NHRA on Fox Sports announces 2018 television schedule

By Alex Herbst | Dec 8, 2017

CONCORD, NC - SEPTEMBER 19: Greg Stanfield, driver of the Nitro Fish Pro Stock drives during the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMax Dragway on September 19, 2010 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images) /

The NHRA will be back on Fox Sports in 2018, with the television schedule for the drag racing series revealed on Friday across FOX, FS1, and FS2.

Perhaps the best move for drag racing to grow in the United States in the modern era was their move from ESPN to Fox Sports. With massive viewership gains and higher ratings across FOX and FS1 in recent years, the NHRA will be back on the networks of Fox Sports once again in 2018. The network and sanctioning body jointly released their television schedule for the coming year.

The 24-race schedule for the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will be split across FOX, FS1, and FS2. The FOX broadcast network will cover all three races on the “western swing” – Denver, Sonoma, and Seattle – as well as the Chevy Performance U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. FS1 will cover all remaining races except Dallas, which will air live on FS2. Half of the schedule, or 12 of the 24 races, will be aired live.

Races not aired live on FS1 will be seen on tape delay on Sunday night, with most following NASCAR coverage either on FOX or FS1 in the spring and early summer. Four out of the six “Countdown to the Championship” races will air live, with three on FS1 and one on FS2. Other races airing live on FS1 will be the season opener at Pomona, Epping, Brainerd, and Topeka.

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The broadcast crew covering the NHRA will remain largely unchanged from 2017. Dave Rieff and Tony Pedregon will return to the booth for NHRA on FOX, with Bruno Massel moving to the broadcast booth from the pits. Lewis Bloom, Amanda Busick, Jamie Howe, and John Kernan will cover the pits and interviews from the grid.

Fox Sports will also continue to cover the NHRA’s lower divisions, including the Lucas Oil Racing Series and Pro Mod Series. Races will be seen on Thursday nights on tape on FS2. 16 races from the Lucas Oil Racing Series and 12 races from the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series Presented By J&A Service will be seen on the secondary sports network.

Here is the full 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule on Fox Sports:

Feb. 11 – Lucas Oil Winternationals, Pomona, Calif. (5:00 PM, Live on FS1)
Feb. 25 – NHRA Arizona Nationals, Phoenix (6:30 PM, FS1)
March 18 – Amalie Motor Oile NHRA Gatornationals, Gainesville, Fla. (7:00 PM, FS1)
April 8 – DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals, Las Vegas (6:00 PM, FS1)
April 22 – NHRA SpringNationals, Houston (2:00 PM, Live on FS1)
April 29 – NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Charlotte (6:00 PM, FS1)
May 6 – NHRA Southern Nationals, Atlanta (6:00 PM, FS1)
May 20 – Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals, Topeka (2:00 PM, Live on FS1)
June 3 – Route 66 NHRA Nationals, Chicago (5:30 PM, FS1)
June 10 – NHRA Summernationals, Englishtown, N.J. (6:00 PM, FS1)
June 17 – NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol, Tenn. (7:30 PM, FS1)
June 24 – Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Norwalk, Ohio (6:30 PM, FS1)
July 8 – NHRA New England Nationals, Epping, NH (1:00 PM, Live on FS1)
July 22 – Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals, Denver (3:00 PM, Live on FOX)
July 29 – Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals, Sonoma, Calif. (4:00 PM Live on FOX)
Aug. 5 – NHRA Northwest Nationals, Seattle (4:00 PM, Live on FOX)
Aug. 19 – Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Brainerd, Minn. (2:00 PM, Live on FS1)
Sept. 3 – Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, Indianapolis (11:00 AM, Live on FS1)
Sept. 3 – Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, Indianapolis (1:00 PM, Live on FOX)

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NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship

Sept. 16 – Dodge NHRA Nationals, Reading, Pa. (7:30 PM, FS1)
Sept. 23 – AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals, St. Louis (8:30 PM, FS1)
Oct. 7 – AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, Dallas (12:00 PM, Live on FS2)
Oct. 14 – NHRA Carolina Nationals, Charlotte (2:00 PM, Live on FS1)
Oct. 28 – NHRA Toyota Nationals, Las Vegas (7:30 PM, Live on FS1)
Nov. 11 – Auto Club NHRA Nationals, Pomona (4:00 PM, Live on FS1)

Will you be tuning in to see the races from the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series in 2018?