Josh Hart joined John Force Racing after stepping down from team ownership at the end of the 2025 NHRA season. We caught up with Hart to ask him about his goals, aspirations, and even some fun facts that aren’t commonly known by fans.
At the opening race of the NHRA’s 75th Anniversary season, the Gatornationals, Hart qualified No. 1 in Top Fuel with a 3.658-second, 340.30 mph pass on Friday night. In this new chapter of his racing career with John Force Racing, he went on to win the Gatornationals, which happens to be his home track.
“I didn’t think that I could surpass my very first win ever, which was at the exact same track in my debut. But when I first met David Grubnic, he asked, ‘What are your Q1 objectives?’ And I thought, ‘Wait a minute, am I at Burnyzz?’ I don’t really apply that to racing, but now I definitely should. And I said, ‘Well, I guess I want to be the number one qualifier. I obviously want to win a race, and I want to be a real contender in the championship.’ So, I think we checked all those boxes at that racetrack,” Hart said.
Hart also mentioned, “It’s an absolutely epic experience to have John Force in the staging lanes, fist-bumping you. And just the fact of having a living legend present, not even thinking about the fact that we now work together, it’s just absolutely priceless.”
When asked for a fun fact about himself that not a lot of fans know, Hart said, “In my life, I’ve only been sure about two career paths: cars, obviously, which is the one I picked, but I’m also a decent drummer.”
When asked what his favorite livery of all time would be, Hart answered, “I have to say the old-school Burnyzz Speed Shop livery, which is the same thing that’s on the side of the car. To be able to win at my home track with Burnyzz, my company, on the side, in the Burnyzz Lane, the first time we’ve ever sponsored the racetrack, is pretty priceless.”
Hart has some big personal goals for the 2026 season, namely winning more races and potentially a championship.
“We crushed every one of my Q1 objectives in Gainesville, but I would want to win at least three to four more races, which would get us to the 25% win zone on the overall season. I would then really want to give it a good, honest run for a championship for the first time ever. I feel like I’ve got the team, I’ve got the support, and we’ve got the resources to be able to pull it off,” said Hart.
What about his next big win? If Hart were to win again on tour, he would love for it to be Indy.
“I think everybody wants to win Indy. I’ve won it twice back-to-back in Top Alcohol Dragster, which was epic, but to do it in Top Fuel, it would just be on a whole other level.”
Of all the dragstrips on the NHRA 2026 tour, Hart said his favorite track is Gainesville because it’s his home track.
“It’s 20 minutes from my house. It’s 45 minutes away from my primary business, so, it would be Gainesville.”
Hart has created plenty of great memories at the track. His favorite memory at a dragstrip, is winning back-to-back at Indianapolis in Top Alcohol Dragster.
“I got the opportunity to spend the winner’s circle with my wife. The first time, it was kind of like a blur, I didn’t really know what was happening. The second time was like a do-over, and it was everything you thought it should have been. The hugging at the top end, and the holding of the Wally.”
Josh Hart is looking forward to what else he can accomplish with John Force Racing this season, and the fans are, too.
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