Josh Hart and his John Force Racing team hope to take the sting out of their second-round departure at the Winternationals two weeks ago by pulling the HendrickCars.com Top Fuel Dragster in the winner’s circle at the conclusion of the April 24-26 NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway outside Charlotte, N.C.
“It’s awesome. We, as drivers, just have to pay attention,” Hart said regarding the unique format of the 4-Wide Nationals. “A lot of people don’t understand when you’re in these cars and you’re turning into a lane, you can’t necessarily differentiate which lane you’re headed towards. So as long as you know what lane you’re in and you can focus on the bulb that you need to focus on, you should be able to do your job. I think that it’s a pretty cool spectacle for the fans. The difference for me is now I’ve got a dog in the fight that I’m confident with so that we can win this race.”
The HendrickCars.com scheme at the 4-Wide Nationals will be the only event that Hart’s team will run a scheme other than Speedmaster for the balance of the 2026 season.
“I cannot put into words how excited I am to be affiliated with such an amazing organization that is the largest name in automotive history in my book,” said Hart. “I’ve looked up to them. I’ve followed their racing. It’s absolutely epic as I’m also in cars for my occupation. What a great role model and what a great success story to follow. So, hopefully, we can make them proud. I support the colors and am prouder than I can put into words.”
The 2026 Gatornationals titlist qualified second at Pomona and charged to victory in the first round of eliminations with a run of 3.698 seconds at 336.91 mph. Lined up next to Tony Stewart in Round 2, Hart left the starting line a mere seven-thousandths-of-a-second after Stewart and was running side-by-side at half-track before slowing as he neared the finish line, allowing the eventual event winner to take the win light.
“We need to use it to focus, prepare, and execute,” Hart said of the second-round exit. “It’s definitely fuel for the fire and we will do exactly that: conquer and divide.”
Hart is currently third in the 2026 Top Fuel standings after victory at the season-opener at Gainesville and second-round showings at Phoenix and Pomona.
Hart and the HendrickCars.com team qualified to compete in this weekend’s Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on the strength of their quarterfinals finish in Pomona. The event will take place as part of Saturday’s qualifying runs scheduled for 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.
This story was originally published on April 22, 2026. 
