In a bold move designed to put his R+L Carriers team on a path to the NHRA Top Fuel championship, Josh Hart announced today that he has hired veteran crew chief John Stewart to assist Ron Douglas in the preparation and tuning of the R+L Carriers dragster in which he has won two times on Mission Foods drag racing tour. The team also announced they have scheduled a comprehensive test session prior to the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.
“John is a welcome addition to our team and this move is something that both Ron and I talked about, and feel is needed to get our R+L Carriers team on track for the Top Fuel world championship,” said Hart. “We are going to test prior to heading to Seattle so we can make the most of the final four regular season races prior to the start of the Countdown. Competing at this level with so many intricacies involved in the modern-day Top Fuel dragster, every team has two top-tier crew chiefs or tuners with years of experience in the pits (so) this is just what we need to be as competitive as possible.”
Stewart has over five decades of experience tuning nitro Funny Cars and Top Fuel dragsters working for some of the biggest names in the sport including Darrell Gwynn, Don Prudhomme, Joe Amato, Shawn Langdon and Dick LaHaie. One of Stewart’s principal strengths is his understanding of the dynamics of the intricate clutch system so critical in transforming power into performance.
The R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will be testing and then heading to Pacific Raceways for the NHRA Northwest Nationals, July 19-21.
This story was originally published on July 2, 2024. 
