LAS VEGAS (April 3, 2022) — The NHRA Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals was a new experience for Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team. As the event concluded Hart will take a few positives from a short race day to the next event. There were four qualifying runs this weekend to give every team the chance to make a pass in each lane of competition. In an unfortunate twist Hart bypassed the second session to track down an issue in his 11,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster that carried over from the NHRA Gatornationals. The team moved to a structured qualifying schedule to ensure peak performance beyond this weekend.

“We had an issue with a tool that is very crucial. That is what caused our demise in Gainesville and it carried over to our first qualifying round on Friday,” said Hart, the 2021 Gatornationals winner. “That is why for the first time in my career I skipped a qualifying session just to regroup and check everything. We found the issue, thank goodness, so we played it safe on the first run on Saturday and only made a planned half-track pass. Everything was fine and we played it safe in the final qualifier to make sure everything was all set for race day.”

R+L Carrier Top Fuel dragster, photo by Auto Imagery

At the end of the day on Saturday Hart was sitting No. 10 in the qualifying order. The strategy set the team up to get aggressive in the first round on Sunday. In his quad Hart was squaring off in what was recognized in the opening ceremonies as the “Marquee Match-Up” between Hart, reigning Top Fuel champion Steve Torrence, Brittany Force and Cameron Ferre. In an epic race Torrence posted low elapsed time of the event to reach the finish line first and Hart was just a shade behind Force to get the second slot to advance to the next round. Hart’s scoreboard flashed with a weekends’ quickest elapsed time of 3.798 seconds at 326 mph.

Hart, who spends considerable time between rounds talking with fans about the employment opportunities with primary sponsor R+L Carriers, knew this round loss was tough but not devastating to his championship aspirations. The second-year driver who is competing on a full schedule for the first time is eager to keep the focus on improvement and building a strong foundation.

Josh Hart with new fan, photo by Josh Hart Racing

“At this point we look at it as if we lost the battle, but we are focused on winning the war,” said Hart. “We want to make sure all our t’s are crossed and our i’s are dotted. Complacency is not something that is going to be tolerated on this team. We have a strong group and I have a lot of confidence. We have 18 more races this season and I will be ready in Houston.”

Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will leave The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway No. 8 in the NHRA Camping World Top Fuel standings.

Qualifying Results

Q1: 3.806 sec, 306.60 mph; Qual. 6

Q2: No Run

Q3: 4.542 sec, 170.45 mph; Qual. 9

Q4: 3.907 sec, 315.64 mph; Qual. 10

Bonus Points: 0

Race Results

E1: 

W – No. 7; Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Tex., Capco dragster, 3.720, 327.27 mph

W – No. 2; Brittany Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Monster Energy dragster, 3.747, 334.32 mph

No. 10 Josh Hart, Ocala, Florida, R+L Carriers dragster, 3.798, 326.00 mph

No. 15 Cameron Ferre, Huntington Beach, Calif., 5.899, 118.62 mph

Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Ten – Top Fuel

1. Steve Torrence                      304

2. Brittany Force                        300

3. Mike Salinas                          297

4. Justin Ashley                          270

5. Clay Millican                          229

6. Austin Prock                           198

7. Tony Schumacher                  192

8. Josh Hart                                 189

9. Doug Kalitta                           168

10. Antron Brown                      164