Dodge, Mopar support NHRA Countdown to the Championship starter
When NHRA released its 2026 schedule for the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series last summer, it noted 20 contests, of which six were included in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Those playoffs start when the Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals have been completed over Labor Day’s long weekend; as long as there’s been a Countdown, the playoffs started in Reading, PA’s Maple Grove Speedway.
Enter Darryl Cuttell and his International Hot Rod Association (IHRA). Shortly after NHRA’s next-season reveal, Cuttell announced that his series had purchased the Reading track, leaving NHRA without a venue to begin its Countdown. As NHRA is celebrating its 75th anniversary during this 2026 season, the replacement track had to be a special place.
As teams and fans converged in Joliet for race No. 6 in this 20-contest season, it was announced that the previously named location for NHRA’s start of its Countdown to the Championship at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, will be backed by Dodge and Mopar, bringing current NHRA partners located in Michigan a national NHRA event in the state for the first time in 66 years. With Dodge and Mopar onboard as both title and presenting sponsors, the inaugural Dodge NHRA Nationals presented by Mopar will be taking place September 18-20.
This facility, U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan has long been a venue for testing and local drag racing activities. As it kicks off the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs, “Having Dodge and Mopar step into the role of title and presenting sponsor for our debut event at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park is incredibly exciting,” acknowledged Brad Gerber, NHRA’s VP and chief development officer. “This race has huge importance as the first event in the Countdown to the Championship, and partnering with two iconic brands like Dodge and Mopar, which have a deep-rooted history in the area and in NHRA drag racing, elevates it even further.”
Dodge is in its fourth season partnered with Tony Stewart Racing [Nitro] to field Top Fuel rails for Stewart’s wife Leah Pruett, who nearly nabbed the 2023 title in the season finale, and for Stewart when he subbed for Pruett as the duo prepared for and welcomed son Dominic. The team also races in the Funny Car wars with four-time champion Matt Hagan driving a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. Tony Stewart Racing captured its first NHRA championship with Hagan when he won his fourth Funny Car title, also in 2023.
“We are thrilled to partner with Mopar to bring NHRA National event racing back to Michigan for the first time in 66 years, at the same time we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Dodge Charger,” declared Matt McAlear, Dodge CEO. “Dodge performance is rooted in drag racing then and now, and it will be a great weekend to kick off the NHRA playoffs.”
Nine years after NHRA formed, the series held its last full National event in Michigan at the now-defunct Detroit Dragway in 1960. From the time NHRA announced its return to the state at the Martin location, anticipation began building in anticipation of this race, one of four new venues in this diamond, 75th anniversary season. Already, Dodge and Mopar have a strong presence at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, and during its National Event weekend, Dodge and Mopar will bring their popular interactive exhibit, together with Dodge muscle cars on display. Dodge is looking to show off its new SIXPACK-powered Dodge Charger during the September race meeting.