TOPEKA, Kan. – Reigning world champion Brittany Force spoiled Steve Torrence’s bid to win the last drag race at Heartland Motorsports Park Sunday, using a slight starting line advantage to slip past the four-time Top Fuel World Champion by an oh-so-narrow .009 of a second in the second round of the 34th Menard’s Nationals.
“The CAPCO boys gave me a great car and I didn’t do my job,” said an obviously disappointed 54-time tour winner. “Nothing else to say. Just glad we have another race this week.”
When qualifying begins Friday in the 41st Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn., the 40-year-old Texan will trail Justin Ashley 83 points with only two races remaining in the regular season.
Despite the loss, which will deny him a chance to win for the 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge for a fourth straight time, Torrence likes his team’s chances in the Lucas Oil Nationals, an event in which his dad, Billy, earned his first Top Fuel victory in 2018 and in which he himself has hoisted the trophy each of the last two years.
“We’re taking a great car to Brainerd,” said the only driver ever to have swept the races in the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship (2018). “If we can get the driver on the same page, we’re gonna be hard to beat. I’ve said all season long that this is going to go down to the wire.”
After earning his first No. 1 start of the season with a time of 3.764 seconds at 326.24 mph and after waiting, along with everyone else, for a break in the weather, Torrence got a free ride in a belated round one when Terry Totten couldn’t get his car into reverse following the burnout.
Nevertheless, Torrence ran 3.786 at 328 miles an hour to earn lane choice over Force in the following round, an advantage on which he was unable to capitalize.
Photos by Mark Rebilas
Left photo: Steve Torrence executes a burnout in his CAPCO Contractors dragster before packed crowd at Heartland Motorsports Park in his final appearance in the Menard’s Nationals.
Right photo: Steve Torrence celebrated his third straight win in the 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge with Mission Foods ambassador Angelle Sampey, right, but couldn’t get a companion win Sunday in the final running of the Menard’s Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park.
NHRA CAMPING WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
TOP FUEL
(After 13 of 15 events leading up to the Countdown to the Championship)
1. Justin Ashley, Farmingdale, N.Y., Phillips Connect dragster 1052
2. Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, CAPCO Contractors dragster 969
3. Brittany Force, Aberdeen, N.C., Flav-R-Pac dragster/ Monster Energy 829
4. Antron Brown, Pittsboro, Ind., Matco Tools dragster 793
5. Leah Pruett, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Rayce Rudeen dragster 777
6. Austin Prock, Pittsboro, Ind., Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist dragster 766
7. Doug Kalitta, Saline, Mich., MAC Tools/Toyota dragster 710
8. Mike Salinas, San Jose, Calif., Scrappers Racing dragster 688
9. Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., R+L Carriers dragster 683
10. Clay Millican, Drummonds, Tenn., Parts Plus dragster 680
11. Shawn Langdon, Danville, Ind., Kalitta Air Careers dragster 620
12. Tony Schumacher, Lakeway, Texas, SCAG Equipment dragster 520
Next Scheduled CAMPING WORLD TOUR Event:
41st Lucas Oil Nationals
Aug. 18-20, 2023
Brainerd International Raceway
Brainerd, Minn.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands, and directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America (more than 49,000 of them in the U.S.). Over the past 65 years, Toyota has assembled nearly 45 million cars and trucks in North America at the company’s 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, the company’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
Through our more than 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.), Toyota sold more than 2.4 million cars and trucks (more than 2.1 million in the U.S.) in 2022, of which, nearly one quarter were electrified vehicles (full battery, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell).
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.
