Three races into the 2025 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season Top Fuel championship contender Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers made a significant move at the 65th NHRA Winternationals. The team qualified No. 6 on the strength of their 3.675 second run on Friday night and moved into race day with lane choice and confidence. On race day, Hart powered to the quarterfinals after outrunning Justin Ashley and dropping his quarterfinal race to Top Fuel point leader Shawn Langdon.
In the opening round Hart squared off with Ashley in a battle of two of the best drivers on the starting line. Both 12,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragsters launched together, but Hart’s R+L Carriers race car was on another smooth and exceedingly quick run, matching his best elapsed time of qualifying, with a winning 3.675-second run at 322.67 mph. Ashley smoked the tires in the left lane and had to watch as Hart pulled away for the win.
In the quarterfinals, Hart faced Langdon, and once again, it was a toss-up between two great reaction time drivers and strong race cars. Langdon had lane choice with a slight first round elapsed time advantage, 3.668 seconds to Hart’s 3.675 seconds. The Christmas Tree fired off, and Hart’s race car immediately overpowered the track, and Langdon powered down the left lane.
“This race was big because we found the sixties again,” said Hart, from the R+L Carriers pit at the end of the day. “I think that was something that the entire team needed. We’re very proud of the direction of the program. We’ll be a contender in Vegas in a couple weeks.”
The success in qualifying and racing to the quarterfinals moved Hart up in the Top Ten. The team will leave Pomona sitting in eighth place three races into the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will be back on track for the NHRA Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals, April 10-13, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. For more information on that race, visit www.nhra.com.
This story was originally published on March 31, 2025. 
