Josh Hart entered the 2nd annual SCAG PRO Superstar Shootout looking to build momentum for a 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel championship chase. After three days of testing and three days of racing the team owner of the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster is encouraged by what his team accomplished even though they came up just short of a victory against Shawn Reed.
“I can’t really put it into words. The team did 14 or 15 passes, and that’s more than I’ve ever done in my career in one session,” said Hart. “The fact that nobody complained, and everybody kept working. We were up at seven, we were going to bed at midnight, and essentially, we never really got a break to get much sleep. It was constant. To see the car go from a 3.79 to a 3.75 to 3.74, 3.73, 3.72, we’re right there. We knew when it got cool out, we needed to bring it. And we’re working on that, that’s what I’m trying to tell everybody. We’re very, very happy with where we’re at.”
In the first round Hart dispatched NASCAR Hall of Famer turned drag racer Tony Stewart. Hart, a two-time Top Fuel national event winner was first off the line with a .061 reaction time and he never trailed in the race. His winning elapsed time of 3.726 seconds was quickest of the session and gave him lane choice over Justin Ashley in the semifinals.
Racing fellow championship contender Ashley, he was again at the top of his game off the starting line leaving with Ashley, .054 to .051 seconds and taking the lead by 100 feet. Hart continued to pull away with a winning elapsed time of 3.721 seconds, his quickest run of the week in the warmest conditions, to advance to the final round. Hart would face Shawn Reed in a battle of independent team owners.
The final round was a race that the fans in attendance at Bradenton Motorsports Park will be talking about for years. Both dragsters left the starting line together, and as they powered down the track, the lead was changing as the finish line rushed to greet the 11,000-horsepowered Top Fuel dragsters. At the finish line stripe, it was Reed getting the nose of his dragster to the line first winning for the first time in his career. The final numbers had Reed posting the only run in the 3.60s, a strong 3.699-second run beside Hart’s 3.724-second run. It was another strong run for Hart, whose goal for the weekend was consistency and team building.
“We didn’t hurt a bunch of stuff, other than a rear end breaking,” said Hart. “It’s a great group of guys, the morale is different. The vibe is different. It was a lot more fun. As a team owner, I’m hoping that it just went full circle, and now we’re riding the wave up.”
Hart will be back on track in Florida at the historic Gatornationals, an event he won in 2021, March 6-9, 2025, at Gainesville Raceway.
This story was originally published on February 10, 2025. 
