NASCAR will soon have competition, well, sort of. The Fairfield, Ohio-based International Hot Rod Association drag racing series announced on Tuesday that it is expanding its reach into a different form of racing, namely, a new stock car series set to begin in 2026.

Known as the IHRA Stock Car Series, drivers will be competing for a $2 million purse for the eight-race series, with events slated at six tracks primarily in the Southeast. The grassroots series is being pegged as “A Return to Authentic Stock Car Racing.”

“We’re bringing stock car racing back to its roots,” IHRA President & CEO Darryl Cuttell said in a statement. “This is racing that rewards driver skill, smart setups, and teamwork, not massive budgets. It’s exactly the kind of competition fans love, and competitors deserve.”

The organization offered a mission statement in a media release: “The IHRA Stock Car Series marks a major expansion in the IHRA’s rapidly growing motorsports portfolio. With an unwavering commitment to accessible racing, the series will offer a simplified rules package, affordable participation, and transparent competition standards that put the focus back where it belongs: on skill, determination, and the spirit of American short-track racing.”

The statement said all races will be televised live on a still-to-be-announced broadcast outlet. The new stock car series is the latest addition to the IHRA’s portfolio. Along with its core base of drag racing, IHRA has also been rapidly expanding its racing offerings into other motorsports series, including powerboat/offshore racing, as well as truck and tractor pulling.

“This is just the beginning,” said Tim Horton, IHRA Stock Car Series Director. “We’re creating a modern motorsports organization with the heart of grassroots racing, and the Stock Car Series is a perfect reflection of what the new IHRA stands for.

“From the top down, we’re racers, not MBA grads. We understand the challenges today’s racers face, and every decision we make puts racers and fans ahead of profits.”

Here’s the stock car series’ eight-race inaugural season schedule, with one national event to be held monthly from March through October.

2026 IHRA Stock Car Series Schedule

Race 1 — Pulaski Motorsports Park, VA — March 21
Race 2 — Cordele Speedway, GA — April 18
Race 3 — Newport Speedway, TN — May 30
Race 4 — Anderson Motor Speedway, SC — June 27
Race 5 — Pulaski Motorsports Park, VA — July 25
Race 6 — Salem Speedway, IN — August 22
Race 7 — Newport Speedway, TN — September 26
Race 8 — Memphis Motorsports Park, TN — October 17

New Series has similarities to the defunct Superstar Racing Experience

Although not affiliated with the now-defunct Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) series, which was co-founded in 2020 by NASCAR Hall of Famers Tony Stewart and Ray Evernham and ran for three seasons from 2021 through 2023, the new IHRA series has several similarities to SRX, including:

• cost-effective racing
• rules to keep the field level
• a series that welcomes new and aspiring racers
• a pathway for teams and tracks to be sustainable and profitable
• a TV platform that will help attract sponsors to both teams and tracks

SRX has been back in the news recently due to past criticism of it by NASCAR officials in texts that were made public as part of evidence discovery in the ongoing lawsuit between NASCAR and two of the series’ teams, 23XI Racing, co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR Cup veteran driver Denny Hamlin, as well as the Bob Jenkins-owned Front Row Motorsports. That lawsuit is scheduled to begin on December 1, pending any last-minute out-of-court settlements.

Ironically, the new IHRA-owned stock car series will not only be a competitor of sorts to NASCAR, it will also be competing for fans with Evernham and partner Rob Kauffman (former co-owner of the defunct Michael Waltrip Racing NASCAR team), who plan on bringing back the old International Race of Champions Series with several events in 2026 (full details have not been announced yet).