JOSH HART STARTS SEASON WITH STRONG WINTERNATIONALS PERFORMANCE

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*JOSH HART STARTS SEASON WITH STRONG WINTERNATIONALS PERFORMANCE*



POMONA, CA (February 20, 2022) --- The 62nd annual NHRA Winternationals saw
last yearâ€™s NHRA rookie standout driver Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top
Fuel dragster team continue to impress. Through two days of qualifying his
performance improved every run. His crew chief and business partner Ron
Douglas continued to fine tune a brand-new race car that could carry Hart
to his third career victory and first Winternationals title. When
qualifying was wrapped up Hart was the No. 9 qualifier and looking at a
first round match-up with Shawn Langdon, a driver he defeated in the final
round of last yearâ€™s season opener, the NHRA Gatornationals.


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*Josh Hart, R+L Carriers Top Fuel, photo by Gary Nastase*


 â€œI try to race myself and not the person in the other lane,â€??? said Hart.
â€œThis race was a lot different from the Gatornationals. We have been
working out the details on this R+L Carriers race car. Me getting
comfortable was not as quick as last year in Gainesville. There was just a
lot of fine tuning.â€???



In the first round Hart took off beside Langdon and was side-by-side with
the 2013 Top Fuel world champion as both 11,000 horsepower land rockets
accelerated down track. Hart began to pull away at half-track and flew to
victory with a winning time of 3.740 seconds, his quickest run of the
weekend to advance to the quarterfinals.



With the win Hart would face No. 1 qualifier Brittany Force in the
quarterfinals. Hart defeated Force most recently in their two most previous
races, the semifinals of the Carolina Nationals and the first round of the
Midwest Nationals in St. Louis. Today was another close race but the
outcome did not go Hartâ€™s way.


*[image: 2208-24594.JPG]*
*Josh Hart, photo by Gary Nastase*


Force was able to get off the line first and held the lead for the entire
race. During his burnout Hart by his own admission was thrown off and that
distraction uncharacteristically carried over into his starting line
routine. The young driver was adamant about not taking anything away from
Forceâ€™s victory.



â€œYou have to give her (Force) props. She did a great job on the light,â€???
said Hart. â€œMy guys were awesome between rounds before that run. We had a
couple problems and the team came together. It was cool to watch. It was
almost magical in my opinion. Something on the burnout was a little weirder
than normal and it threw me off my game a little bit. I have no excuses,
she just outran us.â€???



Hartâ€™s confidence in his R+L Carriers crew was obvious at the end of the
day and the mood in his pit area was upbeat and determined. Hart knows he
has a solid race team that will only continue to improve. The off-season
saw significant change for a team that is entering its first full season of
competition. A new race car was the biggest change and getting Hart
comfortable has been a process that started almost two weeks ago during the
Phoenix test session.



â€œThis is a new car for me and I have learned a lot. When you see your guys
come together like they did between rounds it gives me a lot of confidence
going forward. We will go on to the next one,â€??? said Hart. â€œEvery person has
their designated area of responsibility on the car. Driving is my area. I
have to do whatever it takes to be sharper and faster. I will work on that.â€???



With the Arizona Nationals only a few days away Hart is ready to get back
into the fight. He will leave California sitting No. 7 in the points tied
with eight-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher.



â€œGetting back in the car in four days will be priceless. Being able to test
in Phoenix was good and I am so thankful we did that. There were a lot of
adjustments we needed to make inside the new car. This race is always
monumental to get back in the car in competition to see all the fans and
get all the first season opener butterflies out of the way. We are
comfortable and looking forward to Phoenix,â€??? added Hart.



*Qualifying Results*

Q1: 6.874 sec, 96.20 mph; Qual. 15

Q2: 3.810 sec, 322.88 mph; Qual. 10

Q3: 3.755 sec, 323.19 mph; Qual. 9

Bonus Points: 0



*Race Results*

E1:  *Josh Hart, Ocala, Florida, R+L Carriers dragster, 3.740, 327.82 mph*
def. Shawn Langdon, Danville, IN, DHL Kalitta Air dragster 3.920, 300.20 mph



E2:  Brittany Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Monster Energy dragster 3.726,
322.27 mph def.* Josh Hart, Ocala, Florida, R+L Carriers dragster, 3.728,
329.27 mph*


*Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Ten - Top Fuel*



1.       Justin Ashley                         124

2.       Austin Prock                          96

3.       Brittany Force                       82

4.       Steve Torrence                      74

5.       Mike Salinas                          61

6.       Antron Brown                       53

*7.       Josh Hart                               52*

7.       Tony Schumacher                 52

9.       Doug Kalitta                          34

10.     Shawn Langdon                    33

10.     Leah Pruett                           33




*Elon Werner*
Founder

M: 214-244-1184
E: elon@elonwerner.com
Twitter: @elonwer