CHICAGO – For the fourth consecutive NHRA national event Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster team raced to the quarterfinals. Today at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 Nationals Hart, who qualified No. 8, ousted veteran driver Clay Millican in the first round before bowing out to Doug Kalitta in the quarterfinals. After two days of qualifying Hart was confident his team was moving in the right direction, earning qualifying bonus points and positive quick runs throughout the weekend.

“You want to come off the trailer and make quick runs so you don’t get behind the eightball,” said Hart, a multi-time Top Fuel national event winner. “The weather conditions have been all over the place at Route 66 Raceway. On Friday we were one of only a couple teams to make back-to-back runs in the 3.80s and we started building on that.”

Josh Hart and R+L Carriers Top Fuel team raced to their fourth consecutive quarterfinals. photo credit NHRA/National Dragster
On Saturday the temperatures dropped and Hart’s team stepped up the performance and posted their quickest run of qualifying – 3.735 seconds at 329.02 mph. In the final session the team smoked the tires looking for an aggressive tune-up to head into race day. In the opening round running against Millican Hart knew he would need to be at the top of his game. Continue reading →

OCALA, FL – The Burnyzz Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Dodge Challenger and driver Josh Hart will be back in action this weekend at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals. Three weeks ago, Hart raced in his first four-wide race behind the wheel of the black and flamed Dodge Challenger and the newcomer to the small wheel, door-slammer class is ready to continue to tackle a new class. Reaching speeds over 170 mph in just under eight seconds, the factory stock race car is a new experience for Hart, who normally exceeds that speed in just over one second in his R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster.

“It has been a lot of fun so far this season, but we have only had two races and one of those was impacted by rain,” said Hart, who has won in variety of NHRA classes throughout his career. “When this Burnyzz Dodge hooks up and takes off it is a fun ride for sure. David Davies and his DHDR team have been a huge help on the learning curve. I am looking forward to this weekend and continuing to get better. I love the challenge.”

Hart has owned the Dodge Challenger he will be campaigning this weekend since the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series was announced over five years ago. Over the offseason Hart and Davies, a veteran of the factory stock class, talked about how they could work together to get Hart behind the wheel in one of the most competitive door-slammer classes in the NHRA. Continue reading →

OCALA, FL – Five races into the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team have made significant strides. The championship contending team has set performance records and posted consistently quick times in qualifying and on race day. Heading into the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals the team is looking to start extending their round win streak on Sundays.

“We have all the pieces in place to have a lot of success. We just need to put them all together on the same weekend,” said Hart, a multi-time Top Fuel national event winner. “We have run in the 3.60s again and we are making full pulls under power. We have been working on several things on the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster to just get quicker at every increment down the track and we are seeing positive results. I am excited to get to Chicago.”

This will be Hart’s third time trying to win the Wally at the super-track located just outside of Chicago at Route 66 Raceway. In Hart’s first appearance at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 Nationals he raced to a runner-up finish as the No. 12 qualifier. He outran Antron Brown, Jacon McNeal and TJ Zizzo before falling to Clay Millican in the final. Last year Hart also qualified No. 12 and was upended in the opening round by Shawn Reed. Continue reading →

CONCORD, NC – The American Rebel Light NHRA Four-Wide Nationals wrapped up today at zMax Dragway with Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team racing to the second round and moving closer to locking down a hot weather tune-up. Hart made consistently quick runs on Friday with cool temperatures and when the weather warmed up on Saturday and Sunday Hart’s team of crew chiefs got busy working on a solid performance package for the championship contending team.

Hart raced to the final quad on Saturday during the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge picking up championship points as well as bonus money. In the first round Hart out raced Shawn Reed and Clay Millican to advance to the Mission Challenge final quad with Antron Brown. In the final quad which was also the final qualifying session Hart was securely in the field racing Brown, Doug Kalitta and Steve Torrence. He came up short of the victory but got valuable data to head into race day on a warmer track.

“The Mission Challenge is a great event to have especially when conditions change during qualifying,” said Hart, a multi-time Top Fuel champion. “The crew gets into race mode and it helps me as a driver too. We are working on a set up for tracks that are 120 degrees so the more runs we can make the better.” Continue reading →

OCALA, FL – The Four-Wide Nationals format has been a tricky transition for several teams since it was introduced at zMax Dragway over a decade ago. For Josh Hart, driver and owner of the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster team, the move from racing one competitor to three opponents at one time has been a positive work in progress. He has raced to the final quad a number of times but has yet to turn on three win lights. This weekend Hart will be looking for his first four-wide win and second win at zMax Dragway when the American Rebel Light Four-Wide Nationals gets underway with two qualifying sessions on Friday, April 25.

