The wait is over. From April 24 to 26, 2026, Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, Virginia, opened the 2026 NOPI Drag Racing Association Championship Series, and the NDRA was officially back on the board. One year after NOPI's revival season, the first points of a brand-new championship went up at VMP.
If you came up on NOPI in the 2000s, this weekend felt familiar in all the right ways: loud cars, fast passes and real competition. If you are new to the scene, welcome. This is what it looks like when car culture lives on.
The Season Opener
VMP carried the weight of being first. Every racer rolled into Petersburg with a clean slate, and every pass counted toward a championship that would be decided three events later at Maryland International Raceway.
The NDRA lineup gave every kind of build a place to run. The headline X-Class categories, XFWD, XAWD vs XRWD and XWORLD, brought the turbo imports and heads-up fights that made NOPI drag racing famous. The 9.50, 10.50 and 11.50 Index classes rewarded consistency, and bracket racing kept the door open for anyone with a car, a helmet and a tech card.
Virginia set the tone for the whole season. A strong weekend here meant a cushion for the rest of the year, and in several classes the drivers who scored big at VMP were still near the top when the season ended.
The format raised the stakes too. To be eligible for a 2026 title and the contingency payouts, competitors had to attend all three championship events. Skipping a round was not an option for anyone serious about a championship, so Virginia drew racers who were in it for the whole season.
By the end of the weekend, 67 drivers had scored NDRA points at VMP across the six championship classes. That is a full grid for a season opener, and a clear sign that racers had been waiting for the NDRA to come back.
The Racing: Who Put Up Big Points
Official NDRA points from the Virginia round show who made the most of the opener. Points reward qualifying and round wins, so the top scorer in each class had the strongest weekend on the strip.
XFWD
Front-wheel drive is the heart of NOPI drag racing, and XFWD delivered. Wilson Tavarez scored 127 points at VMP, the biggest haul of anyone in the class. That opening weekend started the run that ended with Tavarez as the 2026 XFWD champion.
XAWD vs XRWD and XWORLD
In XAWD vs XRWD, Knole Mitchell led the class at Virginia with 106 points. Over in XWORLD, Kevin Collins topped the weekend with 108 points, and Adriana Noonen banked 86 points at VMP on the way to the season title.
The Index Classes
The Index classes were all about hitting the number. Austin Marinelli led 9.50 Index with 104 points, Michelle Santos topped 10.50 Index with 106, and Joey Torres scored 108 in 11.50 Index. Torres went on to win the 11.50 championship, and his Virginia weekend was a big reason why.
Graphic: NOPI Motorsports – Virginia Car Show 2026 Winners (NOPI Media Library)
Beyond the Strip
NOPI has never been just a drag race, and Virginia proved it again. The weekend lineup included drifting with ride-alongs, a Hollywood stunt show with Sammy Maloof and stunt ride-alongs, automotive vendors and a full car show.
Car Show Winners
The Virginia Car Show crowned winners across import, modern muscle, hot rod, lowrider and Jeep classes. Will Smith took Overall Best of Show with his 1963 Chevy Impala, a lowrider that also won Best of Show in its class.
William Glasscock earned Import Best of Show with a 1993 Supra, William Daniel won Hot Rod Best of Show with a 1970 Dodge Charger, and Team Ulta Speed took Best Display. Charles Raynor won Best Wrangler with his 2021 Jeep Wrangler.
Look at that list again. A 1963 Impala, a 1993 Supra and a 2017 Hellcat all won trophies on the same weekend. That mix is what From Nostalgia to New Era means: the cars that built NOPI's reputation parked next to the builds that will carry it forward.
Why Virginia Mattered
Opening weekends set the story for a season. At VMP, Wilson Tavarez, Joey Torres and Adriana Noonen put down the first big numbers of their championship runs. Others, like Knole Mitchell, Kevin Collins and Austin Marinelli, showed they had the speed to win any weekend.
Virginia also made the bigger point. NOPI was not a one-year comeback. The NDRA Championship Series had real stakes again, a real points chase and a grid of racers ready to fight for it.
Looking Ahead
From Virginia, the series moved south to South Georgia Motorsports Park, then on to the finale at Maryland International Raceway. The 2026 season is now in the books, and NOPI is already working on what comes next.
Whether you raced, showed a car or watched from the fence, thank you for making the opener count. NOPI is back, car culture lives on, and the next season starts with the same simple promise: bring your car and bring your crew.
Photo Credits
Virginia Car Show 2026 Winners graphic – NOPI Motorsports (NOPI Media Library: 2026-VMP-NOPI-Car-Show-Winners-2.jpg)