DINWIDDIE, Va. (Nov. 9, 2023) – NHRA officials announced today a return to Virginia Motorsports Park, regarded as one of the quickest and fastest tracks on the circuit, for the upcoming 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
The Richmond-area facility will play host to the Virginia NHRA Nationals on June 21-23, serving as the ninth of 21 races during the 2024 campaign and filling one of the two TBD dates on next season’s highly-anticipated schedule. The remaining race location will be announced in the coming weeks. Ticket renewals for the Virginia NHRA Nationals will begin on Nov. 13 and tickets will go on sale to the general public on Dec. 18 for NHRA’s return to the popular Virginia Motorsports Park.
All four NHRA professional categories (Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle) will be in action in Virginia, along with specialty series like the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Mountain Motor Pro Stock and Top Fuel Motorcycle, as fans will be treated to a memorable weekend full of action in NHRA’s return to VMP.
“It’s exciting to see the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series return to Virginia Motorsports Park in 2024,” said Tommy Franklin, VMP President and Owner. “We want to give our fans the best possible experience at our track, and hosting the world’s quickest and fastest motorsport at our facility makes for a truly memorable weekend. We’re thrilled to host all four pro categories at VMP as we continue to make this facility a premier destination for racers and fans, and we can’t wait to have a fantastic event.”
NHRA last race at Virginia Motorsports Park came in 2022, with Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) picking up wins. Both Force and Smith went on to win world titles that year, and Force was also part of a record-setting weekend in Virginia. Racing on one of the smoothest surfaces on the NHRA tour, Force shattered the track record with a run of 3.654-seconds, also going a track-best 335.82 mph.
Matt Hagan set both ends of the track record with an impressive blast of 3.853, also going 335.82, while Angie Smith broke track records in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a run of 6.756 at 201.37. Larry “Spiderman” McBride also captivated fans in Virginia in 2022 at his home track in Top Fuel Motorcycle, going 268.38 mph and making the fastest motorcycle pass in drag racing history.
Next year’s race will also mark Pro Stock’s first appearance at the facility since 2019.
NHRA returned to Virginia Motorsports Park in 2018, racing in consecutive years and then again in 2022. The standout facility has made continuous upgrades in recent seasons, making it a favorite among racers and fans. Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence won in both 2018 and 2019, while John Force has four wins in Virginia, with the last coming in 2000. Bo Butner won the most recent Pro Stock race in 2019, while M. Smith is the only active rider in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a win at the track.
Next year’s event includes the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, a unique bonus event that brings competitive racing to Saturday and offers a bonus purse and bonus championship points. With qualifying on Friday, final qualifying and the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday and eliminations on Sunday, fans can experience a weekend loaded with 11,000-horsepower, 330-mph excitement in 2024.
“We’re thrilled to add a great track like Virginia Motorsports Park to our 2024 schedule,” NHRA President Glen Cromwell said. “The Franklin family and their team are some of the most dedicated in our sport, and they’ve worked incredibly hard to make VMP a standout facility. Our teams love racing there, it’s an area full of passionate racing fans and we’re all looking forward to putting on a terrific show for them next June.”
For more information about the NHRA, including the 2024 schedule, visit www.NHRA.com.
About Mission Foods
MISSION®, owned by GRUMA, S.A.B. de C.V., is the world’s leading brand for tortillas and wraps. MISSION® is also globally renowned for flatbreads, dips, salsas and Mexican food products. With presence in over 112 countries, MISSION® products are suited to the lifestyles and the local tastes of each country. With innovation and customer needs in mind, MISSION® focuses on the highest quality, authentic flavors, and providing healthy options that families and friends can enjoy together. For more information, please visit https://www.missionfoods.com/
About Camping World Holdings, Inc.
Camping World Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Lincolnshire, IL, (together with its subsidiaries) is the World’s largest retailer of RVs and related products and services. Our vision is to build a long-term legacy business that makes RVing fun and easy. Our Camping World and Good Sam brands have been serving RV consumers since 1966. We strive to build long-term value for our customers, employees, and shareholders by combining a unique and comprehensive assortment of RV products and services with a national network of RV dealerships, service centers and customer support centers along with the industry’s most extensive online presence and a highly trained and knowledgeable team of employees serving our customers, the RV lifestyle, and the communities in which we operate. We also believe that our Good Sam organization and family of programs and services uniquely enable us to connect with our customers as stewards of the RV enthusiast community and the RV lifestyle. With RV sales and service locations in 43 states, Camping World has grown to become the prime destination for everything RV. For more information, visit www.campingworld.com.
