TORRENCE AFTER THIRD STRAIGHT WIN
4-Time Reigning World Champ Has Dominated at Summit Motorsports Park
NORWALK, Ohio – When you’ve grown accustomed to hoisting the Top Fuel trophy after every third start on the NHRA Camping World tour as has reigning World Champion Steve Torrence, adjusting to life outside the winners’ circle can be a little disconcerting.
In a season in which he is poised to become just the fourth driver in professional drag racing history to win as many as five consecutive NHRA series championships, the 39-year-old Texan rolls into Summit Motorsports Park for this week’s 15th Summit Racing Equipment Nationals winless through nine events.
Steve Torrence will try to put his Capco Contractors Top Fuel dragster in the winners' circle for the first time this year and for the fourth time at Summit Motorsports Park where he is the defending champion in this week's Summit Racing Equipment Nationals. (Photo by Jason Zindroski)
“The thing about this sport is that you can’t just stand still,” he said. “You have to change or get left behind. Everybody we race out there is constantly trying to do something to get just a little quicker, a little faster. So, really, our biggest enemy is our own success because when you get too comfortable you start to lose your edge.”
Steve Torrence, left, shares a moment with rival Brittany Force with whom he will duel for the Top Fuel championship in this week's Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio. Between them, Torrence and Force have won the last five NHRA championships. (Photo by Will Lester)
When he begins his quest for a third straight Summit Nationals title (and fourth in six years) on Friday, he will occupy fourth place in the Top Fuel standings, the highest placed driver without a 2022 victory.
“With the success we’ve had and the way the car has run (in the past), it’s difficult to set that down,” Torrence admitted. “When you have an expectation of performance and it’s not there, week-in and week-out, it can be a little frustrating, maybe a little disheartening, but you know (the changes are) for the greater good.
“We’ve found some things that we think are better and we’re working on them,” he continued. “We’ve definitely been pleased with the way things are trending and I have all the faith in the world in these ‘Capco Boys.’”
Although Torrence thus far has been unable to add a 52nd tour victory to his resume, performance has not been the biggest issue. He has qualified third or better in all but two of nine starts and twice has started from the No. 1 qualifying position. The missing link has been a lack of consistency, the single element that set the team apart from every other the last six years.
“We just haven’t made enough laps with this combination for Hoagie and Bobby to know exactly what adjustments to make for changing conditions,” Torrence said, “but as we get more and more data, that’s going to change. It’s frustrating on one hand after all the success we’ve had, but it’s exciting, too.”
Billy Torrence returns to the cockpit of the second Capco Contractors dragster at this week's Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio.as teammate to son Steve, the four time reigning World Champion and three time Norwalk winner. (Photo by Mark Rebilas)
The team will get some much-needed help with that data collection this weekend with the return of Capco founder and CEO Billy Torrence to the cockpit of the team’s second Top Fuel dragster. An eight-time Top Fuel winner in his own right, the elder Torrence has raced only two times previously this year.
Qualifying begins Friday with nitro sessions at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. and resumes Saturday with two more rounds at 12:30 and 4 p.m. Single elimination finals start at 10 a.m. Sunday. All are Texas times and are subject to change. For the second straight week, FOX broadcast network will cover final eliminations in a three hour show beginning at 2 p.m., Texas time, on Sunday. Qualifying shows will air on FS1 Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Consult local listings for times.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships. Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
About Capco Contractors Inc.:
Capco Contractors, Inc. is a family owned-and-operated construction company specializing in the oil and gas industries. A proud American company based in Texas with clients around the world, Capco was founded in 1995 by Billy Torrence and initially operated from a small office and one job-site trailer with a staff of only 12 employees. From those humble beginnings, Capco Contactors, Inc. has developed into a full-service pipeline company, capable of all aspects of pipeline work including site work, creation of compressor stations, mainline pipeline construction and pipeline integrity projects. It employs more than 200 people with main offices in Henderson, Texas.
