When Mustang Week Charlotte rolls into zMAX this August, the racing program is stepping up to a new level. A special thank you to SPE Motorsport, the proud sponsor of the Mustang Week Drag Racing activities.
The weekend of August 28-29 will feature five distinct drag racing classes, roll racing, over $14,000 in combined purses and prizes, a TREMEC transmission on the line, and two full days of fun on one of the most awesome drag strips in America. From the fastest turbo and supercharged street cars in the Ford community to the guy who drove his daily 800 miles to prove what his bolt-ons can do, Mustang Week Charlotte will have something for everyone.
Here’s everything you need to know about drag racing or roll racing at Mustang Week Charlotte 2026.
ROLL RACING
$3,000 Guaranteed Purse • Friday • Entry: $125
Roll Racing will be limited to a maximum of 80 cars, so spots will go quickly. Roll Racing is on Friday only.
All drivers will qualify together in a single class. Once qualifying is complete and everyone has made a pass, the field will be divided into three classes based on performance.The race format features a 40 mph start from the tree, race to the 1/4-mile. The win light will indicate the winner.
Must be Ford-bodied or a Ford Mustang, street-type car with stock chassis & frame rails. No stripped race cars. Must have 2 front seats and all glass. Must have mainly steel or OEM panels (doors, fenders, etc.). All vehicles must have functioning headlights and taillights and meet all track safety requirements. Crossing the center line will result in disqualification. Roll Racing Class Entry participants will receive three qualifying runs, time permitting, followed by eliminations to determine the winners.
A $3,000 guaranteed purse will be paid out split 75% to the winner and 25% to the runner-up.
- Top Dog ($1,500 purse)
- Outlaw ($1,000 purse)
- Street ($500 purse)
- Roll Racing Entry – Price: $125
DRAG RACING
STREET KINGS — THE MAIN EVENT
$6,000 Guaranteed Purse • 75 Car Cap • Entry: $145
If there’s one class that defines what Mustang Week racing is all about, it’s Street Kings. This is the crown jewel, a street car showdown inspired by the Street Car Braggin’ Rights format, purpose-built to crown the ultimate street-driven Ford or Mustang at the event.
Entry is limited to just 75 cars, with 64 qualifying for eliminations. If you’re serious about running, this one is going to fill up fast.
How It Works
Competition begins with three rounds of blind qualifying — scoreboards off. After qualifying, the top 64 are split into four divisions based on raw performance, The King class has no breakout and is run fully heads up, the other classes have a breakout set at 0.10 seconds quicker than the division’s #1 qualifier.
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- King Class (Positions 1–16)
- Outlaw (Positions 17–32)
- Hot Sauce (Positions 33–48)
- Grocery Getter (Positions 49–64)
Scoreboards come on for eliminations. Round 1 kicks off with a random chip draw, then transitions to a ladder format on a .400 Pro Tree. The Rules
All cars must have a valid license, registration, and insurance. You must drive the car from the pits to staging and back to the pits after each pass, no trailer queens. Maximum tire size is 275 on a 15” wheel, 325 on a 17” wheel or larger, or 29.5 x 10.5 slick. These are real street cars doing real things. Full rules will be posted soon.
| Division | Winner | Runner-Up |
| King Class | $2,250 | $750 |
| Outlaw | $750 | $250 |
| Hot Sauce | $750 | $250 |
| Grocery Getter | $750 | $250 |
Total guaranteed purse: $6,000. All divisions pay 75% to the winner, 25% to the runner-up.
Street Kings qualifying runs Friday. Eliminations run Saturday. If you want the biggest stage, the biggest crowd, and the biggest payday at Mustang Week this is your class.
OPEN COMP
$1,600 Guaranteed Purse • (32 Car Field) • Entry: $85
Open Comp is about one thing: who can cut a light and run their number. Open to any Ford-bodied vehicle, contested over the quarter-mile on a Pro .500 Tree.
Qualifying is based on reaction time — the top 32 advance. Qualifying runs Friday, eliminations on Saturday. Winner: $1,000, Runner-Up: $400. Semi-Finalists: $100 each
Open Comp is capped at 35 entries.
TRUE STREET
50 Car Cap • Entry: $85 • Saturday Only
True Street is grassroots drag racing at its absolute finest, and it’s the class that connects the Mustang Week experience back to its roots.
The format is beautifully simple: a 30-mile street cruise followed by three back-to-back quarter-mile passes. Winners are determined by quickest average elapsed time, which means consistency matters just as much as raw speed.
True Street means true street-legal: working headlights, taillights, and mufflers. DOT-approved tires. Current registration and insurance. The street class requires 200+ treadwear rear tires with full-size front tires — no skinnies.
Tremec Stick Shift – Runs Within True Street. The TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout is a love letter to the art of the manual transmission, if you row your own gears.
Running within the True Street format, the Stick Shift Shootout highlights H-pattern manual transmission cars exclusively. The four fastest stick-shift competitors advance out of True Street into a heads-up showdown. The Top 10 finishers receive custom trophies. The winner takes home a brand-new TREMEC TKX transmission.
AWARDS
True Street awards include Overall Quickest Average E.T. Winner and Runner-Up, Street Class Winner and Runner-Up, and quarter-mile E.T. average awards spanning from 9.00-second averages all the way to 15.00 seconds. No matter how fast or how streetable your car is, there’s hardware waiting for you.
Participants who want extra track time can add a Friday Test & Tune entry to their True Street registration to get some shakedown passes the day before competition.
TEST & TUNE / GRUDGE RACING
50 Cars Per Day • Friday & Saturday • 1 Day: $50 / Both Days: $85
Test & Tune and Grudge Racing is an open format, available both days. Dial in your new combination. Settle a score with your buddy. Run your personal best and get it on video for the internet.
THE VENUE: zMAX DRAGWAY
This all goes down at zMAX Dragway, a NHRA-sanctioned, all-concrete, drag strip located on the grounds of Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Mustang Week has always been about the people who build, drive, and race Fords and Mustangs.
Full rules and schedule will be released soon. Registration opens February 15, 2026 at MustangWeek.com.
