BREAKING: Veteran crew chief joins Josh Hart’s R+L Carriers Top Fuel team
Top Fuel racer Josh Hart didn’t mince words when he announced alterations to his R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster after a DNQ at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.
“I apologize to R+L Carriers,” Hart stated. “We are a full-time operation that functions like a part-time operation. I’m terribly disappointed. It’s time for some substantial modifications at our campsite. If you’re not going to be amazing, why come out?”
The first of these actions occurred on Tuesday morning.
Hart enlisted seasoned crew chief John Stewart to assist Ron Douglas with preparation and tuning, as well as planning a complete test session before 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,” says Hart. “We’ll test before heading to Seattle to make the most of the last four regular-season races before the Countdown begins. Competing at this level with so many complexities in the modern-day Top Fuel dragster, every team has two top-tier crew chiefs or tuners with years of pit expertise (so) this is just what we need to be as competitive as possible.”
Stewart has nearly five decades of expertise tuning nitro Funny Cars and Top Fuel dragsters, having worked for some of the sport’s biggest names, including Darrell Gwynn, Don Prudhomme, Joe Amato, Shawn Langdon, and Dick Lahaie. Stewart’s mastery of the dynamics of the complex clutch system is one of his greatest skills.
