NHRA Southern Nationals Debut at South Georgia Motorsports Park

She also won the 2018 Southern Nationals after finishing as runner-up in 2015, when the race was a fixture on the circuit Atlanta Dragway at Commerce, Georgia.

Hagan also has made passes down the South Georgia Motorsports Park strip. One of his 56 Funny Car victories came at the Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway in 2016. Hagan was runner-up there twice, in 2013 and 2018, before the venue closed after the 2021 race. But he is charged up about the change to Valdosta.

“Excited to see some new fans, excited to be back on this racetrack. I ran Pro Mod here, and one of my first test sessions with Don Schumacher Racing. Gary Scelzi crawled out of his car and retired, and I crawled in his and was just lucky to even fit. We made some laps back there in the day with Tommy DeLago and I kind of cut my teeth there for NHRA, so it’s got some history for me,” he said. “I’m excited to see what’s new.”

So is Pro Stock’s Aaron Stanfield.

The Pro Stock driver said, “I’ve tested a few times at South Georgia Motorsports Park, and it was a great facility, even a handful of years ago. So, I’m really looking forward to seeing all the new upgrades. Adding this track to the schedule is exciting, especially bringing NHRA racing to new fans who may not have had the chance to attend before. Expanding to new locations like this is great for the sport of drag racing and can only help grow the fan base.”

Gatornationals Top Fuel winner Josh Hart—who’s making his 100th start this weekend—is seeking to rebound from his first-round defeat last Sunday at Charlotte in the season’s only four-wide spectacle. But he also is hoping to add to the John Force Racing legacy at the Southern Nationals.

The first all-JFR final round went into the books at Atlanta 10 years ago (April 21, 1996), as Tony Pedregon dealt John Force one of the six losses he suffered over the course of a 19-race season. Ashley Force Hood became the first woman to win a Funny Car race in the NHRA series when she beat her dad in the Atlanta final April 27, 2008. Five different JFR drivers won 14 times in the Atlanta version of the Southern Nationals. The last was when Courtney Force beat Hagan in 2018. Bob Tasca III won the last Funny Car final there in 2021, defeating John Force in the final round.

Josh Hart.MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images - Getty Images

Hart won at Commerce, taking the 2018 Southern Nationals Top Alcohol Dragster trophy.

“I was one of the very few that was blessed in Top Alcohol Dragster to win the Southern Nationals and double up with Courtney Force (Funny Car) in the winners circle for Advance Auto Parts. I was proud that I was able to get one of those national-event trophies before they closed the track where the Southern Nationals ran. So I’m very happy that they’re bringing this race on as the Southern Nationals so that I can pick up where I left off.”

But he said all the experience and homework doesn’t give anyone an advantage: “You can do as much research as you want, but until you make that first run, you don’t really know what the track’s going to be capable of. So it really levels the playing field.”

Two-time and reigning Funny Car champion Austin Prock is seeking his first round-win of the season for Tasca Racing.

Phoenix winner Justin Bond leads the standings for the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, which is making its fourth of 11 appearances of the season.

It’s the first back-to-back race of the season for the category and the Mission Foods Series.

The NHRA announced Thursday that Friday qualifying for the pro classes has been moved up to 11:15 a.m. ET for the first session. The Pro Stock Motorcycle and Pro Stock classes will lead off, with Funny Car and Top Fuel to follow at noon. The second round of qualifying is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. with Pro Stock Motorcycle and Pro Stock, with Funny Car and Top Fuel at 2:30 p.m.