Virgil Hartman had one of the most unusual situations in NHRA drag racing. He was the owner of the two-car Top Fuel team driven by John Smith and Rhonda Hartman-Smith. They were the first husband and wife combination to finish in the top 10 of the NHRA point standings in the history of the sport and compete against one another in the professional ranks of NHRA drag racing. Virgil Hartman owned the entire operation and made the majority of the tuning calls for both teams.
Hartman became involved with drag racing more than 40 years ago when his neighbors took the 15-year-old to Fontana Drag City. He was hooked after one event. The following week, he was working in the time-slip booth. He’s been with racing ever since. In 1972, after serving time in the military, Hartman built a Jr. gas dragster and raced against the likes of Jerry Darien and Larry Sutton. By the late ‘70’s he was involved with alcohol dragsters. Hartman started racing with his son, Richard, in 1982, before daughter, Rhonda, started racing in Top Fuel in 1993. Hartman started racing NHRA full-time as owner and crew chief for his daughters Top Fuel dragster in 2000.
Within two years, the team had expanded to a two-car Top Fuel team with the second dragster being piloted by his son-in-law John Smith. The successful team has finished in the top 10 for four consecutive years with several semi-final and final round appearances between their hectic NHRA and IHRA schedules.
Hartman’s life has been chronicled not only at the drag strips, but by several major news outlets as well. With their “family-style” racing story being a favorite among the fans, Hartman and his clan have been featured in many magazines such as National Speed Sport News, Drag Racing Action, Drag Review, and National Dragster just to name a few. His family was also included in FOX TV’s special series “Families of Racing” which featured other great families such as the Pettys and Earnhardts.
Virgil now enjoyes racing his Classic Funny Cars at exhibition events. He occasionally gets the opportunity to watch his granddaughter, Megan, race her junior dragster.
RHONDA HARTMAN-SMITH - DRIVER
With 14 years of experience in drag racing as a competitive driver and once labeled the “Quickest Female on Earth,” this NHRA and IHRA record-holding driver is no stranger to hard work.
Rhonda was introduced to full-throttle horsepower as a youngster and attended drag racing events with her family in Southern California. She spent her childhood alongside her father and brother and learned how to build and service their family-owned racecar. “My mechanical background provided a great foundation for my driving career,” comments Hartman-Smith.
Although Rhonda had her sites set on the driver’s seat, her father and team owner, Virgil Hartman, stressed that she had to earn her way behind the wheel. While attending San Dimas High in California, Rhonda spent her weekends at the track cleaning parts and helping out the team while her brother drove the team-owned Alcohol Funny Car. She balanced an active student life of cheerleading, softball, student government and her studies.
Her hard work paid off in 1992 when she made her driving debut in the California Independent Funny Car Association series and won her first race. Rhonda’s “need for speed” continued when she earned her Top Fuel Dragster license in 1994. As her career blossomed, Rhonda found “love in the fast lane” when she met future husband, John Smith, at an IHRA race. The pair worked together when John was hired to crew for Hartman Motorsports. The “sparks” flew right away – the couple was engaged in 1994 and married in 1995.
She enjoyed immediate success on the IHRA Top Fuel circuit in 1994 including victories at the Super Nationals Inaugural Race and Grand American Nationals. She earned an IHRA record as the first female and youngest driver to win a national event and was named the IHRA Rookie of the Year. This savvy young female was a fresh addition to the male-dominated world of auto racing. “My young age was more of a challenge than my gender,” comments Hartman- Smith. “My peers felt that it would be difficult to handle the pressures of professional competition at 18 years of age. I didn’t let that get in the way of my lifelong dream of driving.”
Rhonda took time away from racing in 1998 – 1999 when she and John celebrated the birth of their daughter, Megan Smith. She moved right back into the driver’s seat in 2000 and participated in all 24 NHRA race events. The team established a race-by-race sponsorship with FRAM Filters that progressed into a full-time partnership from 2001 to 2004.
Rhonda celebrated her first top 10 NHRA championship point standings finish (tenth place) in 2001. She and John graced the NHRA record books as the first professional husband-and-wife to qualify at the same NHRA race. Rhonda’s career continued to excel in 2002 when she and John both earned top 10 points standing positions – Rhonda finished #9 and John earned the # 10 spot. They wrapped up another NHRA record for this performance. In 2003, Rhonda proved her ability as a driver when she earned the “Quickest Female on Earth” title with a 4.562-second pass at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals. She re-established that title at the CARQUEST NHRA Nationals in 4.523-seconds. She competed in all 23 NHRA national events and select IHRA races. She participated in two NHRA semifinal match-ups at the Sears Craftsman NHRA Nationals and the FRAM/Autolite Nationals. Rhonda earned two IHRA runner-up titles at the 33rd annual IHRA Spring Nationals and the 8th annual IHRA World Finals – both within 24 hours. She completed the 2003 season in the top 10 in both motorsports arenas – she earned the #10 spot in NHRA and #9 on the IHRA tour.
