By: Josh Hart Racing
POMONA, CA (November 17, 2024) — Throughout the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team kept looking towards the next race for performance improvement. After twenty national events Hart will end the season without a victory but undaunted in his plans to win a Top Fuel world championship. The team will have to wait for the 2025 NHRA season, but throughout the In-N-Out NHRA Finals this weekend Hart kept the pressure on, making the most of the three qualifying sessions and giving one the championship contenders a tough first round race.
On Friday Hart was one of the handful of Top Fuel drivers to get a qualifying run in before rain moved over In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip. The R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster posted a 3.806 second run at 322.19 mph to end the truncated session as the No. 5 Top Fuel dragster. On Saturday Hart steadily improved, running 3.756 seconds and then a season best 3.729 seconds in the closing session. Hart went into race day as the No. 13 qualifier in a tight group of 16 Top Fuel dragsters.
“I was glad to see our times getting quicker over the weekend,” said Hart, a two-time Top Fuel national event winner. “The track and conditions were some of the best we have seen this season. We tried to throw everything at it. I know we can’t win the championship this season, but we can get some data for the next two races in Pomona and maybe have an impact on who wins the championship.”
In the opening round Hart was facing championship contender Shawn Langdon and the pair had to wait over two hours after the race began to tangle on the track. In a wild turn of events following the second pair of Top Fuel dragster, a single engine airplane crashed into the pit area adjacent to the racetrack. NHRA safety officials along with Pomona area fire and rescue descended on the scene. The pilot and three occupants of the aircraft all suffered minor to moderate non-life-threatening injuries and are being treated at a nearby hospital.
When Hart pulled up beside Langdon it was a battle between two of the best leavers in the category this season. Langdon took a slight starting line advantage with a .053 to .064 second reaction time lead and he began extending his lead as they crossed half-track. As the R+L Carriers dragster was powering down the track Langdon’s Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster was pulling away. At the finish line it was Hart’s 3.733 second run at 327.90 mph crossing the finish line behind Langdon’s winning 3.690 second pass at 332.92 mph.
“We knew Langdon would be tough, but I felt really good about our chances,” said Hart. “This season has been the toughest of my career, but we will be back better than ever in 2025. I love being able to race the best of the best. I have to thank everyone at Burnyzz Speed Shop who supported us and of course our long-time sponsor R+L Carriers.”
The next time Hart will be on track will be as a star competitor in the 2nd annual SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout, February 6-8, 2025, at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton, Florida.
Qualifying Results
Q1: 3.806 sec, 322.19 mph; Qual. 5
Q2: Cancelled due to weather
Q3: 3.756 sec; 324.51 mph; Qual. 13
Q4: 3.729 sec; 327.90 mph; Qual. 13
Bonus Points: 0
Race Results
First Round
Shawn Langdon, Avon, Ind., Kalitta Air dragster, (.053), 3.690 sec, 332.92 mph def. Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., R+L Carriers dragster, (.064), 3.733 sec, 327.90 mph
