The latest update as of January 25, 2022
NHRA releases the 2022 Hot Rod Heritage Series schedule
The long awaited NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series schedule for 2022 has just been released, and as expected, it starts and ends at Bakersfield's Famoso Dragstrip. Kicking off just 37 days from now, the 64th annual Good Vibrations Motorsports March Meet is the first of eight races on the calendar. And as has been traditional for as long as the Heritage Series has existed, the season finale is back at Bakersfield for the 30th annual California Hot Rod Reunion, running from October 21 - 23.
In between those dates there are four races for Nostalgia Funny Car, with three of them also featuring Nostalgia Top Fuel cars. After Bakersfield (March 3- 6), the series heads north to Boise, ID's Firebird Raceway for the 51st annual Ignitor Nitro Opener (April 29 - May 1), then east to Bowling Green, KY's Beech Bend Raceway Park for the National Hot Rod Reunion, June 16 - 18. After a mid-summer break, the series returns to Firebird Raceway for the 51st annual Nightfire Nationals, running from August 4 - 7. Before the final race of the season, the racers travel to Tulsa, OK's Osage Casino Tulsa Raceway Park for the Nostalgia Nitro Nationals, September 16 - 17.
There's two other events on the schedule, without the Nitro Nostalgia cars, both happening at Sacramento Raceway for the Group 1 & 2 cars on April 1- 2 (Funny Car Fever), and Sept. 16 - 17 (Governor's Cup). As mentioned earlier, racers in Funny Car will compete for points at six events, while the Top Fuel contingent has five races. Unless they add a caveat to the points scheme, it appears that the ability to waive one of the six events for the Funny Cars has been eliminated. That could definitely put a premium on having a large enough travel budget to maximize points earning opportunities.
More news on the Heritage Series season, including any rules changes, as they develop.