Josh Hart Bio
Joshua “Josh” Hart (born September 16, 1983) is an American drag racer and entrepreneur competing in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. He drives the Burnyzz NHRA Top Fuel Dragster for John Force Racing, a seat he secured with a multi-year contract announced in October 2025. Hart is also the founder and CEO of Burnyzz Speed Shop in Ocala, Florida, a business that has grown into a national automotive brand.
Since turning professional in 2021, Hart has built a reputation as one of the NHRA’s most compelling driver-entrepreneurs, balancing a competitive Top Fuel program with the operation of a major retail business. He is married to Brittanie Hart, with whom he has built both his family and his racing career.
Early Life and Background
Joshua Hart was born in Huntington, Indiana, on September 16, 1983. He grew up in the same Midwestern community his family has continued to support, and he later credited his hometown with shaping his work ethic and mechanical curiosity. Before pursuing drag racing full-time, Hart developed a strong interest in engines, vehicles, and small-business operations.
In 2010, Josh and his wife Brittanie relocated to Ocala, Florida, where they founded Burnyzz Speed Shop. What began as a local performance shop grew into a full-service auto center, completing a $10 million expansion in 2021 that pushed the facility to more than 100,000 square feet across an entire city block. That same entrepreneurial drive eventually carried him into professional motorsports.
Path to NASCAR
Josh Hart’s professional path has been built in NHRA drag racing rather than NASCAR. He began his NHRA career in 2011, competing in a variety of sportsman classes. He earned his Top Alcohol Dragster license in 2015 and quickly became a force in the category, capturing three NHRA national event titles and eight regional TAD wins between 2017 and 2019. His 2017 Lucas Oil East Region Top Alcohol Dragster points championship cemented his reputation as one of the category’s top talents.
Hart closed out his Top Alcohol Dragster career in 2020 with a personal-best pass of 5.12 seconds at 283 mph, then secured his Top Fuel license the same year. Rather than join an established team, he elected to launch his own operation, Josh Hart Racing, based in Brownsburg, Indiana, just outside Indianapolis. That decision set the stage for his professional Top Fuel debut in 2021.
Josh Hart Career
Early Career (2011-2020)
Hart’s early career was defined by steady progression through NHRA’s sportsman and Top Alcohol Dragster ranks. Between 2017 and 2019 he was nearly unbeatable in regional and national TAD competition, winning the 2017 Lucas Oil East Region Top Alcohol Dragster points championship. He also added the 2018 and 2019 NHRA U.S. Nationals TAD titles to his resume, establishing himself as a headline name in the category.
His 2018-19 U.S. Nationals wins at Indianapolis gave him two of the most prestigious trophies in the sport before his transition to Top Fuel. By the time he parked his Top Alcohol Dragster in 2020, he had built a résumé that included a category-best 5.12-second elapsed time at 283 mph, credentials that made his jump to the professional class a natural next step.
NHRA Top Fuel Breakthrough (2021-2024)
Hart stepped into the professional Top Fuel class in 2021 with Josh Hart Racing and made an immediate impact, winning the 2021 NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida, in his very first professional start. He added a second win later that season at the NHRA Carolina Nationals and finished 11th in the Top Fuel points standings. The strong rookie campaign convinced Hart to bring veteran crew chief Ron Douglas on as a partner in the team.
The 2022 season brought further progress, highlighted by a runner-up finish at the NHRA Summit Equipment Nationals and a career-best seventh-place result in final points. In 2023, Hart opened the year by winning the Pep Boys All-Star Callout at his home track in Gainesville and closed the year tenth in points. He continued his run of qualifying for the NHRA Countdown to the Championship in 2024, and following that season he added Jason McCulloch as a co-crew chief alongside Douglas.
John Force Racing Era (2026-Present)
On October 15, 2025, John Force Racing announced a $10 million multi-year deal that brings Hart to the team’s Top Fuel program beginning with the 2026 NHRA season. He takes over the seat vacated by two-time NHRA Top Fuel Champion Brittany Force, who announced in September 2025 that she would step away from competition at the end of that season. The agreement pairs Hart with veteran crew chief David Grubnic and aligns his Burnyzz-backed dragster with one of the most decorated teams in the sport.
The move to John Force Racing is paired with a separate transaction in which Elite Motorsports acquired Josh Hart Racing in a $5 million deal announced September 10, 2025, also effective for 2026. Together, those agreements give Hart the financial and technical backing of a multi-team operation while keeping his identity as a driver-entrepreneur intact.
