If you have already filled out your NHRA Rookie Of The Year ballot and it doesn't have Josh Hart's name on it, it might be time to reconsider. After opening the season with a surprising victory at the Gatornationals, Josh Hart and his team did what was needed to collect number 2 at the DeWalt NHRA Carolina Nationals.
“We never really planned on doing a full season this year, we just want to get our feet wet and build a team,” Hart admitted. “That has obviously been accelerated by moving into Indianapolis and the team seems to come together right away. After winning our first race, we thought we were going to be chasing our tail for a little bit, but I'm glad to be back out here.
Happy Birthday my friend!
RPM Round By Round:
Round 1 - After qualifying in the number 7 position, this was the best Josh Hart had started in his 8 starts in NHRA Top Fuel. He was matched against Alex Laughlin and ran a very respectful 3.788 at 322.34 MPH to get the win after Laughlin went up in smoke early.
Round 2 - For the first time, Hart faced off against Mike Salinas who had lane choice. It didn't matter as Salinas was up in smoke quick and Hart consistently ran a 3.800 at 322.65 to reach the semi's.
Round 3 - With a 1-1 record against each other, one of the young guns was looking to get an advantage on the other. Last years ROY Justin Ashley had lane choice but probable 2021 ROY Hart got the win after both cars struggled. Hart ran a 4.129 at 238.13 but heads to his seconds final in just 8 tries.
Round 4 - In the final, Hart faced Brittany Force who has been the top qualifier for 8 straight events, the same number of events Hart has ran in total. In the previous 2 matchups, Force has a 2-0 lead in their previous matchups but this time Hart got one back in the win column as he ran a 3.770 at 324.12 to get the win by about 5 feet.
Check out the recap by Phil Burgess: