IHRA has cancelled the Spring Creek Marina World Finals, the event due to close out the inaugural 2026 season of the IHRA Outlaw Drag Boat Racing Series in San Angelo, Texas, on October 2-4. The organisation confirmed the news in a statement posted to the official IHRA Outlaw Drag Boat Series Facebook page on Tuesday, July 21.
IHRA statement, July 21:
While the event was expected to serve as the championship finale for the inaugural season of the IHRA Outlaw Drag Boat Racing Series, IHRA leadership has determined that canceling the event is necessary to ensure the long-term stability and future growth of the organization’s marine racing divisions.
IHRA said operational costs and organisational investments had exceeded initial projections as the season progressed, prompting a reassessment of the remaining schedule. The statement thanked the City of San Angelo, Spring Creek Marina, racers, teams, sponsors and fans, and said further detail on marine racing plans for 2027 would follow. It did not say how, or whether, 2026 series champions will be determined from the season’s completed rounds.
The Second IHRA Marine Finale Lost This Month
Outlaw Drag Boat Racing joins IHRA Offshore in losing its 2026 finale. IHRA cut its remaining offshore, F1 and outlaw drag boat schedules to one event each on June 30, reducing Outlaw Drag Boat Racing to the Spring Creek Marina World Finals alone. That single remaining round has now gone too.
The Mercury Racing Midwest Challenge in Sheboygan, meant to decide the 2026 Offshore National Championship, was cancelled in mid-July, with champions instead crowned from points already earned. Of IHRA’s three marine powerboat series, only F1 completed its finale as scheduled, at Alton on July 19.
The pattern extends beyond the water. IHRA cancelled the remainder of its 2026 Nitro Drag Racing Series and cut staff on July 9, and its Stock Car Series remainder shortly after.
IHRA has now cancelled the remaining 2026 schedule, in whole or in part, for four of its national series: Outlaw Drag Boat Racing, Offshore Racing, Nitro Drag Racing and Stock Car. Only IHRA F1 ran its season to completion as originally planned.
A Short Debut Season
Outlaw Drag Boat Racing launched in 2026 following IHRA’s acquisition of the Southern Drag Boat Association, bringing Top Fuel Hydro and national-level organisation to a sport that had run for decades as a regional circuit. The series completed rounds at Paris, Texas in May, and Wheatland, Missouri and San Angelo in June, before the World Finals cancellation brought the debut season to a close without its planned climax.
IHRA Coverage on Powerboat News
Every schedule change, cancellation and result from IHRA’s 2026 powerboat season.
IHRA Coverage
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
