Bristol NHRA races to remain on same weekend

BRISTOL — The National Hot Rod Association released its 2027 schedule and the SuperGrip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals are slated for June 11-13 at Bristol Dragway. Fans will experience the thrills of 12,000-horsepower, 330 mph-plus Nitro cars on the iconic drag strip one week before Father's Day. NHRA will also celebrate 50 years of John Force's legendary career throughout the event. Full details of "50 Years of Force" celebrations at all 20 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series events will be released in the coming months. Force holds records as a 16-time NHRA Funny Car World Champion and the winner of 157 NHRA national events. The 77-year-old from Yorba Linda, Calif., is the owner of John Force Racing. His daughters — Ashley, Courtney and Brittany — all followed his heavy right-footstep into racing Nitro machines. At Bristol, Force also won the 1999 Winston No Bull Showdown, which pitted Funny Cars against Top Fuel dragsters. He beat Bob Vandergriff Jr. in the final. He was inducted into the dragway's version of the Hall of Fame, the Legends of Thunder Valley in 2016. Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were 2026 winners at the SuperGrip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. Three-time NASCAR and former IndyCar champion Tony Stewart, a member of multiple motorsports hall of fames, is scheduled to compete in the Top Fuel category. Others include eight-time Top Fuel World Champion Tony Schumacher, points leader Doug Kalitta and Stewart's wife, Leah Pruett, who won the final rounds of the postponed NHRA New England Nationals at Bristol in June Ron Capps, the newest Legend of Thunder Valley and a winner of a record eight Nitro races at Bristol, leads the Funny Car contingent. Former winners Austin Prock and Alexis DeJoria are among the other major contenders. Greg Anderson, the winningest driver in Pro Stock history, got his first ever win at Bristol back in 2001. Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Dallas Glenn are some of the others fastest in the class. Tickets are available by calling Bristol Dragway at 866-415-4158 or by visiting the Bristol Motor Speedway website. The NHRA Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., kicks off the season on Feb. 18-21. The tour makes two visits to North Carolina, at Charlotte on April 2-4 and at Rockingham at Sept. 24-26. The biggest race of the season, the Cornwell Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park, is set for Sept. 1-6. The 2027 season wraps up with the In-N-Out Burger World Finals at Pomona on Nov. 11-14.