The series grew incrementally across several decades. Top Fuel Dragster was the first professional class introduced, in 1965, followed by Funny Car in 1966, Pro Stock in 1970, and Pro Stock Motorcycle in 1987. The champion in each class is determined through a points system based on finishing position and qualifying performance.
Since 2007, the NHRA has used a playoff format called the Countdown to the Championship. The season is divided into two segments. Drivers who rank within the top ten at the end of the first segment advance to the Countdown, where points are reset and compressed to tighten competition over the final six events. Drivers below the cutoff continue competing but are removed from championship contention. The format was temporarily suspended during the COVID-19-affected 2020 season before returning for 2021.
Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars are the headline attractions of the series. Both run on a fuel blend of 90 percent nitromethane and 10 percent methanol, generating speeds regularly exceeding 300 miles per hour (480 km/h) and covering the race distance in as little as 3.70 to 4.00 seconds. Since 2008, following the death of Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta, the sanctioned race distance for these two classes was reduced from the traditional quarter mile (1,320 feet / 402 m) to 1,000 feet (300 m) as a safety measure. The 1,000-foot distance has remained in place since, with teams requesting it be kept as a cost-saving measure.
Pro Stock cars run on conventional gasoline and reach top speeds around 214 miles per hour (344 km/h), with elapsed times in the 6.4 to 6.7 second range. Pro Stock Motorcycles typically exceed 190 miles per hour (310 km/h) with times in the low-seven to high-six second range.
Notable drivers who shaped the series' early decades include Don Garlits, Don Prudhomme, and Shirley Muldowney, all of whom built large public profiles through the 1960s and 1970s. In the contemporary era, John Force, a 16-time Funny Car world champion, stands as the sport's most decorated competitor.
Winston cigarettes served as title sponsor from 1975 until 2001, when the terms of the Master Settlement Agreement required Winston to choose between its NHRA and NASCAR Cup Series sponsorships. Winston retained NASCAR, ending its NHRA involvement, and left the Cup Series two years later as well.
The Coca-Cola Company assumed the title sponsorship in 2002, cycling through several of its beverage brands: Powerade until 2008, Full Throttle energy drink in 2009, and Mello Yello from 2013 onward. Coca-Cola departed abruptly in September 2020, citing disagreements with the NHRA, which responded with a lawsuit. Camping World took over as title sponsor in October 2020, giving the series the name referenced in this article, the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, through the 2024 season. Mission Foods, a brand of Gruma S.A.B. de C.V., was announced as the new title sponsor on October 25, 2023, and the series was renamed the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series beginning with the 2024 season. Camping World remained as a premier partner through 2026 as part of a renegotiated arrangement.
NHRA events have been televised since 1983. Through the 1990s, coverage was shared between ESPN, NBC, and The Nashville Network, with TNN also airing a weekly highlights program called NHRA Today. In 2001, ESPN became the exclusive broadcast partner, though it drew criticism for scheduling NHRA coverage in inconsistent time slots over the following 14 years. The partnership ended one year early by mutual agreement in July 2015, with NHRA citing the scheduling issues.
Fox Sports took over beginning with the 2016 season, broadcasting events primarily on FS1 and FS2 with four events per year on the main Fox network, including the flagship U.S. Nationals. Fox committed to live Sunday coverage for at least 16 of the approximately 23 events per season, plus two-hour qualification broadcasts and the condensed highlight program NHRA in 30. Fox renewed its contract with the NHRA in 2021. Average viewership under the Fox deal reached approximately 600,000 per event in the first two years, up substantially from ESPN-era figures, with some events surpassing one million viewers.
The NHRA Rookie of the Year award has been presented annually since 1990 to a first-year competitor in the professional classes. Between 1996 and 2001, a separate Road to the Future award recognized rising stars who had exceeded the rookie eligibility limit; after 2001, the two awards were consolidated into one, before reverting to the Rookie of the Year name in 2020.