John Force Racing has signed two-time NHRA Top Fuel winner and multiple-time U.S. Nationals champion Josh Hart to drive its Top Fuel dragster beginning with the 2026 NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. The event will open the NHRA’s 75th anniversary season March 5–8.
Hart, a native of Huntington, Ind., will replace two-time Top Fuel world champion Brittany Force, who announced Sept. 12 she will step away from competition at the end of the 2025 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 from Hart’s Ocala, Fla.-based Burnyzz Speed Shop.
“I have always said ‘Anything’s Possible’ and this opportunity proves that statement,” said Hart. “No one can replace Brittany Force and what she has done for the sport and this organization.”
“I have been building my program on my own for five seasons and I learned a tremendous amount,” Hart said. “I want to continue to learn from the best and John Force Racing is the best drag racing team in the history of the sport.”
Hart becomes only the third driver to race in Top Fuel under the John Force Racing banner. He joins Force and current JFR 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 Funny Car champion. “He is a family guy, and he is a businessman.”
“John Force Racing is evolving, and we have to feed the monster,” Force said. “Our focus now is on winning this season’s Top Fuel and Funny Car championships and then we will start working on 2026.”
Hart launched his own Top Fuel team in 2021 and won in his series debut at the Gatornationals. He added a second victory that year at the Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, N.C., and captured the 2023 NHRA Top All-Star Callout in Gainesville.
He is currently 10th in the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Top Fuel standings with two races remaining in the Countdown to the Championship. He has been a consistent Countdown qualifier.
Before his Top Fuel debut, Hart earned his Top Alcohol Dragster license in 2015 and logged three NHRA national event wins, including back-to-back U.S. Nationals titles in 2018–19. He also won eight NHRA regional events from 2017–19 before earning his Top Fuel license in 2020.
“There have been a lot of rumors about my future since my announcement to sell my racing operation, but I had a plan the whole time,” said Hart. “I hope making this announcement, the first of many, will answer some questions.”
“I have been blown away by the support and interest in my driving future, and I hope this announcement answers a lot of questions,” Hart said. “I want to stay focused on winning races for the rest of the season.”
Additional details about the program will be announced at season’s end. The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues Oct. 30–Nov. 2 with the Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
