Air Races lineup announced

The lineup of pilots and aircraft for the 2026 National Championship Air Races in Roswell has been announced by the Air Races’ producers.

The Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) announced the lineups this week for the second annual National Championship Air Races at the Roswell Air Center (ROW).

The Air Races will run Sept. 16-20.

This year, fans will experience what a full house of action-packed racing looks like in Roswell, with the return of the Sport and Unlimited classes. All seven race classes will compete at Roswell for the first time, and a new course for the Jet class will be introduced, RARA announced.

To see the full list of racers and planes from each class or to purchase tickets, visit www.airrace.org

“We’re ecstatic to announce our September Family is whole once again at the National Championship Air Races,” said Fred Telling, CEO of RARA. “Following extensive, collaborative discussions across all classes, our vision of a wide-open, full house has come to fruition. This September, both first-time attendees and lifelong fans will experience the power of the complete racing roster roaring through Roswell.”

The 2026 lineup brings together an extraordinary field of aviation talent, including returning 2025 champions Josh Watson (Formula One), Tom Marden (Biplane), Chris LeFave (T-6), Bob McCormack (Jet) and Eddie Sanches (STOL — 2nd place).

The return of the Unlimited and Sport classes adds additional excitement, with competitors Steven Hinton, Vicky Benzing, Brent Hisey, Dennis Sanders, Tom McNerney, Conrad Huffstutler and more joining the action.

“Nearly 90 elite pilots from across the United States and around the globe, from Australia and Switzerland to Wyoming and California, will converge in Roswell to compete in one of aviation’s most thrilling spectacles,” NARA reported.

“The NCAR pilots will push their aircraft to the edge in the world’s only event featuring seven classes of high-speed, wingtip-to-wingtip air racing. As if the return of all seven race classes wasn’t thrilling enough, this year’s races will also feature the Jet Class “Mach Course” — a nod to the speed, sound and spectacle of jet racing,” the announcement said.

“While the 600-mph limit remains technically below the speed of sound, the new course represents a major step forward in competitive air racing performance, giving fans a longer, faster and more dynamic jet course under FAA-approved procedures and class qualification requirements,” NARA reported.

“Last year was a successful first year in our new home, but having the entire family back together this year is going to be fantastic. From the start, we knew ROW would expand what was possible for the National Championship Air Races,” said Tony Logoteta, president and COO of RARA.

“This year, that includes the debut of a new course and new aircraft, a pair of MiG-17s to be specific,” Logoteta said. “This represents a major milestone as a course of this size and speed simply wasn’t possible before. Roswell provides the space and operating environment needed to advance the sport safely and responsibly, and we’re grateful to the Jet Class, the FAA, Roswell Air Center, and everyone whose collaboration made this addition possible.”

Tickets are still available for this year’s races. From single-day to weeklong passes and hospitality packages, there are plenty of options for families, fans and road trippers alike to be a part of the air races this year, RARA reported.

While rooms in Roswell are limited, hotel and short-term rental options are also available in surrounding communities such as Artesia, Ruidoso, Alamogordo and Portales. Attendees looking for on-site options are encouraged to take advantage of the event’s increased RV camping availability, providing the easiest way to travel to ROW and attend the air races while enjoying plenty of space.

All lodging options can be viewed on the “Plan Your Trip” page of the National Championship Air Race’s website. Furthermore, those who wish to personally fly to Roswell can reserve aircraft parking spots at Roswell Air Center’s FBO, Avflight, website here.

While the 2026 event is set to return with all seven racing classes, there will also be performances by the USAF Thunderbirds, several “hands-on” displays and experiences including the STEM Education Discovery Zone, military and civilian demonstrations, incredible static displays, and more.

Woods heads up people moving

When they learned the National Championship Air Races were coming to Roswell, members of the New Mexico Pilots Association (NMPA) were excited to help ensure success.

Joyce Woods, an NMPA member and pilot from Albuquerque, spoke to the Roswell Rotary Club about moving people around the Sept. 16-20 Air Races, which are expected to attract 75,000-80,000 fans.

She said that to support the transition of the races from Reno, NMPA volunteers brought experience from hosting various aviation events statewide. Most served as “Wing Walkers” recruited by NMPA’s Chet Leach, helping safely move race and display aircraft, while others drove trams or worked in the VIP Chalets.