During the 2004 season, Rhonda topped her own record speed by completing the quarter-mile at 325.92 mph in Bristol, Tennessee. Due to her enormous popularity within the sports world, she also enjoyed participating in many national and highly-rated media venues, such as an appearance as an in-studio guest on ESPN2's morning sports talk show Cold Pizza. Rhonda was also featured on CNN, the Oxygen Network, and the Women’s Entertainment Network to name a few. Rhonda earned another spot in the POWERade NHRA Top Ten for the fourth year in a row by finishing in the # 9 position.
Although Rhonda took the 2005 - 2007 seasons off to have her second child, she has used that time to spend with her family and focus on business. She continues to search for funding for a return to the sport . Rhonda is more than eager to get back behind the wheel.
JOHN SMITH - DRIVER/CREW CHIEF
Born into a family of drag racing professionals, John Smith enjoys tuning and driving the quickest vehicles on the planet. Although his focus has changed from tuning to driving, his knowledge of the inner-workings of a Top Fuel motor has contributed to his success behind the wheel.
John was introduced to drag racing as a youngster while working alongside his brother and father preparing their family-owned racecar for regional events in Florida near their hometown of Delray Beach. After graduating from high school, John began working as a crewmember on his father’s professional team and for prominent NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car drivers including Chuck Etchells and John Carey.
John joined Hartman Motorsports as a crewmember in 1993. Although he enjoyed working on the team-owned Top Fuel dragster, John had a watchful eye on the team’s driver, Rhonda Hartman. The pair clicked right away – they were engaged in 1994 and married in 1995.
With 10 years of fuel racing experience under his belt, John began sharing tuning responsibilities with father-in-law and team owner, Virgil Hartman. Together they tuned the team-owned dragster to three IHRA Top Fuel victories, several runner-up finishes and concluded the 1994 season in third place.
John earned his Top Fuel license in 1997 and took over driving responsibilities in 1998 for several races when Rhonda became pregnant with their first child. While Rhonda took the 1999 season off to spend time with newborn Megan Smith, John tuned for the Fluke Top Fuel team and driver Randy Parks.
Hartman Motorsports was back together in 2000 and participated in all 24 NHRA race events with new-mom Rhonda in the cockpit and John tuning. They completed in team’s first full-year of NHRA competition in 12th place.
The 2001 season was bittersweet for John Smith. While gaining experience and seat time in the Hartman Motorsports 3rd team car, John was involved in a serious accident when opponent, Gary Scelzi, had an engine explosion and crashed into him. John suffered serious injuries, attended months of rehabilitation and sustained four operations to improve mobility in his leg and wrist. Although he was unable to complete the season, John finished in 13th place.
John was back on his feet in 2002 and began driving the team’s back-up dragster to test parts and tuning techniques. John partnered with Prestone Products, a sister company of FRAM Filters, and made a mid-season debut with John behind the wheel and Virgil as the team owner/tuner. Rhonda and John made NHRA history later that season as the first professional husband-and-wife to qualify at the same NHRA race. “The 2002 season was a real turning point in my driving career,” comments Smith. “After a devastating 2001 season, I was thrilled for the opportunity to drive again.” Rhonda and John created quite buzz in September 2002 when they earned a spot in the NHRA record books as the first married couple to race each other in the same professional category. John completed his first full-time professional tour in the prestigious NHRA top 10 in 10th place while Rhonda earned the #9 spot.
The pair continued to battle it out on the NHRA and IHRA starting lines in 2003. Although Rhonda earned a 4-1 lead in head-to-head competition, John continued to improve his career-best driving statistics during his first full-time season of Top Fuel competition. John and the Prestone team experienced numerous “firsts” during the 2003 season including a career-first final round match-up at his hometown race, the Mac Tools Gatornationals, in Gainesville, Florida. He earned two IHRA Top Fuel runner-up titles at the Inaugural IHRA Amalie Oil Texas Nationals and the ACDelco Nationals.
He competed in the Budweiser Shootout, a premier event showcasing the eight quickest Top Fuel drivers of the 2003 season, and raced for his shot at the $100,000 purse. This top 10 driver posted career-best’s including a 4.540-second elapsed time (Houston, TX) and a 325.77 mph run (Joliet, IL). John completed the 2003 NHRA and IHRA seasons in the #8 points standing position on both professional circuits.
With three full seasons of professional Top Fuel driving experience, John had become a prominent top 10 driver in the sport of NHRA drag racing. His natural driving skills including quick reaction time (off the starting line) and the ability to pedal a car down the track make him a fierce competitor every run. In 2006, John decided to focus on his tuning abilities and consulted with various teams including his father's funny car team, Doug Herbert, Michael Gunderson, and Terry McMillen. While working on the cars takes up most of his time, he occassionally gets to drive his father-in-law's Nostalgia Funny Cars at selected events. John served as Crew Chief for Matt Hagan's Nitro Funny Car team during the last half of the NHRA/IHRA season in 2008, tuning the car to it's best elapsed time and MPH in the quarter mile and winning an IHRA national event in Tulsa, OK.
Now, John has a wide variety of experience working for several different part time teams in Europe and the USA keeping himself busy every weekend working on fuel cars and selling racing parts.
JOHN SMITH - DRIVER/CREW CHIEF
