As Josh Hart sees it, if he can throw off world-class Top Fuel drivers just by taking his time staging, it says a lot about them, not him. He’s not saying that he should be considered the scapegoat. Hart refuses to be one.

Hart was the source of ire from his fellow competitors, who took exception to the slower staging process. In the spirit of drag racers, even though NHRA drag racers are afforded seven seconds to stage once their opponent rolls into the beam, it is customary to stage rapidly, especially in fuel racing. 

This time, Hart had two drivers expressing their displeasure with him. 

“I watched the video over and over and over again,” Hart said. “I was in at ifve seconds. I don’t know what else to say. I wasn’t the one that got timed out.”

Hart said he’s in the middle of being someone with remorse and someone questioning the remorse. 

“I saw all the write-ups and stuff about me being unapologetic,” Hart said Saturday at zMAX Dragway. “I just don’t really know what else I could have done. I was struggling with something that weekend. I got in before I got timed out. I did my job, so that’s where I’m at.”

Hart said that while some of his colleagues commented on his slow staging ritual, Sunday afternoon in Vegas was the first time anyone brought it to his attention and never in the two-wide competition.

“Never. Ever. First time I ever heard it,” Hart said. “There’s a lot of stuff I want to say, but in the end, we see each other every damn weekend. You can’t be enemies out here over stuff like that, but I guess other people have different opinions.”

On Friday in Charlotte, Hart went the extra effort to make sure the Vegas debacle didn’t happen again.

“I definitely was not the last one in, and I will not be the last one in from this point on,” Hart said with a smile. “Lesson learned.” 

Not everyone has been a critic. As Hart noted, some have offered their support. 

“I just don’t understand why the more popular drivers expect for us newer people to tee up the win lights for them,” Hart said. “It doesn’t make any sense. So I’m just going to continue to do my thing. I’ve never been a very cliquey person. I’m very comfortable by myself, so if they don’t want to be my friend, it’s not going to hurt my feelings.

“I never in a million years thought that the reaction I got from what happened in Vegas would have been what happened in Vegas. But when we left there, we said, ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,' and now we’re here in Charlotte.” 

But Hart did offer some sage advice to his critics.

“All I can say is I got to pay for my stuff,” Hart said. “So slamming stuff, banging stuff, screaming, yelling -- a lot of people say that’s the passion. All I can say is be careful of the quiet ones because that’s where the real passion is.”