in the lanes
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.”
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.
“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
About R+L Carriers
Based in the United States, R+L Carriers is a Global Freight Transportation and Logistics company that has remained family-owned and operated since 1965. R+L Carriers offers one of the most comprehensive networks of nationwide service centers for LTL, Truckload, Expedited and Cross-Border Shipping. In addition to its core value-added shipping solutions, R+L Carriers has a portfolio of services that extends to International Supply Chain Management, Warehousing and Customs Brokerage.
Learn about R+L Carriers: rlc.com | Media: media@rlc.com
R+L Carrier Top Fuel dragster, photo by Auto Imagery
HART PUTTING VEGAS FOUR-WIDE IN REARVIEW MIRROR
Feb. 18-20 Lucas Oil Winternationals Pomona, Calif. Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
Feb. 25-27 Arizona Nationals Chandler, Ariz. Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park
March 11-13. Amalie Oil Gatornationals. Gainesville, Fla. Gainesville Raceway
April 1-3 Four-Wide Nationals Las Vegas The Strip at LVMS
April 22-24 Mopar Express Lane SpringNationals Baytown,Texas Houston Raceway Park
April 29-May 1 NGK Four-Wide Nationals. Concord, N.C. zMax DragwayM
May 13-15 Virginia Nationals Dinwiddie, Va. Virginia Motorsports Park
June 3-5 New England Nationals Epping, N.H. New England Dragway
June 17-19 Thunder Valley Nationals. Bristol, Tenn. Bristol Dragway
June 24-26 Summit Racing Equip. Nationals Norwalk, Ohio Summit Racing Equipment Park
July 15-17 Dodge SRT Mile-High Nationals Morrison, Colo. Bandimere Speedway
July 22-24 Sonoma Nationals Sonoma, Calif. Sonoma Raceway
July 29-31 Flav-R-Pac Northwest Nationals Kent, Wash. Pacific Raceways
Aug. 12-14 Menard’s Nationals Topeka, Kan. Heartland Motorsports Park
Aug. 19-21 Lucas Oil Nationals Brainerd, Minn. Brainerd Int’l Raceway
Sept. 2-5 Dodge SRT U.S. Nationals Indianapolis, IN Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis
Sept. 16-18. Mopar Express Lane Nationals Mohnton, Pa. Maple Grove Raceway
Sept. 23-25 Carolina Nationals Concord, N.C. zMax Dragway
Sept. 30-Oct. 2 Midwest Nationals Madison, Il World Wide Technology Raceway
Oct. 14-16 Texas FallNationals Ennis, Texas Texas Motorplex
Oct. 28-30 Dodge SRT Nationals Las Vegas The Strip at LVMS
Nov. 11-13 Auto Club Finals Pomona, Ca Auto Club Raceway at Pomona