Steve Torrence

[justafan]

First off, let me say that I love rooting for the "little guy" in the pro ranks of the NHRA and secondly, I'm a numbers guy. Steve has qualified for all four races and made 7 solid passes in eliminations this season. I believe his round record of 3-4 is not indicative of his cars performance. Although he has 2 holeshot wins (against Bernstein and Grubnic), he also has 3 holeshot losses (Langdon with a 3.820 pass and Millican with a 3.794 pass) plus one last weekend to eventual winner Spencer Massey in the semis (with a 3.823 pass) at Las Vegas. Any observations or thoughts?

 

[Just Paul]

Good running car, should make the top 10 no problem. Seems to run good on good tracks, we'll see how it goes when it gets hot. I think they can get a win if everything goes right, holeshot losses need to stop.

 

[I was NITRO BREATH]

i was hoping someone like torrence would step up this yr and do some damage to the "big boys". hopefully Millican will win one soon. And vandergrif is getting stronger. So the season will be very interesting and more competitive than last yr.

 

[Toejam]

When he drove in Alky Dragster he was one of the best leavers out there! Suprising his RT's aren't like they used to be!

 

[DrRocket]

When he drove in Alky Dragster he was one of the best leavers out there! Suprising his RT's aren't like they used to be!

I'd think the launch characteristics of the two types of cars are quite different. He'll get a handle on it.

 

[Catman]

Steve had a very respectable light versus Spencer Massey. Normally .069 is a good light. It was just the case that Spencer cut a .040. Trust me, it's not as easy as it looks !!! It's funny that everybody becomes a Monday morning quarterback.Please show some respect, these guys are doing the best they can.

 

[DrRocket]

Steve had a very respectable light versus Spencer Massey. Normally .069 is a good light. It was just the case that Spencer cut a .040. Trust me, it's not as easy as it looks !!! It's funny that everybody becomes a Monday morning quarterback.Please show some respect, these guys are doing the best they can.

This place is FULL of Monday morning QBs.

 

[justafan]

Steve had a very respectable light versus Spencer Massey. Normally .069 is a good light. It was just the case that Spencer cut a .040. Trust me, it's not as easy as it looks !!! It's funny that everybody becomes a Monday morning quarterback.Please show some respect, these guys are doing the best they can.

This place is FULL of Monday morning QBs.

Mike and David, I started the thread to bring some positive attention to Steve and his team. I'm in no way passing judgement on his driving ability and I apologize if the post came off that way. His reaction times have been very consistent through the first four races. His loss to Langdon, his .059 to an .010 and to Massey, as you stated, should have been good enough to win in most races. Possibly I should have made mention of those facts in my initial post. I'm hoping Steve and his team can continue to perform as they have so far and would love to see them hoisting a Wally in the near future.

 

[Gordon]

Where's Scelzi when ya need him?

All the attention on holeshots in the nitro categories is nice, but as has been pointed out numerous times - normally by folks a LOT smarter than me - holeshots are very often misleading. None of us has any idea how deep or shallow the drivers are staging, and as a result, are really in no position to criticize RT's... particularly when most of them are in the .0?? range. I've heard on more than one occasion already this year from drivers that the ET is not completely indicative of their performance because they were in deep. Holeshot wins & losses may create interest, but until we can create a way of making sure both drivers are staged EXACTLY the same way, they'll never tell the whole story.

On topic: I love seeing Steve do well & I sincerely hope it continues throughout the season.

 

[mick]

IMO there has not been constant innovation to the motor/fuel/clutch in the
past few years allowing a greater majority of the teams to be competitive;
i.e. torrence, mcmillen, millican, haddock, bode, dunn, densham, etc.
as soon as one of the top teams r&d's a piece exclusive to themselves for
a year or two, the gap widens and everyone plays catch up again.
the safe but competitive tune-up seems to have spread, and the
safe and winning tune-up is also available for a few dollars more.

yes, the money and talent have to be there; perfect example the
Torrence family team.

 

[Gordon]

IMO there has not been constant innovation to the motor/fuel/clutch in the
past few years allowing a greater majority of the teams to be competitive;
i.e. torrence, mcmillen, millican, haddock, bode, dunn, densham, etc.
as soon as one of the top teams r&d's a piece exclusive to themselves for
a year or two, the gap widens and everyone plays catch up again.
the safe but competitive tune-up seems to have spread, and the
safe and winning tune-up is also available for a few dollars more.

yes, the money and talent have to be there; perfect example the
Torrence family team.

The closer the cars get to 0.00 ET's, the easier (not sure "easy" is the right word, but I hope you get the idea) it is to play the "catch up" you refer to above.

 

[mick]

The closer the cars get to 0.00 ET's, the easier (not sure "easy" is the right word, but I hope you get the idea) it is to play the "catch up" you refer to above.

good point gordon.

 

[tx_trojan]

#1 thru Friday night.... Congrats to Steve and the Capco boys...

 

[Toejam]

This place is FULL of Monday morning QBs.

Im in a contract dispute at the moment! Lol