DALLAS – The time has come for Steve Torrence to return to NHRA racing after taking a self-imposed four-month hiatus to start a new team and build a new race car.
“I couldn’t be more excited for myself and my family because we will debut our new Torrence Racing Top Fuel dragster at our home track, the Texas Motorplex in Ennis,” said Torrence, of Kilgore, Texas – less than a two-hour drive from Ennis. “I consider this the high point of my racing career. It feels real good to be here to race.”
Torrence will take his first 1,000-foot ride in the sleek 8,000-horsepower dragster Friday when qualifying begins for the 26th annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals.
“Our (crew) guys were loading the car into the trailer Tuesday and were heading for Dallas to get ready to race,” he continued. “We have surrounded ourselves with the most capable people and they have all worked hard to prepare for this race. It was a big achievement to start a new team and get it ready in four months.”
Crew chief Richard Hogan and Bryan (Speedy) Shipman were the lone crewmen at the team’s shop in Brownsburg, Ind. during the team’s infancy. Orders for the myriad of tools, nuts bolts, car parts, engine blocks and assorted pieces were sent and the stuff eventually made its way to the team. A flurry of activity in the last few weeks got the job done.
Torrence made two starting-line launches at Indianapolis last week and Hogan was satisfied with the data . . . then it was full speed ahead.
This is the first of four races the team plans to enter before the end of the season. Other stops will be at Phoenix (Oct. 14-16), Las Vegas (Oct. 28-30) and Pomona, Calif. (Nov. 10-13).
“We want to put on a good show for the Torrences – Steve and his parents, Billy and Kay,” said Hogan. “We’d like to make four good qualifying runs at Dallas and race on Sunday, but when you are starting a race team from scratch, you’re not really sure which way it is going to go. We have a fairly proven combination, but it takes time to get everything going in the right direction.”
“This has been a huge undertaking . . . and it turned into a full-blown race team,” Torrence added. “There is a sense of accomplishment, but we still have a lot to do. The biggest accomplishment will be when this car runs well and we get into a final round or get a race win.
“Everything is a stepping stone. We’ll set small goals and try to achieve them first and see where it goes.”
The team’s Friday qualifying sessions are scheduled at 2:15 and 5:15 p.m. and Saturday’s sessions will be at 11 a.m. and 1:30. Eliminations begin Sunday at 11 a.m.
“I couldn’t be more excited for myself and my family because we will debut our new Torrence Racing Top Fuel dragster at our home track, the Texas Motorplex in Ennis,” said Torrence, of Kilgore, Texas – less than a two-hour drive from Ennis. “I consider this the high point of my racing career. It feels real good to be here to race.”
Torrence will take his first 1,000-foot ride in the sleek 8,000-horsepower dragster Friday when qualifying begins for the 26th annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals.
“Our (crew) guys were loading the car into the trailer Tuesday and were heading for Dallas to get ready to race,” he continued. “We have surrounded ourselves with the most capable people and they have all worked hard to prepare for this race. It was a big achievement to start a new team and get it ready in four months.”
Crew chief Richard Hogan and Bryan (Speedy) Shipman were the lone crewmen at the team’s shop in Brownsburg, Ind. during the team’s infancy. Orders for the myriad of tools, nuts bolts, car parts, engine blocks and assorted pieces were sent and the stuff eventually made its way to the team. A flurry of activity in the last few weeks got the job done.
Torrence made two starting-line launches at Indianapolis last week and Hogan was satisfied with the data . . . then it was full speed ahead.
This is the first of four races the team plans to enter before the end of the season. Other stops will be at Phoenix (Oct. 14-16), Las Vegas (Oct. 28-30) and Pomona, Calif. (Nov. 10-13).
“We want to put on a good show for the Torrences – Steve and his parents, Billy and Kay,” said Hogan. “We’d like to make four good qualifying runs at Dallas and race on Sunday, but when you are starting a race team from scratch, you’re not really sure which way it is going to go. We have a fairly proven combination, but it takes time to get everything going in the right direction.”
“This has been a huge undertaking . . . and it turned into a full-blown race team,” Torrence added. “There is a sense of accomplishment, but we still have a lot to do. The biggest accomplishment will be when this car runs well and we get into a final round or get a race win.
“Everything is a stepping stone. We’ll set small goals and try to achieve them first and see where it goes.”
The team’s Friday qualifying sessions are scheduled at 2:15 and 5:15 p.m. and Saturday’s sessions will be at 11 a.m. and 1:30. Eliminations begin Sunday at 11 a.m.
