TORRENCE TIMES TWO AT INDY
Reigning U.S. Nationals Champ Joined by Dad on Formidable Capco Team
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – From painful personal experience Steve Torrence knows how fickle drag racing can be.
That’s why, although he is virtually assured of winning the NHRA regular season championship and earning the No. 1 starting berth for the playoffs, the 35-year-old Texan is taking nothing for granted this week when he defends his Top Fuel title in the 64th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway.
“I won’t believe it until we get through that first qualifying run on Friday,” the runaway point leader said of his bid to become just the fifth driver in Countdown history to earn the No. 1 starting spot in consecutive seasons. “This sport can bite you. It bit us last year when we crashed in Dallas (four races into the playoffs).”
Forced into a backup version of his all-conquering Capco Contractors dragster following that accident, Torrence won just two rounds the rest of the way and lost the title to Brittany Force in the next-to-last round on the final day of the season.
The cancer survivor used that disappointment as a motivator for a 2018 season in which he again has dominated the pro tour, winning four times and leading the driver standings after every race but the season-opener.
“If we’re the No. 1 seed, that’s great,” Torrence said, “but that wasn’t our goal coming in here. There’s only one thing we’ve talked about all year. Everybody on this team is committed to winning a championship that we know we let get away last year.
“When you get so close that you can taste it and it doesn’t happen, it just makes you want it even more,” admitted the man who is trying to become the first in history to win NHRA series championships in both the Alcohol and Fuel categories. “Maybe my attitude wasn’t right (last year), but it is now.”
Ironically, one of the biggest roadblocks to Torrence’s bid for a second straight Indy victory may come from within the Capco compound.
Billy Torrence, the 60-year-old founder of Capco Contractors, will be back in the cockpit of a second Capco dragster as teammate to his son after earning an upset victory two weeks ago at Brainerd, Minn., his first such success in Top Fuel.
Not only did he win the race, he also qualified No. 1 (just ahead of his son) and, in the final, upset three-time World Champion Antron Brown, whose semifinal victory had squelched the possibility of an all-Torrence, all-Capco final.
“He was pretty bad-ass,” Torrence said of his dad who for more than 30 years has raced competitively at the sportsman level where he has won a couple of NHRA national events in the Super Comp class.
“Racing each other at this level in a final round has been a dream of mine,” Torrence said. “You don’t get that many opportunities. In fact, I think it’s only happened once in Top Fuel (when Conrad Kalitta beat his son Scott at the 1994 Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.). We’d like to be the second. That would be tough to top.”
STEVE’S SEASON-TO-DATE
Date Site Qualifying position and race detail Points
Feb. 11 Pomona, CA 2. Beat Steve Faria; lost to Antron Brown 5th
Feb. 25 Phoenix, AZ 2. Beat Steve Chrisman, Blake Alexander, Billy
Torrence and Scott Palmer 1st
March 19 Gainesville, FL 2. Lost to Mike Salinas 1st
April 9 Las Vegas, NV 5. 4Wide WINNER over Tony Schumacher,
Doug Kalitta and Antron Brown 1st
April 22 Houston, TX 9. Beat Scott Palmer; lost to Leah Pritchett 1st
April 29 Charlotte, NC 4. 4Wide WINNER over Doug Kalitta, Terry
McMillen and Clay Millican. 1st
May 6 Atlanta, GA 3. Beat Terry Haddock, Doug Kalitta; lost to Blake Alexander 1st
May 20/21 Topeka, KS 2. Beat Terry Haddock, Brittany Force; lost to Terry McMillen 1st
June 3 Chicago, IL 1. Lost to Luigi Novelli 1st
June 10 Richmond, VA 6. Beat Scott Palmer, Terry McMillen, Antron Brown
and Doug Kalitta 1st
June 17 Bristol, TN 6. Beat Shawn Reed, Antron Brown; lost to Tony Schumacher 1st
June 24 Norwalk, OH 3. Beat Chris Karamesines, Mike Salinas; lost to Terry McMillen 1st
July 8 Epping, NH 3. Beat Dan Mercier, Shawn Reed, Tony Schumacher
and Antron Brown 1st
July 22 Denver 3. Beat Bill Litton; lost to Blake Alexander 1st
July 29 Sonoma 8. Lost to Doug Kalitta. 1st
August 5 Seattle 1. Beat Ron Smith, Richie Crampton; lost to Antron Brown 1st
August 19 Brainerd 2. Beat Bill Litton, Tony Schumacher; lost to Antron Brown 1st
2018 NHRA MELLO YELLO POINTS
TOP FUEL
(NHRA Mello Yello points after 17 of 18 events leading up to the Countdown to the Mello Yello Championship)
1. Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contractors dragster 1332
2. Tony Schumacher, Lakeway, Texas, U.S. Army dragster 1145
3. Clay Millican, Drummonds, Tenn., Parts Plus dragster 1144
4. Leah Pritchett, Danville, Ind., Sparkling Ice dragster 1118
5. Doug Kalitta, Saline, Mich., Mac Tools dragster 1027
6. Antron Brown, Pittsboro, Ind., Matco Tools dragster 1026
7. Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., Amalie Oil dragster 791
8. Brittany Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., PEAK/Monster dragster 887
9. Scott Palmer, Cassville, Mo., Cat Spot dragster 721
10. Mike Salinas, San Jose, Calif., Scrappers Racing dragster 694
STEVE at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis
Last year: After qualifying third, Steve beat rookie Ashley Sanford, Antron Brown, Leah Pritchett and Kebin Kinsley for his first U.S. Nationals win.
