John Force Returns to Georgia as Southern Nationals Open at South Georgia Motorsports Park
john force is back in the frame as the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing series returns to Georgia for the Southern Nationals at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Adel. The race is the fifth event of the 2026 season and lands during NHRA’s 75th anniversary season.
South Georgia Motorsports Park
The event puts a national series on a track that opened in April 2004 as a multi-purpose racing facility with a quarter-mile dragstrip and a 0.5-mile oval. Raul and Jennifer Torres bought South Georgia Motorsports Park in 2023, and the facility had been known for radial, small tire, and heads-up events before the NHRA stop.
That shift gives Georgia a place on a schedule that added four new venues for 2026. South Georgia Motorsports Park leads that list, with Maryland Int’l Raceway, U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, and Rockingham Dragway also joining the lineup.
Pro Stock Motorcycle Friday
Friday’s Pro Stock Motorcycle session moved fast once Charles Poskey became the first NHRA Pro to make a run down the quarter-mile, covering it in 7.005. Marc Ingwersen followed with a 6.806, and Geno Scali turned in a 6.842.
Jianna Evaristo then produced the first 6.7-second pass and the first 200-mph run at the track, going 6.778 at 200.29 mph. Matt Smith answered with a 6.699 at 203.03 mph aboard his Denso Buell, while Angie Smith posted a 6.757 at over 200 mph.
Chase Van Sant backed up last weekend’s semifinal in Charlotte with a 6.778, and Clayton Howey opened with a 6.795 at 200.53 mph. For a venue that spent years building its name outside the national series, the opening runs showed how quickly the NHRA classes moved Georgia into the same lane as the rest of the tour.
The Southern Nationals now give fans in Adel a direct look at Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle, the JBS Pro Mod series, and the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series on a track that just joined the national map. For the Torreses, the payoff from the 2023 purchase arrived in the form of a full NHRA weekend and numbers that already pushed the facility into new territory.
