OCALA, FL – Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will be rolling into the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals hoping the third time’s the charm when it comes to securing their elusive first four-wide national title. The past two years Hart has raced to the final quad at zMax Dragway and as recently as two weeks ago the owner of Burnyzz Speed Shop in Ocala, Florida, reached the final quad at the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals. Hart and his Top Fuel team have yet to see the third win light on Sunday of the unique race. He has started from the top half of the field in each of the past two four-wide races and has never started a race in Charlotte from the bottom half.

“I enjoy racing at zMax Dragway and we have had some success there,” said Hart, who won his second career Top Fuel title at the Fall NHRA national event in 2021. “It has been a while since we turned on three or four win lights there to get that Wally trophy and I feel like we have a team that can compete for wins every weekend. We haven’t gotten off to the kind of start I wanted to this season, but we made progress in Pomona and Las Vegas.”

Hart burst onto the scene in 2021 racing a partial schedule, winning his first Top Fuel race as well as the Charlotte Countdown race in addition to nearly half a dozen semifinal finishes. Last year Hart raced to two final rounds, but a third win eluded the driver who took on the full schedule with a young team and a brand new 12,000-horsepower R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster. The learning curve was steep, but Hart was undeterred and finished the season No. 7 in the world in Top Fuel.

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LAS VEGAS, NV – Today Josh Hart turned his luck around at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway racing to the semifinals at the Las Vegas NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. In two previous four-wide races in Las Vegas Hart, a two-time Top Fuel winner, never saw a win light. Ironically, at the next stop on the tour, the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Hart has reached the final quad two years in a row. This weekend Hart also reversed a trend of early exits this season that has plagued him since he won the Pep Boys Top Fuel Allstar Callout race and its $80,000 top prize at the Gatornationals in March.

“Today’s performance was 100% my team,” said Hart. “I have been battling a neck injury that happened early Friday morning. I’ve been trying to stretch it out and I investigated getting a chiropractor out here, but it didn’t work out. My reaction times were absolutely pitiful all weekend. Throughout qualifying I was hoping to get any kind of decent reaction time and the same thing today. This team deserved to win this race. They busted their butts for me all weekend and we will be ready for Charlotte.”

His R+L Carriers Top Fuel team posted consistent elapsed times through all four sessions on Friday and Saturday sending the championship contender into race day as the No. 7 qualifier. In the first round he reached the finish line first just in front of Steve Torrence to advance to the season round. Hart and Torrence outran veteran Doug Kalitta and up and coming star Buddy Hull. Hart’s winning time of 3.768 seconds was the second quickest of the advancing drivers and allowed his team to have second lane choice in the following round versus Torrence, Shawn Langdon, and Mike Salinas.

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OCALA, FL – After a big win at the Pep Boys Top Fuel Allstar Callout race Josh Hart, one of the rising stars of the NHRA, has cooled off, missing the opportunity to race beyond the quarterfinals in the first three races of the season. The entrepreneur from Ocala, Florida knows his fortunes will change for the better and he is focusing on the Las Vegas NHRA Four-Wide Nationals as the race to make a move this weekend. This will be Hart and the R+L Carriers second four-wide national event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and fourth four-wide event of his career. The two-time Top Fuel national event winner is looking to bring some of his successes on the east coast in the four-wide races to the desert.

“I think it is just a coincidence that we have raced to the final round both races in Charlotte, and we haven’t been able to do that in Las Vegas,” said Hart. “This weekend I feel good about our chances because we really figured some things out over the past two races, especially in Pomona. I am comfortable and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster is running well.”

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POMONA, CA – After a tough race at the NHRA Arizona Nationals last weekend Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster made major strides this weekend at the NHRA Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals. The rising star from Ocala, Florida made three solid qualifying runs Friday and Saturday posting times of 3.769, 3.773 and 3.782 seconds all under power. The winner of the 2023 Pep Boys Top Fuel Allstar Callout event rolled into race day as the No. 9 qualifier and a tough match-up with Steve Torrence.

