NHRA National Event Racing Returns to Michigan With Dodge and Mopar Lighting the Fuse

After 66 years off the national-event map, Michigan gets a full-throttle playoff opener at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park.

For the first time since Eisenhower-era tailfins ruled the road and Detroit Dragway was still shaking windows, NHRA National Event Racing Returns to Michigan, and it is not sneaking back quietly.

The NHRA, Dodge and Mopar are bringing the big show to U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, Sept. 18-20, 2026, with the debut of the Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals presented by Mopar. The event marks Michigan’s first full NHRA National event in 66 years, which means an entire generation of fans has waited long enough to smell nitro in their home state without needing a road trip and a hotel breakfast waffle.

This new race is not just another stop on the calendar, either. It opens the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs, making Martin the launchpad for the sport’s most pressure-packed stretch. Translation: nobody is arriving just to wave at the crowd and keep the parts shiny. The stakes will be immediate, the lanes will matter, and the championship math will start getting spicy before the tire smoke clears.

Dodge and Mopar step into the spotlight as title and presenting sponsors, a pairing that feels less like a branding exercise and more like a family reunion with horsepower. Both names have deep roots in drag racing, and Michigan remains sacred ground for performance culture. Add in the 60th anniversary of the Dodge Charger, and the timing has the subtlety of a burnout contest in a library parking lot.

U.S. 131 Motorsports Park has long been a favorite among drag racing fans, and now it gets a national-stage moment during NHRA’s 75th anniversary season. Winners at the inaugural Michigan event will be chasing more than points and bragging rights; they will also compete for the special diamond Wally trophy created for the milestone season. That is the kind of hardware that makes a trophy case suddenly feel underdressed.

The weekend will feature the NHRA’s headline classes, including Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Fans can also expect action from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, including Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car and Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown. In other words, bring ear protection, sunscreen and the understanding that “just one more run” is how entire afternoons disappear.

Dodge and Mopar will also have a major presence off the track, with interactive fan displays and Dodge muscle cars expected on site, including the new SIXPACK-powered Dodge Charger. For fans who like their racing weekends with a side of “I wonder how much garage space I actually have,” this should be a dangerous place to browse.

The event also arrives with plenty of star power. Dodge and Mopar continue to support Tony Stewart Racing, which fields familiar names across the nitro ranks. Matt Hagan, a four-time Funny Car world champion and longtime Dodge driver, figures to be right in the middle of the title conversation. Leah Pruett is back in Top Fuel competition in 2026, while Tony Stewart continues his own Top Fuel campaign with Dodge HEMI power.

Michigan’s last full NHRA National event came in 1960 at Detroit Dragway. Since then, the state has remained central to American performance culture, even if the national NHRA spotlight had been parked elsewhere. Now, with Dodge and Mopar helping lead the return, Michigan is back on the big-event drag racing map — and it brought a stopwatch.

The inaugural Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals presented by Mopar will run Sept. 18-20, 2026, at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan. Eliminations are scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 20, with broadcast coverage on FS1.

After 66 years, Michigan drag racing fans are finally getting their national-event homecoming. And judging by the lineup, the legacy and the noise level coming, this one will not need a welcome-back banner. The header flames should do just fine.