John Force Racing has signed multi-time NHRA U.S. Nationals winner and two-time NHRA Top Fuel winner Josh Hart to a multiyear contract to drive for the 23 time world championship organization beginning with the 2026 season.
John Force Racing has signed multi-time NHRA U.S. Nationals winner and two-time NHRA Top Fuel winner Josh Hart to a multiyear contract to drive for the 23 time world championship organization beginning with the 2026 NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., March 5-8, which kicks off the National Hot Rod Association’s 75th anniversary season.
The Huntington, Ind., native will step into the cockpit vacated by two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Brittany Force, who announced Sept. 12 she will be stepping away from competition at the conclusion of the season to focus on starting a family.
The team will continue to be led by crew chiefs Dave Grubnic and John Collins, with primary sponsorship coming from Hart’s Ocala, Florida-based Burnyzz Speed Shop.
“I have always said ‘Anything’s possible,’ and this opportunity proves that statement. I want to thank John Force and the entire John Force Racing team for being open to this endeavor,” said Hart. “No one can replace Brittany Force and what she has done for the sport and this organization.”
Hart will become just the third driver to race in the highly competitive Top Fuel class under the John Force Racing banner. He will join Force and current John Force Racing Funny Car driver Austin Prock on a short list of Top Fuel competitors.
“I have been talking to Josh for a while, and every time we talked, it just made sense for our team to add someone like him,” said John Force, CEO and 16 time NHRA Funny Car champion. “He is a family guy, and he is a businessman.
Hart started his own race team for the 2021 season and earned the first of his two NHRA Top Fuel victories in his series debut at the Gatornationals.
He won again later that year at the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway near Charlotte, N.C., and won the 2023 NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout in Gainesville.
Hart is currently 10th in the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel points standings with two races remaining in the Countdown to the Championship.
His NHRA career began in 2011, racing in multiple Sportsman categories before earning his Top Alcohol Dragster license in 2015. Hart won three Top Alcohol Dragster NHRA national events, including consecutive U.S. Nationals titles (2018-19), and eight NHRA regional events from 2017-2019 before earning his Top Fuel license in 2020.