Schedule released July 16, 2020. Schedule is pending further revisions because of the COVID-19 pandemic. All races scheduled starting July 9 will be held with only two rounds of qualifying, except Charlotte, and Lucas Oil Raceway 4 for selected Top Fuel and Funny Car drivers only, which will have three rounds for drivers who had advanced to the final of the abandoned Lucas Oil Raceway 2 event. No Friday qualifying for races after the restart except Charlotte. There will be two finals held at the fourth Lucas Oil Raceway round. The first will be held during the third qualifying round Saturday, and only for Top Fuel and Funny Car. * Finals televised on tape delay. Ennis, TX race broadcast tentatively set for FS2 because of the 2020 Major League Baseball Playoffs. Dates and times yet to be determined. MM Pro Stock Car at this event is a non-championship race featuring the Mountain Motor formula, which has no engine displacement limit, can use carburetors or electronic fuel injection, and weighs a minimum of 2,450 pounds, compared to the NHRA Pro Stock formula that features electronic fuel injection, a 500ci engine displacement limit, and 2,350 pounds weight. All two-lane Mountain Motor races will feature eight-car fields.
Additional Rules for Specially Marked Races
4 Lanes: The Charlotte race will compete with cars on four lanes.
All cars will qualify on each lane as all four lanes will be used in qualifying.
Three rounds with cars using all four lanes.
In Rounds One and Two, the top two drivers will advance to the next round.
The pairings are set as follows:
* Race One: 1, 8, 9, 16
* Race Two: 4, 5, 12, 13
* Race Three: 2, 7, 10, 15
* Race Four: 3, 6, 11, 14
* Semifinal One: Top two in Race One and Race Two
* Semifinal Two: Top two in Race Three and Race Four
* Finals: Top two in Semifinal One and Semifinal Two
Lane choice determined by times in previous round. In first round, lane choice determined by fastest times.
Drivers who advance in Rounds One and Two will receive 20 points for each round advancement.
In Round Three, the winner of the race will be declared the race winner and will collect 40 points. The runner-up will receive 20 points. Third and fourth place drivers will be credited as semifinal losers.
GVL: Event started March 12 with some classes finishing on the 14th. Top Dragster, Top Sportsman, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Stock, Stock, and Competition Eliminator classes, which had started, were allowed to finish behind closed doors. The NHRA postponed the Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle, Pro Modified, Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car, and Factory Stock Showdown classes to September 25-27. MM: Pro Stock Car at this event is a non-championship race with the Mountain Motor formula. At St. Louis, both NHRA Formula and Mountain Motor will race.
Schedule changes
Removed and Merged Events
The NHRA removed three races from and merged two races from the original NHRA schedule when the season was suspended during the Gainesville Raceway event as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These events include the following:
Merged
Two venues with two events each had their schedules reduced to one race. In each instance, the date during the suspension was removed.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway: April 3-5 and October 29-November 1. Fall race regulations in effect.
Charlotte Motor Speedway: April 24-26 and September 25–27. New date is September 17–20. Spring race regulations in effect.
Races in Charlotte and St. Louis have switched weekends for this year. Scheduling changes made primarily to avoid NASCAR events in some markets. The only race that does not feature Pro Stock Car will be Indianapolis 2. Last year, Atlanta did not feature either Pro Stock formula. The three rounds that will feature Mountain Motor but not the NHRA Pro Stock class are Denver, Brainerd and Atlanta. St. Louis will feature both NHRA Formula and Mountain Motor. The NHRA also cancelled the Countdown format owing to the fewer races in 2020.
