In one of the most unlikely stories in recent memory, Top Fuel newcomer Josh Hart disposed of a murderer’s row of former nitro champions to win the 52nd annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Florida on Sunday afternoon.
Hart defeated Shawn Langdon in the final round to claim his first Top Fuel Wally in his very first race, doing so at his home track, located not far from his home in Ocala, Florida. Hart also defeated Clay Millican, Steve Torrence, and Justin Ashley on his path to the final, after entering raceday as the No. 8 qualifier.
“Never in a million years would I have thought this was going to happen,” Hart said. “I’ve wanted to do this for a really long time and to do it in Top Fuel is just amazing. (Crew chief) Ron Douglas gave me an amazing car and the guys have worked their butts off. It’s just amazing. That thing was a monster going down the track.”
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Hart received some encouragement on raceday from another fellow Ocala resident, a man whose name adorns the main grandstand at Gainesville: “Big Daddy” Don Garlits.
“Don Garlits was here (after the race) and he said sometimes. It’s just your day,” Hart said. “I believe that was today. The guys did a fabulous job and it’s always good to have a good solid car underneath you. You focus on your lights and go rounds.”
The win was the first since the summer of 2018 for crew chief Ron Douglas, who last triumphed with Blake Alexander that year at the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals.
“For us to be able to come out here and do it with Josh, it’s awesome,” Douglas said. “He and Brittanie are two of the best people you can ever meet. They’ve given us free rein to build this as we saw fit and they’ve been very supportive. Josh can truly drive the car. It’s been a tremendous amount of work for the entire team all winter, spending a lot of time in Ocala, Florida at Josh’s place putting this together. To be able to come out and string a few round wins together and get out of here with a win, it’s a real testament to the ownership and the team we were able to bring together here.”
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