Knowing he needed to step up on the performance side in the first round Hart and his Ron Douglas tuned 12,000-horsepowered R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster made their quickest run of the weekend a solid 3.756 second run at 326.32 mph. Hart was also first off the line with a tremendous .027 reaction time, quickest of the session to give his team the best shot at advancing to the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, even with Hart’s stellar starting line performance and the improved run by the R+L Carrier dragster he dropped a close race by .002 seconds.

“My awesome co-crew chief, Dave Gaterell and my crew chief Ron Douglas told me I could do whatever I wanted in qualifying to get more acclimated to the car,” said Hart. “I’m super grateful for them putting up with me and I found my groove at the Winternationals. The shallower you stage the lower your ET be. We had a bracket car all weekend and it was a great reset. We got our car back and we needed to get the driver back, so they agreed to let me do whatever I wanted in staging. I feel great now.”

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OCALA, FL – Josh Hart started the season with three win lights on Saturday of the NHRA Amalie Oil Gatornationals pocketing $80,000 and the Pep Boys Top Fuel Allstar Callout title but since that specialty race victory Hart and the R+L Carriers team has been battling to get back to the winner’s circle. The team is hopeful this weekend’s Lucas Oil Winternationals at In-N Out Pomona Drag Strip will be the perfect antidote to a slower than usual start for the team from Ocala, Florida.

“I can’t wait to get to the Winternationals. Since we won the Pep Boys Allstar Callout we have been battling some gremlins in our new R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster,” said Hart, a two-time Top Fuel national event winner. “We are creating a lot of power very early and that hurt us in Phoenix. I know the guys are going to get it figured out and we will be ready for Pomona in a few days.”

With just two races completed this season Hart has captured the biggest prize in Top Fuel winning the Pep Boys Top Fuel Allstar Callout. On the opening Saturday of the season Hart outran Austin Prock, Brittany Force and Mike Salinas to win $80,000 and a one-of-a-kind Pep Boys Allstar Callout trophy in front of his hometown fans and family. It was the second significant win for Hart at Gainesville Raceway following his 2021 Top Fuel national event win in his first professional start.

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CHANDLER, AZ – Today at the final NHRA Arizona Nationals 2023 Pep Boys Top Fuel Allstar Callout winner Josh Hart was looking to add another historic win to his ledger. Racing the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster in the desert for just the second time in his career Hart and his Ron Douglas tuned 12,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster rolled into race day as the No. 12 qualifier. Last year Hart raced to the semifinals from the No. 8 position outrunning Leah Pruett and Rob Passey before dropping a close race to veteran Clay Millican.

After two days of qualifying that saw Hart and his team battle tough track conditions that befuddled all the nitro teams Friday and Saturday he drew reigning Top Fuel champion Brittany Force in the first round. Hart held a 4-6 career head-to-head record with Force and was looking to close the gap with a win in the first round.

Both drivers staged and they each leapt off the starting line with Force moving smoothly off the line and Hart overpowering the track almost immediately. It was an issue the team had been battling for the previous two days. Force posted the quickest run of the weekend at over 336 mph. After his quick exit Hart reflected on how the team will correct the issue and move forward at the next race.

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OCALA, FL – Last year Josh Hart made his Arizona debut at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park racing his R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster to the semifinals. The third year pro is looking to add two more win lights to his Sunday this year and win the final NHRA Arizona Nationals Wally. The Ocala, Florida racer and business owner is off to a hot start so far in 2023 winning the Pep Boys Top Fuel Allstar Callout two weeks ago at the NHRA Gatornationals. The $80,000 winner-take-all payday in front of his hometown fans and family was a great momentum builder for the season and Hart’s R+L Carriers team.

“We saw the first big money win light of the season on Saturday of the Gatornationals winning the Pep Boys Allstar Callout and I talked about how great the win was but also how this sport will humble you very quickly,” said Hart, who also won his first career Top Fuel race in 2021 at Gainesville Raceway. “We celebrated on Saturday with our team and lots of our staff from Burnyzz Speed Shop. Then we got serious for Sunday. Ron Douglas and my guys gave me an amazing race car and I didn’t take advantage of it.”

