The NHRA announced today the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series will open March 6-9 with the 56th annual NHRA Gatornationals at legendary Gainesville Raceway.
It marks the third straight year the Gatornationals will kick off the NHRA season, as the historic facility will open the 74th year of incredible NHRA racing. Tickets for the famed season-opening Gatornationals will go on sale on Aug. 19, and the full 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule will be announced soon.
The NHRA Gatornationals has been a historic weekend for more than five decades and that will continue to open the 2025 campaign, as all the top NHRA stars in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle will look to start their season with a Wally and put on a spectacular show in the process.
“We are excited to announce the date of our 2025 season-opener in Gainesville and starting a terrific year of racing at the Gatornationals,” NHRA President Glen Cromwell said. “We’ve had great success starting our season at Gainesville Raceway the last two years and it’s something our race teams and partners have enjoyed as well. Starting in Gainesville gives us a lot of momentum to open the year and we’re looking forward to announcing the full 2025 schedule in the coming weeks.”
This year, Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), J.R. Todd (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all won to open the 2024 season. It marked the first double-up victory for Kalitta Motorsports, while six-time world champ Enders won the historic race for the first time.
The Gatornationals have been synonymous with record runs and magical moments for 55 years, including eight victories from Funny Car legend John Force. Top Fuel legend Tony Schumacher and five-time Pro Stock world champ Greg Anderson both have five wins at the historic race.
Three-time NHRA Funny Car world champ Ron Capps and Robert Hight both have four Gatornationals victories, while other stars expected to be in action in Gainesville include Antron Brown, Brittany Force, reigning world champs Erica Enders, Matt Hagan, Doug Kalitta and Herrera, and many more.
For more information about the NHRA, visit www.nhra.com.
This story was originally published on June 19, 2024. 