“We have had success at zMax Dragway and our R+L Carriers team is moving in the right direction,” said Hart, a multi-time Top Fuel national event winner. “Las Vegas was a hot track and we have seen every kind of track conditions this season. I talked to my crew chiefs after the race and we feel like we have a tune up that can be competitive this weekend. I am looking forward to getting back out there.”

Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team are ready for three win lights at zMax Dragway this weekend. Continue reading →

LAS VEGAS – The first four-wide race of the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series threw a number of curveballs at every Top Fuel dragster but Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team made the best of a tough situation. After stellar conditions at the Winternationals two weeks ago provided Hart’s team the opportunity to run some near record quick passes, extreme heat and wind this weekend challenged his crew chief trio of Ron Douglas, Jason McCulloch and Joe Barlam. Following two days of qualifying Hart entered race day as the No. 10 qualifier and was slotted in a quad that included Shawn Reed, Brittany Force and Terry Totten.

In the first round Hart jumped off the starting line and got the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster out in front where he was second to the finish line behind Reed. It was a close win in front of Force and advanced Hart to the second round for the second race in a row. The win also provides Hart the chance to once again participate in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge in two weeks at zMax Dragway racing for $10,000 and championship points on the line.

“I was glad to get that first round win today,” said Hart, a multi-time Top Fuel national event winner. “That was a tough quad with Shawn who I was in the final with at the PRO Superstar Shootout and you can’t discount the Force team. We held on just enough to get the win.” Continue reading →

OCALA, FL – Josh Hart has never relied on luck throughout his racing or business career. The fifth year professional Top Fuel driver of the R+L Carriers dragster has been meticulous in his planning and building of his team going back to his rookie season in 2021. The owner of Burnyzz Speed Shop in Ocala, Florida, has used the same mindset that grew that company into a horsepower powerhouse to build his Top Fuel team heading into the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals, April 11-13 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“You can’t rely on luck getting you win lights,” said Hart, a multi-time Top Fuel national event winner. “You have to work hard and put in the time to get results. Sometimes things will go your way, but out here you have to be at your best, every run. We have been making strides this season that I feel will pay off during this four-wide race.”

Over the off-season Hart added Jason McCulloch and Joe Barlam to his crew chief line-up alongside veteran tuner Ron Douglas. The trio of crew chiefs that Hart refers to as his “Three Musketeers” set about building a sustainable tune-up that could carry the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team to the NHRA Mission Foods world championship. Two weeks ago, at the historic NHRA Winternationals Hart posted some of his quickest elapsed times in over a year and raced to the quarterfinals. At the conclusion of the race Hart could see progress and was looking forward to the first four-wide nationals of the season. Continue reading →

POMONA, CA – Three races into the 2025 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season Top Fuel championship contender Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers made a significant move at the 65th NHRA Winternationals. The team qualified No. 6 on the strength of their 3.675 second run on Friday night and moved into race day with lane choice and confidence. On race day Hart powered to the quarterfinals after outrunning Justin Ashley and dropping his quarterfinal race to Top Fuel point leader Shawn Langdon.

In the opening round Hart squared off with Ashley in a battle of two of the best drivers on the starting line. Both 12,000-horsepowered Top Fuel dragsters launched together but Hart’s R+L Carriers race car was on another smooth and exceedingly quick run matching his best elapsed time of qualifying, with a winning 3.675 second run at 322.67 mph. Ashley smoked the tires in the left lane and had to watch as Hart pulled away for the win.

In the quarterfinals Hart faced Langdon and once again it was a toss-up between two great reaction time drivers and strong race cars. Langdon had lane choice with a slight first round elapsed time advantage, 3.668 seconds to Hart’s 3.675 seconds. The Christmas Tree fired off and Hart’s race car immediately overpowered the track and Langdon powered down the left lane. Continue reading →

OCALA, FL – Josh Hart will never shrink from a challenge. The entrepreneur who along with his wife Brittanie built Burnyzz Speed Shop into a car restoration, speed shop and horsepower powerhouse is looking at the upcoming Winternationals, the third race of the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series as another opportunity for success. The first two races of the season have been impacted by rain in Florida and high heat in Arizona. The R+L Carriers Top Fuel team is looking to get to southern California and use the info they have picked up to turn on win lights and move up in the early season point standings.

“Mother Nature wasn’t very kind to any of the teams in Florida for the Gatornationals and then last weekend in Arizona it was our first hot race of the season. The good news is we tried three different tune-ups and came away with one we think will keep us on track moving forward,” said Hart. “The Winternationals is an amazing event. There is a lot of history here and we want to really get after it starting this Friday in qualifying.” Continue reading →