The Red Line Synthetic Oil PDRA is already looking ahead to next season, officially rolling out its seven-race schedule for 2026 after wrapping another strong campaign in 2025. The series isn’t reinventing the wheel, but it is making strategic adjustments—returning to four staple tracks while bringing Darlington Dragway back into the mix as the season opener for the first time.
According to series director Tyler Crossnoe, the PDRA knew change was coming the moment the 2025 World Finals were in the books. “Change is inevitable in life, whether it is in personal, business, or your hobbies,” Crossnoe said. “We’ve decided to make a few shifts in our schedule for 2026 to adapt to the ever-changing motorsports scope in hopes of seeing more teams be able to compete for a full-season championship.”
One of the biggest moves is trimming the calendar to seven events. The PDRA’s leadership believes tightening the schedule, not expanding it, is the best way to help racers stay in the championship fight. “We understand the costs of the sport are not cheap,” Crossnoe added. “After weeks of discussions, we settled on only doing seven races this season to allow for better spacing in between events and for the hopes of an extremely competitive season.”
The 2026 tour gets underway March 25-28 at Darlington Dragway in Hartsville, South Carolina. The PDRA has history at the facility, but this marks the first time Darlington will fire the opening shot of the season. From there, the series heads to one of its most racer-friendly stops, Darana Motorsports Park in Benson, North Carolina, on April 16-18 for the first of two visits.
Virginia Motorsports Park anchors the Memorial Day weekend race on May 21-23, followed by the mid-summer throwdown at Maryland International Raceway on June 25-27. After a breather in July, the PDRA returns to action August 6-8 at Bristol Dragway. Thunder Valley has produced some of the most electric moments in recent seasons, and officials hint that more news is coming tied to that event.
Darana Motorsports Park gets its second date, August 27-29, setting the stage for the Brian Olson Memorial World Finals. As always, the weekend kicks off with the Summit Racing ProStars shootout, an all-star battle featuring the top eight points earners in each class and more than $65,000 on the line. It’s become one of the most anticipated Thursday programs in drag racing, and it sets the tone for the title fights to come.
The 2026 season wraps September 17-20 at Virginia Motorsports Park, which continues to serve as the PDRA’s championship home. The facility has become the natural finishing point for the series, offering the atmosphere and track conditions racers expect when championships are on the line.
Series owner Tommy Franklin is already eager to fire up another season. “The racer’s support is by far the inspiration for this series to continue growing,” Franklin said. “We continue to have the best-in-class racers, and the on-track performance shows that to be true race after race. I cannot wait for the best racing in the world to continue to prove itself over and over.”
PDRA officials will also be active at the PRI Show in Indianapolis, December 11-13, where the series will crown its 2025 champions at the Red Line Oil PDRA Night of Champions on Friday, December 12, at the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott.
2026 PDRA Schedule
• March 25-28 – Darlington Dragway – Hartsville, SC
• April 16-18 – Darana Motorsports Park – Benson, NC
• May 21-23 – Virginia Motorsports Park – Dinwiddie, VA
• June 25-27 – Maryland International Raceway – Mechanicsville, MD
• August 6-8 – Bristol Dragway – Bristol, TN
• August 27-29 – Darana Motorsports Park – Benson, NC
• September 17-20 – Virginia Motorsports Park – Dinwiddie, VA
You might also like
Hot Action: Jason Harris Highlights Snowbird Outlaw Nationals Winners
The Snowbird Outlaw Nationals kicked off the Drag Illustrated Winter Series. Here's who brought home the wins at Bradenton.
