Bradenton Motorsports Park to make history with $1M prize for event series

Bradenton Motorsports Park, a drag racing facility off State Road 64, is poised to make history this winter. It is hosting an event called the 2025-2026 Drag Illustrated Winter Series that will award $1 million to a Pro Modified driver who can win all three races. (Pro Modified is a class of drag racing with cars based on popular production vehicles that feature opening-and-closing doors with few restrictions on engine size, horsepower or body modification.)

“This is the largest performance-based payout in drag racing history,” writes Wes Buck, founder of the trade publication Drag Illustrated. The publication has partnered with racing operation Elite Motorsports to sponsor the winter series, which will consist of three races: the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals (Dec. 5–7), U.S. Street Nationals (Jan. 23–25, 2026) and the World Series of Pro Mod (Feb. 26–28, 2026).

“This isn’t for the faint of heart. You’re going to have to beat the best, on the biggest stage, under the brightest lights,” Richard Freeman, owner of Elite Motorsports, says in a statement. “But somebody out there is going to do it — and I can’t wait to shake their hand when they do.”