Ocalan for the win
Josh Hart took Top Fuel honors at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.
Ocala’s Josh Hart with his “Wally” trophy after piloting the Burnyzz Speedmaster Top Fuel dragster to the win at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville on March 8, 2026. [Photo courtesy John Force Racing/FB]
Josh Hart of Ocala took home a “Wally” trophy after he set a track record and bested the reigning world champ and on his way to winning the Top Fuel class at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals that wrapped up March 8 in Gainesville.
The trophy is NHRA’s “most prestigious” award and is named after National Hot Rod Association founder Wally Parks.
“I knew I had an amazing John Force hot rod,” Hart said about his Burnyzz Speedmaster Top Fuel dragster, which is part of the John Force Racing stable.
The dragster was tuned by Dave Grubnic and John Collins, according to the JRF website.
Hart went into the final round “grateful” for what had already been accomplished in what he called a weekend of “marathon” Burnyzz interaction with his new JFR team during the Gatornationals.
“The light fell in our favor” and he kept the car “in the groove” in the last run,” he said of launching from the starting line as the “Christmas tree” starting light flashed green.
Hart had driven the Burnyzz Speedmaster dragster to a win against driver Antron Brown prior to the final race with 2025 NHRA Top Fuel champion, Doug Kalitta, according to nhra.com
Hart said he had to “manage his own expectations” with last year’s champ Kalitta lined up next to him.
The NHRA website gives a brief description of the race as: “Kalitta with a slight starting line advantage, but Hart had the difference made up by 100 feet and never trailed from there on for the win.”
Hart posted a 3.733 elapsed time and 337.83 mph top speed on the final run, according to the site.
Qualifying for the event saw Hart set records for himself and the track.
According to David Hart with JFR Racing, who is no relation to Josh Hart, “Friday night qualifying lap of 3.658 seconds at 340.30 mph were (Josh Hart’s) personal bests in both elapsed time and miles per hour and Gainesville Raceway’s new speed record (and first 340-mph run).”
Hart, 42, according to an NHRA biography, is a “self-made entrepreneur” who has been racing since 2011 and whose career highlights include “won debut Top Fuel national event, 2021 NHRA Gatornationals, won two Top Fuel titles in rookie season in only 12 starts, two-time U.S. Nationals Top Alcohol Dragster winner.”
Hart and his wife Brittanie founded the automotive enterprise Burnyzz LLC in Ocala in 2010 and the business has since grown into a “showroom, premier classic car restoration, full detailing services and high-tech performance center” destination covering “an entire city block,” according to burnyzz.com
Burnyzz has hosted a fan fest event in Ocala on the eve of the Gatornationals for five years. The event this year saw upwards of 8,000 fans visiting for the races a chance to meet and greet the top competitors in the NHRA season opener. (See our related article at Burnyzz & NHRA Gatornationals FanFest and Car Show | Ocala Gazette)
Josh Hart praised two-time NHRA World Champion and record setter Brittany Force, whose seat he took on the JFR team after she stepped away from “fulltime competition at the conclusion of the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series to focus on starting a family,” according to johnforceracing.com
“No one is going to replace Brittany Force. I’m grateful event minute of every day,” said Hart, who noted that finding the spot with JFR is more than a great fit.
“Immediately and in every interaction I’m so grateful they chose me. (The JFR team) is so professional. John Force truly is the greatest of all time,” Hart said.
Hart added that he is “very excited…hungry…and focused” about the new drag racing season. The next event is the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs on March 20-22 in Chandler, Arizona.
“We want to buckle down and win every race…we want to show them what we’re made of,” Hart said.
Meanwhile, drag racing icon and Marion County resident and museum owner Don Garlits commented in an email on Hart’s victory and future in the sport.
“I think Josh made a very good decision, teaming up with John Force,” he wrote. “John is a great person and can only help Josh to become a very famous drag racer. This won’t be the last you hear of him.”
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