Starts/Final Rounds/Wins/No. 1 Qualifier: 8/4/1/0
Steve’s quickest time at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis: 3.673 seconds, Sept. 2, 2017
Steve’s fastest speed at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis: 329.75 mph, Sept. 4, 2017
Steve’s won-lost record at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis: 14-7
Steve’s best moment(s) at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis: Steve has been to the final round four of the last five years; last year, in addition to winning the world’s biggest drag race for the first time, he also won the Traxxas Nitro Shootout bonus race.
Track records: 3.663 seconds by Clay Millican, Sept. 1, 2017; 330.31 mph by Tony Schumacher, Sept. 3, 2016.
NEXT EVENTS
Countdown to the Championship
Sept. 16, 2018 34th Dodge Nationals Reading, Pa.
Sept. 23, 2018 21st AAA Insurance Midwest Nationals St. Louis, Mo.
Oct. 7, 2018 33rd AAA Texas Fall Nationals Dallas, Texas
Oct. 21, 2018 11th NHRA Carolina Nationals Charlotte, N.C.
Oct. 28, 2018 18th Toyota Nationals Las Vegas, Nev.
Nov. 11, 2018 54th Auto Club Finals Pomona, Calif.
Reigning U.S. Nationals Champ Joined by Dad on Formidable Capco Team
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – From painful personal experience Steve Torrence knows how fickle drag racing can be.
That’s why, although he is virtually assured of winning the NHRA regular season championship and earning the No. 1 starting berth for the playoffs, the 35-year-old Texan is taking nothing for granted this week when he defends his Top Fuel title in the 64th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway.
“I won’t believe it until we get through that first qualifying run on Friday,” the runaway point leader said of his bid to become just the fifth driver in Countdown history to earn the No. 1 starting spot in consecutive seasons. “This sport can bite you. It bit us last year when we crashed in Dallas (four races into the playoffs).”
Forced into a backup version of his all-conquering Capco Contractors dragster following that accident, Torrence won just two rounds the rest of the way and lost the title to Brittany Force in the next-to-last round on the final day of the season.
The cancer survivor used that disappointment as a motivator for a 2018 season in which he again has dominated the pro tour, winning four times and leading the driver standings after every race but the season-opener.
“If we’re the No. 1 seed, that’s great,” Torrence said, “but that wasn’t our goal coming in here. There’s only one thing we’ve talked about all year. Everybody on this team is committed to winning a championship that we know we let get away last year.
“When you get so close that you can taste it and it doesn’t happen, it just makes you want it even more,” admitted the man who is trying to become the first in history to win NHRA series championships in both the Alcohol and Fuel categories. “Maybe my attitude wasn’t right (last year), but it is now.”
Ironically, one of the biggest roadblocks to Torrence’s bid for a second straight Indy victory may come from within the Capco compound.
Billy Torrence, the 60-year-old founder of Capco Contractors, will be back in the cockpit of a second Capco dragster as teammate to his son after earning an upset victory two weeks ago at Brainerd, Minn., his first such success in Top Fuel.
Not only did he win the race, he also qualified No. 1 (just ahead of his son) and, in the final, upset three-time World Champion Antron Brown, whose semifinal victory had squelched the possibility of an all-Torrence, all-Capco final.
“He was pretty bad-ass,” Torrence said of his dad who for more than 30 years has raced competitively at the sportsman level where he has won a couple of NHRA national events in the Super Comp class.
