Some events are a race. The NOPI Nationals Motorsports Supershow is a full car-culture takeover. On September 12 and 13, 2026, EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway, hosted the biggest NOPI weekend of the year.
For the 2000s crowd, NOPI Nationals is where the legend was built. For the new generation, it is the one weekend that puts every corner of car culture on the same property. NOPI is back, and the Nationals showed exactly what that means.
The Mega Show Atmosphere
The Nationals is open to all makes and models, and the lineup proved it. The car show had room for every style of build, with trophies, cash prizes, a JDM section and a model build-off. An OG section was set aside for the nostalgia builds that defined NOPI's first era.
Off the show field, the action never stopped. Drifting ran with A and B class drivers and ride-alongs. The hydraulics competition put lowriders in the air, and autocross gave drivers a chance to chase the clock. A sound competition brought the bass, and the burnout competition was open to cars, trucks and carts.
Live music, DJs and live sets kept the energy up all weekend. A Career Expo connected young enthusiasts with the automotive industry, and Sammy Maloof and family brought their stunt show and ride-along experience.
The schedule also used every part of the speedway. There was a NASCAR Experience on Saturday, track fun runs on the NASCAR oval on Sunday, Big Wheel racing for the kids and a one-lap cart parade on Saturday evening. A VIP lounge gave fans a chance to meet past NDRA racers and mentors.
That is the NOPI Nationals formula. It is a race, a car show, a festival and a family reunion all at once. From Nostalgia to New Era, everyone had a reason to be there.
A Celebration, Not a Points Race
The NDRA Championship Series points were settled at Maryland International Raceway in August, and the Nationals did not count toward points. That changed the feel of the weekend. The NDRA Championship Ceremony was on the Sunday schedule, giving the season's top racers a chance to be recognized in front of the Nationals crowd.
Without points on the line, the Nationals became something else: a celebration of everything NOPI rebuilt in 2025 and 2026. The 2026 champions included Wilson Tavarez in XFWD, Adriana Noonen in XWORLD, Jonathan Rios in 9.50 Index, Daniel Calderon in 10.50 Index and Joey Torres in 11.50 Index.
Graphic: NOPI Motorsports – GCDRA at NOPI Nationals event artwork (NOPI Media Library)
Golf Cart Drag Racing Makes History
The 2026 Nationals also made history. The weekend hosted the first-ever Golf Cart Drag Racing Association event, launching GCDRA as a new NOPI Motorsports property.
The format was pure drag racing: head-to-head, side by side, on a starting tree. Saturday evening was for test and tune, and Sunday brought the head-to-head heats. Classes ran from stock gas and stock electric carts to modified, unlimited and Outlaw builds, plus a Navitas Chassis class. A golf cart show class and the Bracket Racket gave every cart with a tech card more ways to compete.
The Bracket Racket was one of the highlights on the Sunday schedule. Carts raced the clock in single-elimination brackets, and any cart already entered in the show or the race was automatically included. Add the golf cart burnout competition and fun runs, and the carts had their own full weekend inside the Nationals.
Golf Carting TV covered the debut and summed it up simply: racers, fans and show carts all came out, and speed was the theme of the weekend.
GCDRA fits NOPI's DNA. It is affordable, it is fun for every age, and it brings a new crowd into motorsports. NOPI plans to grow it into a multi-event series, with youth programs through the NOPI Youth Foundation. Years from now, people may look back at EchoPark 2026 as the place where golf cart drag racing went big.
Car Culture Lives On
Walk the grounds at the Nationals and you see the whole timeline of car culture at once. There are OG builds that could have been parked at a NOPI show twenty years ago, fresh imports on new tech, hydraulics hopping and golf carts launching off the line.
That is what makes NOPI different. It is not one scene. It is every scene, sharing the same track and the same weekend, and that is exactly how it should be.
Looking Ahead
The 2026 Nationals closed out NOPI's season in a big way. With the NDRA back, GCDRA launched and the Nationals back at EchoPark, the next season has a lot to live up to.
To every racer, show car owner, drifter, hopper, golf cart builder, vendor and fan who came out to EchoPark, thank you. NOPI is back, car culture lives on, and the next Nationals cannot come soon enough.
Photo Credits
GCDRA at NOPI Nationals event artwork – NOPI Motorsports (NOPI Media Library: GCDRA-banner.jpg)