OCALA, FL – Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will run the final six races of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing season looking to close out the year on a high note. Hart is pursuing his first NHRA Top Fuel championship and will begin that hunt from the No. 11 spot just 117 points behind Top Fuel point leader and defending world champion Doug Kalitta. Thirteen Top Fuel drivers make up the baker’s dozen of competitors and Hart understands he is the beneficiary of being a consistent but not excellent performer.

“I am not a fan of participation trophies but this R+L Carriers team is going to do everything we can to finish the season on a winning note,” said Hart, a two-time Top Fuel national event winner. “If our success over the next six races leads to a Top Fuel world championship we’ll take it. This class has the best of the best and I truly believe anyone in the playoffs has a shot at the championship. These last six races will be incredibly competitive.”

Over his career Hart has had success at most of the final venues that host Countdown national events. In his rookie season Hart won the Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway, he has raced to the finals and semifinals in two of his three appearances at World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis and at the final two racetracks The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and In-N-Out Burger Drag Strip at Pomona Hart has scored upset round wins and reached the semifinals twice in the past two seasons. Continue reading →

INDIANAPOLIS – Josh Hart, a two-time U.S. Nationals winner in Top Alcohol Dragster, was racing the 70th Toyota NHRA U.S Nationals looking to add a third “Big Go” Wally to his collection. Through three days of qualifying Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team struggled to make consistent power. Their third qualifying run of the event was their best and set the team up in the No. 12 spot heading into race day today. Their 3.772 second, 326.48 mph run on Saturday evening earned the team two qualifying bonus points as the third quickest run of the session.

On the final day of qualifying Hart’s final two qualifying runs did not improve and his team worked late into the evening in preparation for today’s first round versus Tripp Tatum. Tatum, who was racing in his third race of the season, and looking for his second Top Fuel national event win.

“We knew Tripp would be a tough first round opponent, so we dug in to improve our performance,” said Hart, a two-time Top Fuel national event winner. “This was a tough field to even qualify for.” Continue reading →

HUNTINGTON, IN – Brittanie and Josh Hart know that their hometown of Huntington, Indiana, had a big impact on making them a loving family and successful business entrepreneurs. Josh and Brittanie’s romance blossomed at the local Applebee’s and as a young couple they dreamed to building a life together. Today, they returned to Huntington with their two children, Londyn and Banks, to support two organizations with significant donations that are near and dear to their hearts, the high school automotive program at the Huntington County Community Learning Center and United with Love food pantry.

The Harts donated a Snap-On PolarTek® YF A/C Machine, valued at approximately $17,075, to the automotive department and Hart talked with two different groups of students today about following their dreams and the benefits of pursing a career in automotive tech. Dan Niebauer, HCCLC Automotive Instructor, showed off a variety of projects the students are working on as well as their incredible learning environment. Hart spoke with students about building Burnyzz Speed Shop in Ocala, Florida, as well as his R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster operation. Continue reading →

OCALA, FL – Josh Hart has had a magical drag racing career. He has recorded three Top Alcohol Dragster national event wins and two Top Fuel national event wins each with unique backstories. His first and second Top Alcohol Dragster victories came at the most prestigious drag race in the world, the Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals and his first Top Fuel national event win was recorded in his first professional race at his home track, Gainesville Raceway, at the iconic Gatornationals. This weekend at the 70th running of the Toyota U.S. Nationals Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will be looking to rekindle some of that magic and win for the first time in 2024.

“I have to remind myself sometimes that we have recorded some amazing wins,” said Hart, who most recently raced to the semifinals at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd. “Just getting to race at this level is a blessing. I have a great team and great sponsors with R+L Carriers and this sport is very humbling. This season hasn’t been perfect by any stretch of the imagination but there are seven important races left.”

This weekend’s U.S. Nationals will feature points and half for round wins as well as 20 possible bonus points over the five qualifying sessions. Hart will be looking to move up in the Top Ten standings with another strong performance. Following the U.S. Nationals the points will be reset for the six-race Countdown playoffs and Hart could head into the playoffs as high as sixth or seventh which would position him just 70 or 80 points out of first place. Hart would need a larger number of breaks, but the U.S. Nationals have been known to create magical moments. Continue reading →

BRAINERD, MN – At the penultimate NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series regular season national event, the Lucas oil NHRA Nationals, Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster powered to their best finish of the season. The No. 9 qualifier raced to the semifinals upsetting No. 5 qualifier Jasmine Salinas and outrunning No. 12 qualifier Clay Millican before dropping a close race to No. 8 qualifier and eventual winner Justin Ashley in the semifinals. The effort closed the Top Ten point gap heading into the U. S. Nationals in Indianapolis in two weeks and secured a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge during the biggest race of the year.

“This was a good weekend, but I want to get more win lights,” said Hart, racing for the third time at Brainerd International Raceway. “We have a great team and we have made great strides over the past three races. We are going to test tomorrow and put ourselves in position to win the U.S. Nationals and make a serious run for the Top Fuel championship.” Continue reading →

OCALA, FL – With two races remaining in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series regular season Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team are looking to make a move up in the Top Ten. Following the Toyota U.S. Nationals, Labor Day weekend, the points will reset for Hart and the rest of the Top Fuel championship hopefuls. Hart would like to use the Lucas Oil Nationals this weekend at Brainerd International Raceway and U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis as opportunities to grab points and move up in the standings.

