NHRA Northwest Nationals 2026: Full Schedule, Qualifying Times, TV Coverage & Streaming Guide

The Northwest Nationals was the 12th event of the 20-race 2026 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series. It also closed the shortened two-race Western Swing after the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

Pacific Raceways hosted Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock as the professional headline categories. The weekend also included Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car and a broad Lucas Oil sportsman program.

The 2026 format mattered because the previous year used one Friday qualifying run and three Saturday attempts. NHRA restored two professional sessions on each day, giving fans twice-daily Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock qualifying.

The event guide listed 31001 144th Avenue SE in Kent as the track address. Fans at the facility could listen to the public-address broadcast on 540 AM, a useful option when moving through the pits or midway.

The complete table below combines the official local Pacific Time schedule with Eastern Time. July dates used daylight-saving time, so Eastern Time was three hours ahead of Pacific Time.

On-track timing can move when cleanup, weather or extended sportsman rounds affect the program. The published times remain the correct official reference for the planned 2026 weekend.

Why Thursday belonged in the weekend guide

Racing at Pacific Raceways began Friday, but the official event program opened Thursday. The Mission Foods Machine Tournament ran at Muckleshoot Casino Resort from 1 to 5 p.m. PT.

FanFest followed from 5 to 7 p.m. PT at Dave & Buster’s in The Outlet Collection. These activities allowed local fans to experience the event before the first qualifying burnout.

Why the Eastern Time column matters

National NHRA audiences often follow broadcasts and live timing from outside the Pacific Northwest. A 2:30 p.m. local nitro session was a 5:30 p.m. start for East Coast viewers.

The same conversion placed Sunday’s 10 a.m. local eliminations start at 1 p.m. ET. That was three hours before FOX joined the event at 4 p.m. ET.

The professional classes did not run at the same time. Pro Stock opened both Friday sessions. Top Fuel opened both Saturday professional blocks, with Funny Car and Pro Stock following at 30-minute intervals.

Friday Q1 and Q2

Pro Stock Q1 began at 2 p.m. PT, followed by Funny Car and Top Fuel at 2:30. Q2 began with Pro Stock at 4:30, while the nitro cars returned at 5 p.m.

Both Friday rounds took place before the late-evening sunset. That differed from the traditional hero-session format used at many summer races, where the quickest nitro attempt may happen under full darkness.

Saturday Q3 and Q4

Top Fuel began Saturday Q3 at noon PT. Funny Car followed at 12:30, and Pro Stock ran at 1. The final qualifying cycle began with Top Fuel at 2:30.

Saturday’s two rounds also contained the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. The opening challenge matchups were embedded in Q3, while the category finals were contested during Q4.

Did Pro Stock Motorcycle race in Seattle?

No. Pro Stock Motorcycle was not listed among the 2026 Northwest Nationals categories. The Mission Foods professional program consisted of Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock.

That distinction matters for viewers moving from Sonoma, where the GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout had been part of the previous weekend.

Friday was the longest qualifying day for fans who wanted variety. Gates opened at 9 a.m. PT, sportsman cars started at 9:30 and the midway opened at 10.

Top Alcohol qualifying began at 12:30 p.m. PT. The first professional cars arrived at 2 p.m., when Pro Stock opened Q1. Funny Car and Top Fuel followed at 2:30.

The second Top Alcohol session took place between the two professional cycles. After Q2, the program continued with a nostalgia exhibition, junior qualifying and more sportsman track time.

For an in-person fan, Friday supplied the widest mix of categories. For a television-only viewer, FS1’s 10 p.m. ET program was the main national window. NHRA.tv was the option for live session-by-session coverage.

Saturday opened earlier than Friday. Gates and the midway were available at 8 a.m. PT, while sportsman eliminations began at 9:30.

The professional focus started at noon with Top Fuel Q3. Funny Car followed at 12:30, and Pro Stock ran at 1 p.m. The same pattern repeated from 2:30 through 3:30 for Q4.

How the Mission Challenge fitted into qualifying

The Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge used rematches from the Sonoma semifinals. Top Fuel paired Doug Kalitta against Antron Brown and Jasmine Salinas against Leah Pruett.

Funny Car paired Jordan Vandergriff with Austin Prock and Daniel Wilkerson with Jack Beckman. Pro Stock paired Greg Stanfield with Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Erica Enders with Troy Coughlin Jr.

The winners of those Q3 matchups returned in Q4 for the bonus-race finals. Because the runs also counted toward qualifying, teams could not treat the specialty race as an exhibition.

The final qualifying cycle ended with Pro Stock at 3:30 p.m. PT. Top Alcohol and sportsman eliminations continued into the evening, making Saturday a full race day even after the professional ladders were set.

Sunday gates opened at 7 a.m. PT. The midway opened at 8, followed by the SealMaster Track Walk and driver introductions at 9.

Mission Foods Series eliminations began at 10 a.m. PT with Top Fuel. That converted to 1 p.m. ET for national viewers following live timing or NHRA.tv.

Why FOX started later than the first round

FOX’s national program began at 4 p.m. ET, or 1 p.m. local time. The on-track eliminations schedule had already started three hours earlier.

Therefore, the FOX window was designed around later rounds and live finals coverage. Viewers who wanted the complete opening round needed NHRA.tv or live timing before the network show.

How long should fans plan to watch?

NHRA eliminations contain four rounds in a full 16-car professional field. Track cleanup, ceremonies and sportsman finals can affect the exact finish time.

The FOX program was scheduled for three hours. In-person fans needed a longer day because the gates opened three hours before the first professional pair.

Friday FS1 qualifying

FS1’s first Northwest Nationals program began Friday at 10 p.m. ET. The scheduled start was 7 p.m. on the West Coast.