Joyce Woods

 

Joyce will lead an expanded People Mover operation at this year’s Air Races.

“While the huge Roswell ramp offers incredible potential for future event growth, it is many times larger than it was at Reno. The Reno Air Racing Association has secured nine Trams (vs. five last year) to help attendees get off their feet,” Joyce said.

“Thus, more volunteers are needed this year to manage the expected crowd increase, especially on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — Sept. 18, 19, and 20. There will be defined stops and regular service serving Parking and RV lots, a main ramp loop, and the Pits, in addition to handicap shuttles.”

 

Addressing the Roswell Rotary Club, Joyce thanked 2025 volunteers, noting that “your members stepped up to make it happen last year!  You tackled first-year challenges, and many of you worked the entire week.”

Volunteers are being recruited beyond the Roswell Rotary, but Joyce said she’s “counting on you to return as the experienced core.”

Subtle changes should make it easier and more fun with scheduled breaks, a volunteer break tent, and so forth, she added.

Joyce stressed the importance of the People Mover team to ensure return visitors: “You set the tone as the first and last people that attendees see. Rides offer welcome relief throughout the day and help visitors enjoy the full event.”

 

Joyce is a retired engineer and has been flying since 1993. For the 2025 race week, Joyce flew to Roswell in her Cessna Hawk XP and shares her favorable experience to encourage other fly-in visitors.

The New Mexico Pilots Association promotes general aviation, aviation safety, pilot camaraderie, and preservation of airfields and airspace.  Members include private and commercial pilots who fly for recreation, business, or personal transportation.

The Roswell Rotary Club is currently lining up members to help move fans around the National Air Races grounds.

Steve Smith, the club president, reported that openings for members include: Tram driver, tram conductor, tram stop attendant, and handicap shuttle driver.

Last year, Rotary Club members worked 478 hours helping move fans around the National Championship Air Races, Smith said.

Emergency runway racing key

Fred Telling, CEO and Board chairman of the group that produces the National Championship Air Races, said an important key is being turned for the Roswell event.

Speaking to the Roswell Rotary Club, Telling said the Brown Brothers Ranch, over which race pilots fly, “is allowing us to build an emergency runway on their ranch property.”

The lack of an emergency runway had resulted in two popular classes of air racers — the Sport Class and the Unlimited Class — failing to compete in the 2025 Air Races.

The Sport Class is composed of aircraft currently being manufactured, while the Unlimited Class is made up of World War II aircraft.

“Right now, we probably have 80 aircraft participating, but I believe we will have over 100 aircraft for races this year,” Telling said, adding, “I’m optimistic we’ll have at least 12 in the Unlimited Class.”

A big draw at this year’s Air Races on Sept. 16-20 will be the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds precision flying team.

Telling

 

The team will be visible on Sept. 17 and 18 when they do “full big holiday practice flights, and then on Sept. 19 and 20 when they repeat their show.”

Telling said that one of the days, the Thunderbird crews will be given a 

police escort “down Main Street from their hotel to the airfield.”

He said one of the bigger challenges for the Air Races is hotel space. In addition to Roswell hotels and motels to house the estimated 75,000-80,000 people expected at the races, RV sites will be available at the airport and in the community.

Telling said Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell will be showing movies for RV campers on several nights at its campus near the airport, as well as making its swimming pool and gymnasium available.

He complimented Artesia, 40 miles south of Roswell, “for organizing a band and other activities nearly every night. They had things going on in the street for the people who were staying down there. The town was very welcoming, and it was great.”

The National Championship Air Races are produced every September by the Reno Air Racing Association. The event was founded in Northern Nevada, where it became an institution and the pinnacle of air racing before moving to Roswell.

UFO Museum major Roswell attraction

The International UFO Museum and Research Center in downtown Roswell features a park at the city's major highway intersection.

Roswell is fortunate to have two of the largest tourism draws — one old and one new — in the Southwest.

The National Championship Air Races in Roswell, which moved from Reno to New Mexico, expects to attract 75,000-80,000 people during its Sept. 16-20 run.

This will be the second year the air races have been held in Roswell.

