HART RIDES NO. 3 START TO QUARTERFINAL FINISH

TOPEKA, KS – Racing today from the lofty No. 3 qualifying position, Josh Hart drove the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster into the quarterfinals before losing to three-time former world champion Antron Brown in the 33rd Menard’s NHRA Nationals presented by Pet Armor at Heartland Motorsports Park. Through two days of qualifying Hart along with crew chief and business partner Ron Douglas made the most of their passes on a hot and tricky racetrack. His 3.766 second pass at 310.41 mph was one-thousandth of a second from the No. 2 spot giving the driver from Ocala, Florida confidence going into race day.

After equaling the best starting position of his Top Fuel career, Hart drove the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster past Austin Prock and the Montana Brand dragster out of the John Force Racing stable in round one.

“We made the most of qualifying,” said the two-time tour winner, “and starting the day in the top four is a good spot.  We are going to keep improving and working to get our first No. 1 qualifier.  The first round win was big and those are the kind of wins that motivate you.  If you want to race for the championship like we do we are going to do everything we can to qualify as high as possible and win as many rounds as possible. There is a lot of tough competition out here but we are a tough car to beat as well.”

Thanks to a .034 of a second starting line advantage, Hart who cut a .022 light, was well ahead of Brown when a mechanical problem slowed his R+L Carriers entry to 3.940 seconds and only 279 mph. Hart’s racecar was charging until just before the finish line when the engine let go and robbing him of much needed power.

“We are getting down to the last couple of races in the regular season and this R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster is making good runs,” Hart said.  “We had an issue in the second round today but that was more track condition related than performance. I am looking forward to getting to Brainerd.”

Hart will leave Topeka sitting in fifth place in the Top Fuel point standings with two regular season races remaining. The second-year driver and team owner will be looking to make his run at the Top Fuel world championship. This week the R+L Carriers team will be in action at the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals from Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota.

Qualifying Results

Q1: 3.766, 310.41 mph; Qual. 3

Q2: 3.902, 308.92 mph; Qual. 3

Q3: 3.846, 316.82 mph; Qual. 3

Bonus Points: 1 for third quick in Q1, 3.766, 310.41 mph.

Race Results

First Round

Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., R+L Carriers dragster, 3.823, 315.56 mph, def. Austin Prock, Pittsboro, Ind., Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist dragster, 3.895, 258.86 mph.

Second Round
Antron Brown, Pittsboro, Ind., Matco Tools dragster, 3.812, 312.42 mph, def. Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., R+L Carriers dragster, 3.940, 279.15 mph.

photo by Auto Imagery