Josh Hart’s Smooth Transition To Driver At John Force Racing

Two days before NHRA Top Fuel racer Josh Hart left home in Ocala, Florida, for his final race as a team owner, his six-year-old daughter Londyn asked him, “Dad, how come you’re always right?”

He said, “I looked at her, and I said, ‘It’s because I’ve been doing everything wrong, and I learned the wrong ways, and I tried all of them. That’s how you learn.”

Hart might have done some injudicious things – not sticking with his schooling and racing on the streets as a rudderless teenager, for example – but he has done plenty of commendable things. He has built a prosperous business that’s expanding nationally. He has helped shape a beautiful family of four with his wife, Brittanie.

He has initiated campaigns to feed the hungry in his hometown of Huntington, Indiana, bring relief to hurricane victims in Florida, and raise awareness for breast cancer prevention, research, and treatment. And he took a five-year risk as a Top Fuel team owner, buoyed by a victory in his backyard at Gainesville in his professional debut and pocketing $80,000 for winning the 2023 Pep Boys All-Star Callout.

Maybe one of the smartest things he has done is remove himself from team ownership and join the sport’s most successful team with its 24 series championships. Hart sold his operation to Pro Stock tycoon Richard Freeman, who has announced racing legend Tony Stewart will drive the dragster that will serve as a licensing car, as well, for Aaron Stanfield and Erica Enders. And Hart has stepped into the John Force Racing dragster that two-time champion Brittany Force vacated earlier this month to try to start a family.

Becoming part of the outstanding history and lore of John Force Racing – just looking at his cell phone caller ID and seeing that the 16-time Funny Car champion is on the other end of the line – is a phenomenon Hart rated as astounding.

“Cannot put it into words,” Hart said. “It’s kind of still like ‘What?! John Force is calling me?’ He’s talking about plans for next season and expanding the program, and come on up to the shop, and I just had never seen anything like that before.”

He was referring both to the Brownsburg, Indiana, race shop (one that complements the equally impressive JFR headquarters at Yorba Linda, Calif.) and the experience of associating with Force himself.

“I had never been through the Indianapolis shop. But when you walk into something like that, which is literally a lifetime worth of work. And it’s just priceless. There’s so much technology and resources. It takes your mind to a whole different place,” Hart said. “The vision that he had, and however long it took for him to build that, is just something that most people don’t ever have. It’s a true testament to their success. I know now, as a team owner, how hard it is and the ups and downs. So, the fact that he’s been doing it longer than I’ve been alive – at that level-is just amazing.”

The clutch department alone at JFR is just one part of a multifaceted wealth of resources unmatched by any team, and that isn’t lost on Hart.

“Unbelievable. And I know what each one of those little [clutch] plates costs, so it’s just a whole other level,” he said. Compared to the upgraded set-up he had with his own team, it’s in another league, something Hart said he never dreamed about for himself.

“I’m really proud of what we built, what my team and I built, but we did the best of everything as we were building our program. But I never had that type of a vision where you walk in, and you just see 10 tractor-trailers and all the CNC machines and the paint shop and the wrap shop, such an amazing facility.”

And it’s an expensive one. Hart said, “I don’t even want to know.”

What he knows is he’s in the John Force Racing fold, with the best chance ever to add to his racing achievements.

He labeled himself “very much star-struck, and I have a new level of appreciation for it. When I came onto the scene in 2021, I was just a kid who was trying to have fun. I was trying to go out there and win some races and thought that was it. I had no idea the amount of emotion and passion, and resources it would take to accomplish this. So again, what they’ve done on that side is something that I could have never fathomed.”

Since he broke into drag racing’s pro level in 2021, Hart has discovered, in part from the Force family, all the dimensions of what being a driver entails. “In 2021, I didn’t understand the dynamic, and now I do. Whether it’s a round win or a race win, you don’t really understand how hard it is to control your emotions when you just went 335 miles an hour, and somebody sticks a microphone in your face. So I’m honored to even be in their presence.”

Force announced he won’t drive a Funny Car again, but Hart said, “I know he’s going to be there in the background of any major decision. I know he’s the backbone of that company, but I also know that with all of the Force family, they all want to see this thing grow. They all want to see it get to the next level. They’ve always kept a very open line of communication and good dialogue, so everything’s been very positive on all fronts.”

“I am blessed that every single person on the team wanted to stay when they found out it was me who was going to drive it. I never paid attention to what everybody thought of me out there. But when it comes to the nucleus, the team, you want to make sure that there’s good chemistry and everyone seems to think there’s going to be good chemistry, which is awesome,” Hart said.

I really just feel very blessed to even be aligned with that. For me, it’s the ultimate fan-dream come true.”

Surprisingly, too, Hart said, the Dave Grubnic/John Collins-led crew doesn’t have much to do in terms of refitting the dragster for Hart:  “Believe it or not, my first time sitting in the car, I slid right in there, and it was like Cinderella’s slipper. It was strange because obviously, the way that you would think it would go, but there were a couple of canopy items that needed to be altered, but that was it. Very minimal.”

He will be driving a canopy dragster, which is a new experience for him but one he embraces.

“I’ve never been in a canopy [car]. I like it,” he said. “It’s safer. I think it’s going to be a lot quieter, and I think everything’s going to be very positive.”

Money never had been a factor in his choice, he said. “They’re pretty close in price. I had only ever run an open-cockpit car, so I figured I’d stick to what I know. And at the time, I think when we were ordering these cars, we thought there was a little bit of a performance advantage through the middle, where you could get away with a couple extra degrees of timing or something because of the weight transfer. But I think they’ve proven that that’s not the case now, so it’s all about safety.”

And that, he said, is an overriding consideration at John Force Racing.

“A very, very awesome testament to Grubnic and Collins – they put me in the car, they tested my vision, and wanted to make sure everything was good. Their main priority is safety. I mean, I can’t tell you how many times they said it was safety. Making sure I was comfortable in the car, making sure I could see all the appropriate things, and feel all the appropriate things. So those guys and the team’s professionalism is second to none.”

That’s just one thing Hart and Force have in common. They don’t seem alike at all: Force has made his mark in the sport as flamboyant and gabby, while Hart is extremely low-key. Hart methodically and quietly plans his moves, while Forces telegraphs his. Hart’s competitive nature is buried in his calm outer layer, while Force has argued with Don Prudhomme about which of them had the largest American flag flying at their race shops.

However, Hart and Force are alike in some ways. They want to grow, they want to surround themselves with the best personnel, and they care about others. Hart worked to make sure every one of his crew members was settled into new jobs and ones that suited them and made them happy. They aren’t afraid to pivot and make monumental decisions. Both are unpretentious, self-made businessmen.

Both could have told Londyn Hart they made mistakes and learned the right paths the hard way. So now, John Force Racing and Josh Hart are on the same team, and it’s one with not only a treasure-trove of the finest parts and pieces but a wealth of life experiences. So, Josh Hart is right again, as always.