The show followed the two Friday professional sessions. It gave viewers the key runs and provisional order without requiring a full-day streaming subscription.

Sunday FS1 qualifying program

FS1 returned Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET for 90 minutes of qualifying coverage. The program began after the scheduled start of on-track eliminations.

This was a recap window rather than the route to watching every race-day pair live. It led directly toward the main FOX broadcast.

FOX live eliminations and finals

FOX began at 4 p.m. ET and carried three hours of live finals coverage. The Pacific Time start was 1 p.m.

Because FOX is a broadcast network, some viewers could receive it through a local over-the-air affiliate. Channel availability and local station assignments varied by market.

NHRA.tv was the complete live option

NHRA.tv states that live video is available every day of racing for all Mission Foods Drag Racing Series events. That made it the primary streaming service for Friday qualifying, Saturday qualifying and Sunday eliminations.

The service also offered the advantage of seeing categories and rounds that did not fit inside the FS1 or FOX television windows. Live video was available through the NHRA.tv website and supported apps.

What a television streaming service needed

A viewer using a live-TV streaming provider needed both FS1 and the local FOX station to reproduce the full national television schedule. Some packages included one channel but not the other.

Local FOX availability could vary by market. Checking the provider’s channel lineup before race day prevented a late surprise.

Could fans watch without cable?

NHRA.tv did not require a traditional cable subscription. It used its own event or season access model.

For the Sunday FOX broadcast, an over-the-air antenna could work in areas with a receivable local FOX affiliate. The exact station and signal depended on location.

Live timing as a backup

NHRA’s official event pages linked to live timing and results. Live timing did not replace video, but it provided reaction times, elapsed times, speeds and round outcomes.

It was particularly useful during the three-hour gap between Sunday’s scheduled eliminations start and the FOX broadcast.

Pacific Raceways is located at 31001 144th Avenue SE in Kent, Washington. The facility sits southeast of Seattle and operates on Pacific Time.

NHRA listed the track elevation at 280 feet. Low elevation can support strong engine performance, although weather, corrected altitude and surface temperature remain more important on a specific run.

What made the Seattle event different?

The Northwest Nationals combined a national event with a forested Pacific Northwest setting. The track’s local fan base also gave the race a distinct regional identity.

The event was part of NHRA’s 75th anniversary season and included a tribute to longtime team owner Jim Dunn. Dunn had been a two-time Seattle runner-up and tuned Tony Bartone to a 2008 Funny Car victory at the track.

Useful in-person schedule details

The official event guide listed gate-opening times of 9 a.m. Friday, 8 a.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday. Early entry gave fans time to walk the pits before the major professional sessions.

The track PA was available on 540 AM. That allowed spectators to follow announcements while away from the grandstands.

Weather and schedule movement

Drag racing schedules remain sensitive to rain, track preparation and oil-down cleanup. NHRA’s event guide noted that weather could delay, postpone or reschedule activity.

Fans attending an event should treat the published schedule as the official plan and continue checking track announcements when conditions change.

The professional headline contained three classes rather than four. Top Fuel and Funny Car supplied the 12,000-horsepower nitro program, while Pro Stock provided naturally aspirated door-car racing.

Top Alcohol Dragster and Funny Car added their own qualifying and elimination cycles. The sportsman program filled the track before, between and after the professional sessions.

Why sportsman times were prominent in the schedule

NHRA national events are not only television programs. Many competitors race in handicap, index or class-based formats throughout the weekend.

That explains why Friday began at 9:30 a.m. even though Pro Stock did not run until 2. Saturday continued well after the final professional qualifying pass.

The Top Fuel records entering race day belonged to Kalitta for elapsed time and Brittany Force for speed. Both were established during the fast 2025 event.

Worsham’s Funny Car ET record dated to 2016, while Tasca held the class speed benchmark. Glenn held the Pro Stock ET record after his 2025 victory weekend.

2025 event winners

Shawn Langdon won Top Fuel in 2025. Matt Hagan won Funny Car, and Dallas Glenn won Pro Stock.

The active class-specific victory leaders entering the 2026 eliminations were Tony Schumacher with five Top Fuel wins, Ron Capps with three Funny Car wins and Greg Anderson with three Pro Stock wins.

Friday ended with Jasmine Salinas leading Top Fuel, Cruz Pedregon leading Funny Car and Dallas Glenn leading Pro Stock. Cooler Saturday conditions then changed the final order.

Josh Hart qualified No. 1 in Top Fuel with a 3.685 at 335.40 mph. J.R. Todd led Funny Car, while Glenn retained the Pro Stock No. 1 position.

Antron Brown won the Top Fuel Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. Daniel Wilkerson won Funny Car, and Greg Stanfield won Pro Stock.

Sunday produced a Kalitta Motorsports nitro sweep. Doug Kalitta won Top Fuel, Todd won Funny Car, and Greg Anderson won Pro Stock.

1. Remember the three-hour time difference

Pacific Raceways used local Pacific Time. Add three hours for Eastern Time throughout the July weekend.

2. Pro Stock and nitro had different Friday starts

Pro Stock began at 2 and 4:30 p.m. PT. Funny Car and Top Fuel began at 2:30 and 5.

3. Saturday qualifying doubled as a bonus race

Q3 and Q4 also contained the Mission Challenge semifinals and finals. Every pass affected two competitions.

4. FOX did not begin with Sunday Round 1

Eliminations started at 1 p.m. ET, while the FOX program began at 4. NHRA.tv and live timing covered the earlier action.

5. The complete weekend extended beyond the professional cars

Top Alcohol, sportsman, junior and nostalgia programs filled the gaps around the headline sessions. In-person fans received much more track activity than the television windows suggested.