On Sunday morning racing in the first pair of Top Fuel dragsters Hart was second off the line against eight-time Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher and his race day was over in spite of making his quickest pass of the weekend. Hart’s R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster crossed the finish line 3.693 seconds after it left the starting line at a career best speed of 335.40 mph. It was a disappointing end to a magical weekend to start the season. At the end of the day Hart reflected on the high of winning the Pep Boys Callout with the low of not advancing further on race day.

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GAINESVILLE, FL – Yesterday Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster took home the $80,000 top prize as the Pep Boys Top Fuel Allstar Callout specialty race winner. During his post-event press conference, the 2021 Gatornationals winner talked about how humbling the sport of drag racing can be. Through two days of qualifying Hart steadily improved entering race day as the No. 7 qualifier on the strength of his Allstar Callout winning pass which was also his final qualifying run of 3.748 seconds at 331.53 mph. In the first round Hart drew five-time Gatornationals winner Tony Schumacher.

The R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster team and Hart were looking for their fourth consecutive winlight of the weekend in the first round of race day. Crew chief Ron Douglas continued his tradition of starting the race as the first pair of Top Fuel dragsters and on a track with the best conditions of the weekend the team was ready to keep their winning streak alive at Gainesville Raceway.

Hart’s team made their quickest run of the weekend flying down the right lane in 3.693 seconds at 335.40 mph, both career best marks. Unfortunately, Schumacher was off the starting line first getting his 12,000-horsepower dragster out in front and holding off a charging Hart at the finish line. For Hart, the two-time national event winner, and Pep Boys Allstar Callout champion the Arizona Nationals in two weeks will be his next chance to pick up his first win of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series.

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OCALA, FL – Third year Top Fuel driver Josh Hart has been waiting for the start of the 2023 NHRA Gatornationals since he pulled the chutes for the last time at the NHRA Auto Club Finals in Pomona last November. The young driver from Ocala, Florida, battled through a tough sophomore season that saw the two-time Top Fuel winner only advance to two final rounds and his R+L Carriers/TechNet team chased consistency for 22 races. This weekend is a fresh start for one of the teams tabbed as a championship contender led by a rising star in the NHRA.

“I am putting 2022 behind me and totally focusing on racing for the championship in 2023,” said Hart. “I have a brand-new race car that I have never been more comfortable in. My crew chief Ron Douglas and the crew guys have been working their tails off all off-season. I am mentally ready to go out there and win races. I have won the Gatornationals before and I would like to get back into that winner’s circle.”

Hart stood in the Gainesville Raceway winner’s circle at the conclusion of his first Top Fuel national event as a professional, something only six other drivers have ever accomplished. In 2021 the successful Top Alcohol Dragster racer made the jump to Top Fuel, qualified No. 8 and then outran Clay Millican, Steve Torrence, Justin Ashley and Shawn Langdon to capture the Gatornationals Top Fuel title. Hart’s friend and NHRA legend Don “Big Daddy” Garlits was in attendance and shared the moment with the new star.

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Wilmington, OH – Following a highly successful 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series campaign that saw second-year Top Fuel driver Josh Hart finish seventh in the world, R+L Carriers has extended their sponsorship of the Ocala, Florida-based driver and team for the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. The partnership will focus on the dynamic business-to-business relationships and marketing opportunities for R+L Carriers, one of the nation’s leaders in the freight-shipping industry. This marketing relationship will showcase the wide variety of business opportunities R+L Carriers provides their customers.

“We had an amazing season in 2022, racing across the country and speaking with thousands of fans about what a great company R+L Carriers is and the shipping opportunities available in a variety of areas,” said Hart. “The company’s family roots and customer service are excellent; they truly deliver. I trust R+L Carriers to transport my team and 11,000-horsepower race car to every race. I’ve met several hardworking drivers, dedicated support staff and everyone in between. Now’s the time to start shipping with one of the best freight transportation companies in America.”

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