There are Power Tours, and then there are statements. For 2026, Hot Rod Power Tour isn’t just rolling out another multi-day road trip. It’s planting its flag squarely in American hot-rodding mythology and pointing the nose of the convoy straight down Route 66.

According to the announcement, Power Tour 2026 will run June 2026, stretching across multiple states as thousands of hot rods, muscle cars, late-model performance machines, customs, and survivor iron thunder westward from the Midwest toward the Pacific. Full event details, dates, and city-by-city stop information are being maintained by Hot Rod and can be found on the official event page here:

https://www.hotrod.com/events/2026-hot-rod-power-tour-route-66-dates-locations

Route 66 Was Built for This

Route 66 isn’t just a line on a map. It’s a time machine. Opened in 1926, the same year Hot Rod Power Tour celebrates its own 30th anniversary, the Mother Road carried early hot rodders, dry lakes racers, and postwar muscle west in search of speed, opportunity, and open pavement. From neon-lit towns and desert straights to mountain passes and sunbaked asphalt, this road has seen every era of American performance roll across it.

That history matters. Power Tour has always been about more than dyno sheets and show fields. It’s about driving your car, fixing it in hotel parking lots, bench racing at fuel stops, and earning every mile. Route 66 amplifies that ethos. This is not a trailer-queen tour. It’s a road trip with consequences, and that’s exactly why people keep coming back.

Big Miles, Bigger Energy

If you’ve ever attended Power Tour, you already know the scale. We’re talking thousands of cars, tens of thousands of participants and spectators, and entire towns temporarily overrun by camshaft lope, supercharger whine, and the smell of race fuel mixed with sunscreen. Each stop becomes its own mini-event, drag strips, autocrosses, show-and-shines, vendor midway chaos, and that familiar buzz of “What’s under the hood?" conversations that never really stop.

For 2026, expect that energy to be dialed up another notch. The Route 66 theme brings with it a sense of pilgrimage. This isn’t just about checking boxes or collecting event stickers. It’s about saying you drove it, across states, through heat, traffic, and whatever mechanical curveballs your car decides to throw at you along the way.

Why This One Matters

Hot Rod Power Tour has evolved over the years, but this announcement feels like a return to the soul of the event. Route 66 is accessible yet legendary. It welcomes everything from iron-block Fox-body street fighters and big-inch FE swaps to modern Coyotes, LS-powered anything, and vintage tin still wearing its original scars.

For Ford performance fans especially, the Mother Road has deep roots. Flathead Fords, early OHV swaps, Boss-era muscle, and today’s boosted modular combinations all trace their lineage through the same roadside garages and outlaw strips that once lined Route 66. Seeing that history collapse into one moving, weeklong celebration is what makes Power Tour different from any static show.

The Countdown Starts Now

There’s still more to come, daily routes, host venues, and official schedules will continue to be updated by Hot Rod as planning progresses. But the headline is already clear: Power Tour 2026 isn’t just another road trip. It’s a greatest-hits album of American car culture, played live on the road that started it all.

If you’ve ever said, “One of these years, I’m going to do Power Tour," this might be the one. Route 66 doesn’t come around twice.

For the latest official details and updates, head straight to Hot Rod’s event coverage here:

https://www.hotrod.com/events/2026-hot-rod-power-tour-route-66-dates-locations

Start prepping now. The Mother Road is calling, and it expects you to answer at wide-open throttle.

SOURCE: MustangWorks.com