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Josh Hart walked over to the fence at Summit Motorsports Park and looked at the giant R+L Carriers loading dock. It was busy for a Friday afternoon, unlike the pits, as rain fell on the track. He was hoping for a break in the weather where he could represent the same trucking company that advertises it can ship “anything, anywhere, and at any time.”
It was a moment of reflection for Hart, who described his marketing partnership with R+L Carriers as a program he wouldn’t have imagined having in a million years. The Top Fuel driver who won in his professional debut said the program has been more of a learning experience than anything.
“I learned that the R+L is not R plus L; it’s an R with a cross in the center with an L,” Hart pointed out.
But this was the least of the lessons he learned from Roby Roberts, the company’s owner.
Hart and Roberts had a friendship that spanned for decades. And when Hart won in his debut, no one was more proud of him than his friend. Apparently, there was one thing Roberts wasn’t proud of. It was the Fearless Racing logo on his firesuit.
“The owner called me up, and he said, ‘Tell me about your logo,'” Hart said, referring to him only as the owner. “The logo at the time was Fearless Racing, which was a skull, and it was holding a dragster, which was a very Angel of Death-type of logo.
“He said, ‘Well, I just want you to know that a company like mine would never sponsor you because of that logo.’
“And I said, ‘Wow, I never looked at it that way.'”
Hart learned valuable lesson No. 2; i.e., perception is everything.
But it’s the third lesson, Hart said, that has been the life changer. The two broached the subject of faith, and Hart was open to any and all discussions.
“Literally right there on the phone, I accepted Jesus Christ, and it was literally life-changing,” Hart said.
So inspired was Hart with his new direction in life that he made the decision to give back to R+L Carriers.
“As a token of my appreciation, and not many people know this when we debuted the R+L sponsorship, we did not have any type of deal,” Hart admitted. “I did that as a thank you to him.”
The gratitude included a party for the company, and a fully wrapped race car, all the while at the race directly across the street from the facility he was looking at during Friday’s rain delay.
“I did not expect anything in return, but doors opened for me right after that, and we were able to make a deal, and it’s been life-changing in so many ways,” Hart said. “This partnership is on an absolutely different level. It has nothing to do necessarily with just the race car. Last year we used it as a recruiting tool for him, and this year we’re using it for B2B accounts. And beyond that, I think they really just want to create better morale for their team and give them something to cheer for. I’m proud to say that I was qualified to be that guy.”
Hart loves nothing more than being an ambassador for R+L, but not because he’s contractually bound to do so. In the interest of fair reporting, there is no official contract – just a handshake, and a commitment to one another.
“I’m connecting as many people as I can to R+L,” Hart said. “There’s no smoke and mirrors. It’s a great company, and everybody uses them. They really do ship anything, anywhere, anytime. And it’s been very positive for even my business; we use them religiously.”
And for Hart, that’s not a play on words.
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