NHRA's 2027 Schedule Starts and Ends at Pomona, and Every One of the 20 Races Is About John Force

NHRA is putting its calendar back the way a lot of fans remember it. The 2027 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule, released Aug. 27, has 20 races, opens with the 67th Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip on Feb. 18 to 21, and ends back in Pomona with the 62nd In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals on Nov. 11 to 14. Draglist called it a return to the sport's traditional roots, and that is the right read: Pomona to Pomona.

It is also the season NHRA is building around one man. Every one of the 20 national events will be part of the 50 Years of Force celebration honoring John Force, the 16-time Funny Car world champion. It will be NHRA's 76th season.

The 2027 calendar

• Feb. 18 to 21: Winternationals, Pomona, California
• Feb. 26 to 28: Arizona Nationals, Firebird Motorsports Park, Phoenix
• March 11 to 14: Gatornationals, Gainesville, Florida
• April 2 to 4: 4-Wide Nationals, zMAX Dragway, Charlotte
• April 30 to May 2: Southern Nationals, South Georgia Motorsports Park, Adel, Georgia
• May 21 to 23: Potomac Nationals, Maryland International Raceway, Mechanicsville, Maryland
• June 4 to 6: New England Nationals, New England Dragway, Epping, New Hampshire
• Mid-June: Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol Dragway, Tennessee
• June 24 to 27: Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Norwalk, Ohio
• July 9 to 11: Route 66 NHRA Nationals, Route 66 Raceway, Chicago
• July 23 to 25: Sonoma Nationals, Sonoma Raceway, California
• July 30 to Aug. 1: Northwest Nationals, Pacific Raceways, Seattle
• Aug. 19 to 22: Brainerd Nationals, Brainerd International Raceway, Minnesota
• Sept. 1 to 6: U.S. Nationals, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
• Sept. 17 to 19: Great Lakes Nationals, U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, Martin, Michigan (Countdown opener)
• Sept. 24 to 26: Nationals at The Rock, Rockingham Dragway, North Carolina
• Oct. 1 to 3: Midwest Nationals, World Wide Technology Raceway, St. Louis
• Oct. 13 to 17: Texas FallNationals, Texas Motorplex, Dallas
• Oct. 28 to 31: Las Vegas Nationals, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
• Nov. 11 to 14: In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, Pomona, California

A Countdown that starts with back-to-back-to-back

The six-race Countdown to the Championship opens Sept. 17 to 19 at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, then goes straight to Rockingham and St. Louis on consecutive weekends. That is three playoff races in three weeks to start, before the Texas FallNationals, which Draglist ties to the Stampede of Speed, then Las Vegas and the Pomona finale.

Several newer stops are back for a second try. South Georgia Motorsports Park in Adel and Maryland International Raceway hosted national events for the first time in 2026 and return in 2027, and Martin and Rockingham are both listed as second editions too. Route 66 Raceway outside Chicago gets a July date, which Draglist notes is a change from its usual timing.

One small wrinkle: Draglist's article lists the Bristol race as June 11 to 12, while the schedule graphic shows June 11 to 13. Check the final dates before you book a hotel.

Fifty years of Force

NHRA first announced the tribute in January, as its 75th anniversary season was getting started. Competition Plus reported then that Force had announced he would retire at the end of the 2025 season, closing out a career with NHRA records of 16 Funny Car championships and 157 national event wins, plus nearly 1,500 round wins. He was No. 2 on NHRA's Top 50 list in 2000.

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John Force is a true icon in motorsports and a name synonymous with NHRA Drag Racing.

NHRA says full details of the celebration will be released in the coming weeks and months. In January, the sanctioning body pushed fans to renew their tickets at the track during the 2026 season, and Competition Plus reported that fans who did would get a commemorative ring honoring Force's 16 titles.

For teams, the practical news is the shape of the year: three races before April, a summer swing west to Sonoma and Seattle, Indy over Labor Day and a late October Vegas date with the Finals two weeks behind it. For fans, the pitch is simpler. One more full season with Force's name on everything, starting and ending in Pomona.