The other and older major draw is the International UFO Museum and Research Center, which last year attracted 191,566 visitors.

Typically, the UFO Museum attracts 245,000 visitors annually, though this figure fluctuates, usually with gasoline prices.

While attendance in 2025 was down around 7 percent from the previous year, the number of visitors was up in April and May to 13,811 and 16,013, respectively.

This is pretty normal in the tourism trade, which relies on regional visitors who usually drive to museums.

The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs reports its properties showed a decline last year, reflecting a “national trend of declining museum attendance in 2025.”

Among the department’s museums are the N.M. History Museum, the N.M. Museum of Art, the Museum of International Folk Art, and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, all in Santa Fe.

The Department of Cultural Affairs also operates the N.M. Museum of Space History in Alamogordo, the N.M. Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces, and the N.M. Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque.

For decades, Roswell’s UFO Museum has usually ranked as the most-visited museum in New Mexico. That comparison is difficult to make now, as the Department of Cultural Affairs recently reported, “No official 2025 attendance figure for all New Mexico state museums is available.”

The UFO Museum, which started out displaying pieces of paper thumbtacked to the walls in a storefront, now occupies a one-block site in downtown Roswell.

The site includes the museum and theater, one of the world’s largest libraries on the UFO phenomenon, several parking areas, and a park.

The UFO Museum has also spawned the Roswell UFO Festival, which this year will run July 2-4.

John Quiñones, ABC News correspondent who reports for Good Morning America, was part of a live sequence this month from Roswell. He is shown at the UFO Museum with Cat Martinez (left), assistant director, and Karen Jaramillo, Museum director.

Air races expect huge attendance

Roswell Deputy City Manager Bobbi Thompson said she expects 75,000-80,000 people to be in Roswell for the 2026 National Championship Air Races.

Thompson, a longtime Board member of the group that produces the National Championship Air Races in Roswell, said several factors are contributing to her expectations of high attendance at the Sept. 16-20 races.

Speaking to the Roswell Rotary Club, she said one reason is “we have the two classes that were not here last year, the Sport Class and the Unlimited Class.

“The Sport Class is aircraft that are manufactured today. Unlimited, for the most part, are World War II fighter aircraft. Your P-51s, Sea Furys, and even a couple of Yaks, the Russian fighters.

“And then, to make things even better this year, besides seven classes of air racing, we’re introducing a course to get certified by the FAA, and that is what we're calling our Mach course. So that’s 600-mile-per-hour racing,” Thompson said, adding that is 700 feet a second.

Also expected to boost attendance is the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds precision flying team.

Thompson said the first Thunderbird F-16 aircraft “will arrive on Wednesday, the 16th, and then the other seven jets will arrive on Thursday, and a C-130 will come in with the 70 crew members that accompany them to maintain and take care of the aircraft and the teams.”

Roswell and the air races are expected to receive national publicity when the “Good Morning America” television show arrives in Roswell later in June.

“They’re doing a series of programs to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our great country by doing a program produced in every state. For New Mexico, Roswell,” Thompson said.

She currently serves as the Reno Air Racing Association’s vice president of strategic planning.

The National Championship Air Races are produced every September by the Reno Air Racing Association. The event was founded in Northern Nevada, where it became an institution and the pinnacle of air racing before moving to Roswell.

Thompson’s aviation career spans more than 40 years. She is a 4,500-hour pilot, rated in single- and multi-engine fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and has more than 35 years of experience producing air shows.

Thunderbirds to fly in Roswell

The Air Force Thunderbirds aerial acrobatic team will perform at the 2026 National Championship Air Races in Roswell, N.M.

This year’s races will be Sept. 16-20 at the Roswell Air Center.

Fred Telling, chairman and CEO of the races, said, “The enthusiasm and commitment we’ve seen from the racing community, the City of Roswell, and our partners across New Mexico gives us great confidence that 2026 will build on the tremendous success of our inaugural year here.”

The Air Races moved to Roswell from Reno in 2025.

Roswell Air Races in September

The 2026 National Championship Air Races have been scheduled for Sept. 16-20 in Roswell, N.M., said Fred Telling, chairman and CEO of the races.

This is the second year the Air Races will be held at the Roswell Air Center.

Tickets for the Air Races are expected to go on sale in March.