NHRA Announces First Four 2023 Races
NHRA decided to open its 2021 Camping World Drag Racing Series season in Gainesville, Fla. because the venue where it has traditionally started each racing year, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, wasn’t able to host the drag racers that February. The decision turned out to be a good one. Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle, Pro Mod and the full complement of Lucas Oil sportsman racers gathered for the 52nd annual Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals and fans, hungry to see, hear and smell their favorite competitors turned out in droves.
This year the tour began at its ancestral home in Pomona, CA to a great audience, but the recall of that memorable 2021 experience stuck in schedule-makers’ minds. As a result, the 2023 NHRA Camping World season starts March 9-12 on the venerable Gainesville Raceway, opening with the 54th annual Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals.
In addition, the Pep Boys All-Star Top Fuel Callout specialty race, one that couldn’t be completed at Gainesville in 2022 due to wild weather constraints will be part of the 2023 Gatornationals excitement. It will again pit eight-star Top Fuel drivers against one another in a single-day shootout within the very busy Gatornationals race meeting. This year’s Callout will finish in Indianapolis during the U.S. Nationals.
After the Gatornationals are run in north-central Florida, the series will head to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park for the final NHRA Arizona Nationals, as that racetrack closes after nearly four decades of drag racing in the Phoenix area. The 38th annual race, set for March 24-26 starts a three-race stretch over four weeks in the western area of the United States. After Phoenix, the tour heads for the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at Pomona for the 63rd time at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Following the Winternationals, NHRA competitors will be taking a week-long breather before heading across the desert to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the 23rd time to compete in the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, set for April 14-16. The first of two trips to Las Vegas will mark the fifth time this event has been run as four-wide competition; it’s one of only two venues – the other being Charlotte, North Carolina’s zMAX Dragway – where four-wide NHRA drag racing takes place.
This quartet of races will comprise the first four events of the season, with added scheduling to be announced soon, together with details on class schedules for both professional competitors and for NHRA’s sportsman classes.
“We are excited to release the dates for our first four events in 2023 and we’re looking forward to starting a great season of racing in Gainesville,” said Glen Cromwell, NHRA president. “By starting our year in Gainesville and then moving out West for three races, we’re able to provide more efficient routing and travel plans for our race teams and the entire NHRA series. While this is a different opening to our typical NHRA season, our plan is to get back to the traditional start to our schedule in the future.”
Fans are able to renew or purchase tickets now for the first four 2023 races at https://www.nhra.com/schedule/2023. All 2023 NHRA Camping World races air exclusively on FOX Sports, with select events on the FOX broadcast network.
FIRST FOUR: 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Season
March 9-12: 54th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, Gainesville Raceway, Gainesville, Fla. The race will also include the Pep Boys All-Star Top Fuel Callout.
March 24-26: 38th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals, Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, Phoenix, Az.
March 30-April2: 63rd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Internationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Pomona, Calif.
April 14-16: 23rd annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nev.