2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series

The 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season was announced on August 28, 2025.

It will be the 71st season of the National Hot Rod Association's top drag racing competition. This season will also celebrate the 75th anniversary of the NHRA. The NHRA will host 20 national events this season. Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock will compete at all 20 events, one (Top Fuel and Funny Car) or three (Pro Stock Car) more than in 2025. Pro Stock Motorcycle will compete at 14 events, the same as 2025. There will be All-Star Call Out races, which are based on a format used by the Discovery television program Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings, where the drivers select their opponents in early rounds. Nineteen tracks will host NHRA races, including three new national event tracks in well-established drag racing markets and one hosting its first national event since 1998. On December 12, 2025, Maple Grove Raceway owner Kenny Koretsky announced his intentions to sell the track to the IHRA, removing Maple Grove from the map after 40 years. The NHRA promptly announced on December 15, 2025 that U. S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan would replace Maple Grove on the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule.

The 2026 season also is the first since John Force announced his retirement late in the prior year after more than 40 years as a driver. In addition, Brittany Force announced in 2025 she would be stepping away from her Top Fueler to start a family. Replacing her for 2026 will be Josh Hart. After the conclusion of the 2025 season, the Prock family announced a surprise exit from John Force Racing, with Jordan Vandergriff being named to drive the Cornwell Tools Funny Car on December 12, 2025, during the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show. In January of 2026, the Prock family announced their move to Tasca Racing, with Austin driving Bob Tasca III's Ford Mustang for 2026. JFR also announced that Alexis DeJoria would be joining the team in a 3rd Funny Car, ending her tenure at JCM after 1 year.

In order to join JFR, Josh Hart sold his Top Fuel team, Josh Hart Racing, to Richard Freeman, owner of the Pro Stock powerhouse, Elite Motorsports. Freeman then announced a technical alliance with Tony Stewart Racing, and that the dragster would be driven by Tony Stewart himself, as Leah Pruett would return to the Top Fuel seat at TSR after 2 seasons away. In a move many months in the making, Ron Capps Motorsports will be expanding to enter a Top Fuel car in 2026, with Maddi Gordon behind the wheel. In another expansion move, SCAG Racing announced the addition of another Top Fuel car to be driven by Will Smith.

The Top Fuel Call Out, which is held at the Gatornationals, has its field set on November 1, 2025, at the conclusion of the Nevada Nationals, the last professional race qualifying session of the 2025 season. Champion Doug Kalitta won the top seed and will call out his opponent among Shawn Langdon (No. 2), Justin Ashley (No. 3), Tony Stewart (No. 5), Clay Millican (No. 6), Steve Torrence (No. 7, may skip the event; would be replaced by Josh Hart, No. 10), Shawn Reed (No. 8), and Antron Brown (No. 9, replaces Brittany Force, who retired).