“Racing each other at this level in a final round has been a dream of mine,” Torrence said. “You don’t get that many opportunities. In fact, I think it’s only happened once in Top Fuel (when Conrad Kalitta beat his son Scott at the 1994 Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.). We’d like to be the second. That would be tough to top.”
STEVE’S SEASON-TO-DATE
Date Site Qualifying position and race detail Points
Feb. 11 Pomona, CA 2. Beat Steve Faria; lost to Antron Brown 5th
Feb. 25 Phoenix, AZ 2. Beat Steve Chrisman, Blake Alexander, Billy
Torrence and Scott Palmer 1st
March 19 Gainesville, FL 2. Lost to Mike Salinas 1st
April 9 Las Vegas, NV 5. 4Wide WINNER over Tony Schumacher,
Doug Kalitta and Antron Brown 1st
April 22 Houston, TX 9. Beat Scott Palmer; lost to Leah Pritchett 1st
April 29 Charlotte, NC 4. 4Wide WINNER over Doug Kalitta, Terry
McMillen and Clay Millican. 1st
May 6 Atlanta, GA 3. Beat Terry Haddock, Doug Kalitta; lost to Blake Alexander 1st
May 20/21 Topeka, KS 2. Beat Terry Haddock, Brittany Force; lost to Terry McMillen 1st
June 3 Chicago, IL 1. Lost to Luigi Novelli 1st
June 10 Richmond, VA 6. Beat Scott Palmer, Terry McMillen, Antron Brown
and Doug Kalitta 1st
June 17 Bristol, TN 6. Beat Shawn Reed, Antron Brown; lost to Tony Schumacher 1st
June 24 Norwalk, OH 3. Beat Chris Karamesines, Mike Salinas; lost to Terry McMillen 1st
July 8 Epping, NH 3. Beat Dan Mercier, Shawn Reed, Tony Schumacher
and Antron Brown 1st
July 22 Denver 3. Beat Bill Litton; lost to Blake Alexander 1st
July 29 Sonoma 8. Lost to Doug Kalitta. 1st
August 5 Seattle 1. Beat Ron Smith, Richie Crampton; lost to Antron Brown 1st
August 19 Brainerd 2. Beat Bill Litton, Tony Schumacher; lost to Antron Brown 1st
2018 NHRA MELLO YELLO POINTS
TOP FUEL
(NHRA Mello Yello points after 17 of 18 events leading up to the Countdown to the Mello Yello Championship)
1. Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contractors dragster 1332
2. Tony Schumacher, Lakeway, Texas, U.S. Army dragster 1145
3. Clay Millican, Drummonds, Tenn., Parts Plus dragster 1144
4. Leah Pritchett, Danville, Ind., Sparkling Ice dragster 1118
5. Doug Kalitta, Saline, Mich., Mac Tools dragster 1027
6. Antron Brown, Pittsboro, Ind., Matco Tools dragster 1026
7. Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., Amalie Oil dragster 791
8. Brittany Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., PEAK/Monster dragster 887
9. Scott Palmer, Cassville, Mo., Cat Spot dragster 721
10. Mike Salinas, San Jose, Calif., Scrappers Racing dragster 694
STEVE at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis
Last year: After qualifying third, Steve beat rookie Ashley Sanford, Antron Brown, Leah Pritchett and Kebin Kinsley for his first U.S. Nationals win.
Starts/Final Rounds/Wins/No. 1 Qualifier: 8/4/1/0
Steve’s quickest time at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis: 3.673 seconds, Sept. 2, 2017
Steve’s fastest speed at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis: 329.75 mph, Sept. 4, 2017
Steve’s won-lost record at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis: 14-7
Steve’s best moment(s) at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis: Steve has been to the final round four of the last five years; last year, in addition to winning the world’s biggest drag race for the first time, he also won the Traxxas Nitro Shootout bonus race.
Track records: 3.663 seconds by Clay Millican, Sept. 1, 2017; 330.31 mph by Tony Schumacher, Sept. 3, 2016.
NEXT EVENTS
Countdown to the Championship
Sept. 16, 2018 34th Dodge Nationals Reading, Pa.
Sept. 23, 2018 21st AAA Insurance Midwest Nationals St. Louis, Mo.
Oct. 7, 2018 33rd AAA Texas Fall Nationals Dallas, Texas
Oct. 21, 2018 11th NHRA Carolina Nationals Charlotte, N.C.
Oct. 28, 2018 18th Toyota Nationals Las Vegas, Nev.
Nov. 11, 2018 54th Auto Club Finals Pomona, Calif.
