Dirt
Get In and Win
Florida ’ s own Josh Hart is victorious in NHRA Top Fuel debut at the Gatornationals By Josh Hachat
Josh Hart likely had a number of different scenarios roll through his head when envisioning his Top Fuel debut , but even he couldn ’ t have imagined what actually happened to open his nitro career .
Joining a select list , Hart made an incredible debut on a huge stage , winning the NHRA Gatornationals in his very first Top Fuel start by knocking off Shawn Langdon in the final round .
As the thousands of messages flowed in , Hart was nearly speechless , becoming the first driver to win in his first career start since the late Darrell Russell did it to open the 2001 season .
That it came at his home track , Gainesville Raceway , made it even sweeter , and that he did it with the likes of his idol Don Garlits in attendance made it even more incomprehensible .
“ Never in a million years would I have thought this was going to happen ,” Hart said after the win . “ I ’ ve never experienced anything like this before . I ’ ve wanted to do this for a really long time and to do it in Top Fuel is just amazing . [ Crew chief ] Ron Douglas gave me an amazing car and the guys have worked their butts off . It ’ s just amazing . That thing was a monster going down the track .”
The Ocala , Florida , native was undaunted by the big lights in his Top Fuel debut , driving his 11,000-horsepower Burnyzz / Technet dragster with confidence . That assurance came from
masterful tuner Ron Douglas , who has meshed impeccably well with Hart .
It ’ s been an ideal match of two soft-spoken personalities , with Douglas assuring Hart it ’ s OK to lift on a run when necessary , and Hart able to offer meaningful feedback on the car .
In Gainesville , that meant working on the clutch pedal during qualifying to help with reaction times on raceday . Douglas made the necessary changes and Hart did the rest , leaving first on all his opponents during eliminations , a star-studded list that included Clay Millican , three-time Top Fuel champ Steve Torrence , reigning NHRA Rookie of the Year Justin Ashley , and then Langdon in the final round .
Hart also lived in the low 3.80s after qualifying eighth , including an excellent pass of 3.826-seconds at 323.66 mph in the finals to set off a celebration that likely hasn ’ t stopped .
Hart was right back to work on Monday , but he received well over 1,000 text messages following the victory .
“ Ron Douglas was a magician and the guys were amazing ,” Hart said . “ Don Garlits was here and he said sometimes it ’ s just your race . I believe that today . The guys and Ron Douglas did a fabulous job and it ’ s always good to have a solid car underneath you . There were no errors and everything led to me being confident driving the hot rod .”
Douglas has proven masterful in working with young drivers in the Top Fuel ranks , helping guide Blake Alexander to a pair of victories during the 2018 campaign . Since working with Hart , he ’ s noticed something special in the young talent .
“ For us to be able to come out here and do it with Josh , it ’ s awesome ,” Douglas said . “ He and Brittanie [ Hart , Josh ’ s wife ] are two of the best people you can ever meet . They ’ ve given us free rein to build this as we saw fit and they ’ ve been very supportive . Josh can truly drive the car . It ’ s been a tremendous amount of work for the entire team all winter , and to be able to come out and string a few round wins together and get out of here with a win , it ’ s a real testament to the ownership and the team we were able to bring together here .”
It may be hard for Hart to top this moment , but he ’ s more than prepared to try . His victory over Langdon in the final round was watched by nearly two million viewers on FOX , with fans loving the notion that a small team can continue to be competitive with the large , multi-car teams .
“ The super teams are awesome , but you see those same names over and over again , so hopefully people see us taking a shot at the big boys ,” Hart said . “ You put the money into the car , make it go faster and good things will happen .” DI
PHOTOS : STEVE BRENWALD AND NHRA
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