Driving Style and Strengths
Hart is widely regarded as a quick learner who thrives under pressure, traits that helped him win on his Top Fuel debut at the 2021 Gatornationals. His experience across Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Fuel has given him a sharp feel for tuning changes and track conditions, and his long-running partnership with crew chief Ron Douglas, now joined by co-crew chief Jason McCulloch, has provided consistency on the tune-up side. The future pairing with veteran tuner David Grubnic at John Force Racing adds further depth to his technical support.
Notable Races and Milestones
Hart’s signature results include back-to-back NHRA U.S. Nationals victories in 2018 and 2019, his debut Top Fuel win at the 2021 Gatornationals, a 2021 Carolina Nationals win, and the 2023 Pep Boys All-Star Callout at Gainesville. He has qualified for the NHRA Countdown to the Championship in every professional Top Fuel season from 2021 through 2024, an unbroken streak that reflects his consistency.
Josh Hart Career Wins
Across his Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Fuel career, Josh Hart has collected national event victories, regional championships, and consistent Countdown qualifications. His win portfolio stretches from regional TAD titles in 2017 through professional Top Fuel trophies at marquee NHRA events.
NHRA Top Fuel Highlights
In NHRA Top Fuel, Hart’s verified national event wins include the 2021 Gatornationals in Gainesville and the 2021 NHRA Carolina Nationals. He also captured the 2023 Pep Boys All-Star Callout at Gainesville and earned a runner-up finish at the 2022 NHRA Summit Equipment Nationals. He has qualified for the NHRA Countdown to the Championship every season since stepping into the professional class, finishing as high as seventh in points in 2022.
Other Wins and Performances
In Top Alcohol Dragster, Hart won three NHRA national event titles and eight NHRA regional TAD races between 2017 and 2019, including the 2017 Lucas Oil East Region Top Alcohol Dragster points championship. His two NHRA U.S. Nationals TAD wins in 2018 and 2019 remain the crown jewels of that chapter of his career. He wrapped his TAD run in 2020 with a category-best 5.12-second pass at 283 mph.
| Series | Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|
| NHRA Top Fuel Dragster | 3 | N/A | N/A |
| NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster (National Events) | 3 | N/A | N/A |
| NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster (Regional) | 8 | N/A | N/A |
Josh Hart Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Hart has credited several mentors for shaping his path in drag racing, including Richard Clark, Andy Ackerman, Dennis Hendershot, and Hall of Fame legend “Big Daddy” Don Garlits. Their guidance helped him move from sportsman racing to a Top Alcohol Dragster title run and, ultimately, to Top Fuel. Hart has also pointed to his Midwestern upbringing in Huntington, Indiana, as a foundation for his work ethic and business instincts.
Personal Life
Josh Hart is married to Brittanie Hart, his partner in both family and business. The couple moved to Ocala, Florida, in 2010 and co-founded Burnyzz Speed Shop, which has since expanded into a national operation. Their daughter, Helen Hart, joined the family in 2019, and their son, Banks Hart, was adopted in 2023. The Harts have contributed time, money, and equipment to organizations in their childhood hometown of Huntington in 2022 and 2023, and they regularly host community events at the Burnyzz shop in Ocala.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series has been a season of transition and reset for Josh Hart. He kicked off the year with a runner-up finish at the PRO Superstart Shootout, and he returned to Gainesville for the Gatornationals, where he also made his debut in the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series. He runs the 2025 campaign with a refreshed program and a renewed push toward the NHRA Countdown to the Championship.
Off the track, 2025 brought major business milestones that strengthened Hart’s long-term racing position. On October 28, 2024, a funding group led by A111 Capital executed a majority buyout of Burnyzz that increased Hart’s net worth by $52 million and earmarked an additional $50 million for expansion into new markets. In April 2025, Burnyzz brought 38 vehicles to auction on the Hagerty Marketplace, and in June 2025, the brand debuted a large display on the NHRA manufacturer’s midway at the Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee.
Looking ahead, the year’s most consequential announcements came after the on-track campaign: Elite Motorsports acquired Josh Hart Racing on September 10, 2025, and John Force Racing confirmed Hart as its new Top Fuel driver under a $10 million multi-year deal on October 15, 2025. Those agreements set the stage for Hart’s 2026 debut with John Force Racing and crew chief David Grubnic, while his personal program, business, and family commitments remain firmly in place in Ocala.