About NHRA
Headquartered in San Dimas, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 21 national events featuring the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Type A Motorsports, Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown™ and Top Fuel Harley Series. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and NHRA Street Legal™. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street® program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League® for youth ages 5 to 17. With 120 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services® (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv®, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates three racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park; and In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Southern California. For more information, log on to www.NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
-NHRA-
The NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series will open in Gainesville, the first of 10 events in the 2024 campaign. For the first time in class history, NHRA Pro Mod will race in Phoenix, thrilling fans at the “Duel in the Desert.” From there, they will race in four consecutive races – Chicago, Epping, Bristol and the national event on June 21-23 – to close out its regular season. The four-race “Road to the Championship” playoffs will return in 2024 after a successful debut in 2023, with star drivers like world champion Mike Castellana will compete for a title at stops in Indianapolis, the fall race in Charlotte, St. Louis and the finale at the fall race in Las Vegas.
After an impressive debut in 2023, the new NHRA Factory X presented by Holley category will see action at eight events next season, beginning its first full season in Gainesville. From there, the class will compete at the four-wide races in Las Vegas and Charlotte, Chicago, Norwalk, Indianapolis, St. Louis and the finale at the Texas Motorplex in Dallas.
The fan-favorite Top Fuel Motorcycle class will thrill fans at four races in 2024, including Chicago, the NHRA national event on June 21-23, Brainerd and the fall race at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte.
The Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Mountain Motor Pro Stock class, featuring exciting and powerful 800-plus cubic-inch engines, will compete at six events in 2023, starting at the Four-Wide event in Charlotte. Competitors in the eight-car field will race for a coveted Wally and in addition to an event purse, teams will also race for a world title for the first time in the class, with a champion being crowned at the end of the season. The other five stops for the class are Bristol, the following week, Brainerd, Reading and the fall race in Las Vegas.
In the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, both Top Alcohol Funny Car and Top Alcohol Dragster will compete at 14 national events, with Top Dragster and Top Sportsman racing at 18 races apiece. Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp and Super Gas will be contested at all 21 national events, with Comp taking place at 17 races and Super Street taking part at seven events on the national scene in 2024.
The full category schedule at national events is shown below. To view the 2024 schedule and for more information about NHRA, please visit www.NHRA.com.
About Mission Foods
MISSION®, owned by GRUMA, S.A.B. de C.V., is the world’s leading brand for tortillas and wraps. MISSION® is also globally renowned for flatbreads, dips, salsas and Mexican food products. With presence in over 112 countries, MISSION® products are suited to the lifestyles and the local tastes of each country. With innovation and customer needs in mind, MISSION® focuses on the highest quality, authentic flavors, and providing healthy options that families and friends can enjoy together. For more information, please visit https://www.missionfoods.com/
About Camping World Holdings, Inc.
Camping World Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Lincolnshire, IL, (together with its subsidiaries) is the World’s largest retailer of RVs and related products and services. Our vision is to build a long-term legacy business that makes RVing fun and easy. Our Camping World and Good Sam brands have been serving RV consumers since 1966. We strive to build long-term value for our customers, employees, and shareholders by combining a unique and comprehensive assortment of RV products and services with a national network of RV dealerships, service centers and customer support centers along with the industry’s most extensive online presence and a highly trained and knowledgeable team of employees serving our customers, the RV lifestyle, and the communities in which we operate. We also believe that our Good Sam organization and family of programs and services uniquely enable us to connect with our customers as stewards of the RV enthusiast community and the RV lifestyle. With RV sales and service locations in 43 states, Camping World has grown to become the prime destination for everything RV. For more information, visit www.campingworld.com.
About NHRA
Headquartered in San Dimas, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 21 national events featuring the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Type A Motorsports, Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown™ and Top Fuel Harley Series. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and NHRA Street Legal™. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street® program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League® for youth ages 5 to 17. With 120 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services® (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv®, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates three racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park; and In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Southern California. For more information, log on to www.NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
