Josh Hart Eyes Pomona as Chance to Build Off-Season Momentum
The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series will wrap up this weekend at the IN-N-Out NHRA Finals in Pomona, November 15-17 and Josh Hart will be looking to end the season on a high note. The team owner and driver of the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team, based in Ocala, Florida, is eager to start building momentum for a championship chase in 2025. This season Hart has not seen the results he is used to but the ever-optimistic entrepreneur is not going to miss one last chance to secure a victory in 2024.
“This season has not gone the way I would have hoped but every day you get to drag race professionally is a gift,” said Hart, a multi-time Top Fuel national event winner. “This R+L Carriers team has never given up and we are heading into Pomona looking to end the season with a win.”
Hart’s team, which also receives support from his primary business Burnyzz Speed Shop, has gone rounds this season and raced to several semifinals but in one of the toughest Top Fuel fields in recent memory they have not been able to break through. The R+L Carriers team has continued to look for progress on the track and they have showed flashes of improved performance throughout the season but consistency has eluded the team.
“We just never found our rhythm this year and that has been our biggest hurdle,” said Hart. “I have a lot of confidence that we are going to figure somethings out over the off-season and come back in 2025 better, quicker and stronger.”
At the In-N-Out Burgers Pomona Dragstrip Hart has experienced moderate success. In 2022 he raced to the semifinals form the No. 11 qualifier position defeating Doug Kalitta and Krista Baldwin before dropping a close race to Antron Brown. Last season Hart ended Mike Salinas’ championship bid with a first round upset before losing in the quarterfinals to eventual event winner and 2024 world champion Doug Kalitta. This year Hart could once again have a major impact on the championship outcome as four drivers are vying for the title and Hart’s R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will be a formidable opponent.
“We are going to look at getting the most out of qualifying on Friday and Saturday,” said Hart. “The race for the Top Fuel championship is very close and we can definitely have an impact. I am going to give every run 100 percent effort and we will see how far we can go on Sunday.”
The R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will have two qualifying runs on Friday at 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. and then they will return on Saturday for two more qualifying runs at 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. The quickest 16 Top Fuel dragsters will take to the track at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 17, looking to end the season with one more victory. For more information fans can visit www.nhra.com.
This story was originally published on November 14, 2024.
The post Josh Hart Eyes Pomona as Chance to Build Off-Season Momentum first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