“These next two races are critical to our championship hopes,” said Hart, who has been a Top Ten points finisher the previous two seasons. “The higher we get in the Top Ten the closer we are to No. 1. When they reset the points teams are only ten points behind their closest competitor and we could be within a race of the point leader.”

Since Hart’s amazing debut rookie season in 2021, that saw the businessman and entrepreneur from Ocala, Florida, race to two national event wins and half a dozen semifinal finishes, the R+L Carriers team has been working to regain that successful formula. Multiple final rounds have occurred, but wins have been elusive for Hart in a highly competitive Top Fuel class that has been recognized as one of the toughest in recent memory. Continue reading →

SONOMA, CA – Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will leave Sonoma Raceway looking towards the final two regular season races for continued improvement. After two races on the west coast Hart saw some performance improvements but at the conclusion of today’s Sonoma Nationals, the two-time Top Fuel winner is looking to step up in two weeks at the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals. Through two days of qualifying Hart’s R+L Carriers 12,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster was improving every round. In the final qualifying session Hart earned a bonus point for posting the third quickest time of the session. At the end of qualifying Hart was sitting in the No. 12 qualifier position.

“We were making smooth runs in qualifying, and we just need to keep working to get quicker,” said Hart, a 2023 Sonoma Nationals semifinalist. “We made some changes before the western swing, and we are seeing improvement. It never happens fast enough. You look at this class and the separation in elapsed times is a few hundredths or thousandths of a second. We will keep working.”

On race day Hart drew Brittany Force in the first round. Force is the driver just in front of Hart in the points and a round win would go a long way in moving him up in the Top Ten standings. Hart was first off the starting line with a .061 reaction time giving the driver from Ocala, Florida, a .030 advantage as the Top Fuel dragsters accelerated towards the Sonoma Raceway finish line. At halftrack the two race cars were side-by-side but as the finish line stripe closed in Hart lost traction for a split-second robbing him of momentum and allowing Force to move ahead for the win. Continue reading →

Ocala, FL – The past two years Sonoma Raceway has been a welcome stop on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series for Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team. This weekend the two-time Top Fuel national event winner will be looking to the Denso Sonoma Nationals as another opportunity to build momentum heading into the second half of the 2024 NHRA season. Last weekend as the No. 8 qualifier in Seattle Hart raced to the quarterfinals on the heels of two strong days of qualifying. This weekend he will be looking to continue the positive moves in the California wine country.

“Sonoma is a beautiful part of the country, and they really love drag racing,” said Hart. “This will be our third race at Sonoma Raceway and every year we have won more rounds on Sunday, so we are looking for big things this weekend. I was pleased with our effort last weekend in Seattle and I think we are moving in the right direction.”

Prior to Seattle Hart’s team added veteran crew chief John Stewart to work with R+L Carriers Top Fuel team primary crew chief Ron Douglas. During an intense testing session prior to the Northwest Nationals the team saw positive performance improvements that they built on over three days on the track at Pacific Raceways. Racing to the quarterfinals allowed Hart to close the gap on drivers in front of him with three races before the Countdown to the Championship begins following the historic U.S. Nationals. Continue reading →

SEATTLE, WA – After a lengthy layoff following a tough outing at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers team made major changes. This weekend at the Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways outside of Seattle, Washington, Hart had his strongest qualifying effort of the season and raced to the quarterfinals losing a close race to eventual runner-up Shawn Langdon today. Through two days of qualifying Hart’s R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster was the quickest dragster of the first qualifying session on Friday and the second quickest dragster of the final qualifying session yesterday. The team earned five bonus points for the effort and headed into race day as the No. 8 qualifier.

“I was very pleased with how this team bounced back after Norwalk and performed in qualifying this weekend,” said Hart, a two-time Top Fuel national event winner. “We added veteran crew chief John Stewart to work with my primary crew chief Ron Douglas, plus we tested in Indianapolis last week. Those changes are starting to pay off this weekend.”

Going into race day Hart had posted solid qualifying runs of 3.804 seconds and 3.809 seconds in similar conditions. In the Friday night session under cooler conditions Hart stepped up with a 3.748 second run and his first round opponent Antron Brown was slightly quicker with a 3.746 second pass to set him up as the No. 7 qualifier. It was an even match-up pitting two of the best leavers in the category against each other to start race day. Continue reading →

OCALA, FL – The extended break on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule was a chance for many teams to relax and catch their breath before the six-race Countdown in a few months. For Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team the break was the opportunity the team needed to add some key elements and continue to bear down on a championship tune up through testing and organizational adjustments. Last week the team spent three days in Indianapolis testing and working in race day like conditions to get ready for the two race Western Swing which starts this weekend in Seattle at the historic Northwest Nationals from Pacific Raceways. This will be Hart’s third trip to the great northwest and the businessman and team owner is looking to make some history.

“I have never won at Seattle or anywhere that far from Ocala so we would love to set a record for winning that far from home for the R+L Carriers team,” said Hart. “We added John Stewart officially after Norwalk and he has been a great addition. He and (crew chief) Ron (Douglas) went right to work, and we tested in Indy. We were hoping for a couple days but Mother Nature had other plans.” Continue reading →