hines Suzuki entries continue to shine, the Matt Smith Racing bikes have also performed well, and the same can be said for Clayton Howey, Chase Van Sant, Ryan Oehler, and Brayden Davis, who calls SGMP his home track.

The South Georgia race will also feature the latest round of the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series as well as NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competition in Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Right Trailers Top Dragster.

NATIONAL RECORDS:
Top Fuel - 3.623 sec. by Brittany Force, Sept. '19, Reading, Pa.; 343.51 mph by Brittany Force, Sept. ‘25, Indy
Funny Car - 3.793 sec. by Robert Hight, Aug. '17, Brainerd; 341.68 mph by Austin Prock, Nov. '24, Pomona
Pro Stock - 6.443 sec. by Greg Anderson, March '25, Gainesville; 215.55 mph by Erica Enders, May '14, Englishtown
N.J.
Pro Stock Motorcycle - 6.627 sec. by Gaige Herrera, Oct. '23, Dallas; 205.04 mph by Matt Smith, July '21, Sonoma

SCHEDULE
Friday, May 1
Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series time trials and qualifying at 8: 30 a.m.
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying a 11:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.

SATURDAY, May 2
Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series eliminations at 9:30 a.m. 
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying at 12:30 and 3:00 p.m.

SUNDAY, May 3
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series eliminations begin at 11:00 a.m

TELEVISION
Saturday, May 2, Fox Sports 1 (FS1) will televise 90 minutes of qualifying coverage at 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 3, FS1 will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 1 p.m. (EDT). 
Sunday, May 3, FS1 will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. (EDT).