Story By: ELON WERNER / JOSH HART RACING – 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.”
In the first round Hart did not have lane choice but the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster was up to the challenge against Salinas who is also fighting to move up into the Top Ten. Hart was first off the line with a strong .065 reaction time. He posted his quickest run of the weekend, a 3.758 second, 331.04 mph winning pass that moved him to the quarterfinals against veteran Clay Millican.
“That first round win was big,” said Hart, from the top end. “There are a lot of drivers bunched together trying to get into the Top Ten and we are chasing Brittany Force and holding off Jasmine. We did our job and got the first round win and we are focusing on reeling in the drivers in front of us today. This R+L Carriers team led by Ron Douglas and John Stewart are doing a great job and we want to keep rolling today.”
In the quarterfinals Hart was once again first off the starting line with an amazing .033 second reaction time that put his R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster out front and he never relinquished the lead. It was an incredibly close race with Hart’s 3.772 second, 330.39 mph getting to the finish line in front of Millican’s 3.787 second, 308.99 mph run. The win locked Hart into the specialty Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge race for the second time this season.
In the semifinals Hart was paired with Justin Ashley, another championship contender. It was a match up of the two best leavers in Top Fuel based on average reaction time for this season. The race lived up to its billing with Hart leaving first for the third time on race day, a .035 reaction time advantages to Ashley’s .047. As the finish line closed in Hart’s 12,000-horsepower R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster smoked the tires and opened the door for Ashley to drive around him for the win.
Josh Hart warms up the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster during the Lucas Oil Nationals, photo credit Auto Imagery
“We had a good day and we are going to get better starting tomorrow with testing,” said Hart. “We are going to pull out a brand-new dragster and make some runs. I think there is some magic in this new car and we just haven’t been able to get our current dragster to cooperate. This crew is working so hard and we need to do everything we can to race for this championship.”
Hart will be back on track looking for his first Top Fuel U.S. Nationals win in two weeks. The largest race in drag racing history will celebrate its 70th running with an amazing five days of racing.