MADISON, Ill. (St. Louis) – A semifinal loss to Leah Pruett Sunday ended at six Steve Torrence’s streak of consecutive final round appearances in the NHRA Midwest Nationals, turning what could have been a “get well weekend” into a “get a little better weekend” at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Team CAPCO Competition Capsule
From the 27th NHRA Midwest Nationals at St. Louis, Mo.
STEVE TORRENCE
Qualifying position/performance: No. 5 at 3.733 seconds, 330.72 miles per hour.
Qualifying bonus points: Two for second quick time in Q3.
Race finish: Semifinalist
Current points position: Third
Race detail: Beat Josh Hart, 3.741, 329.42 mph to 10.184, 59.40 mph, Justin Ashley, 3.783, 322.50 mph to 3.815, 326.08 mph; lost to Leah Pruett, 3.825, 322.81 mph to 3.772, 331.77 mph
From the 27th NHRA Midwest Nationals at St. Louis, Mo.
STEVE TORRENCE
Qualifying position/performance: No. 5 at 3.733 seconds, 330.72 miles per hour.
Qualifying bonus points: Two for second quick time in Q3.
Race finish: Semifinalist
Current points position: Third
Race detail: Beat Josh Hart, 3.741, 329.42 mph to 10.184, 59.40 mph, Justin Ashley, 3.783, 322.50 mph to 3.815, 326.08 mph; lost to Leah Pruett, 3.825, 322.81 mph to 3.772, 331.77 mph
The talented Texan gained ground on point leader Doug Kalitta, cutting his deficit from 63 to 51 points, even though he lost a position in the standings to Pruett, whom he will trail by a scant four points when qualifying for the 38th annual Texas Fall Nationals begins Oct. 13 at the Texas Motorplex outside Dallas.
Until Sunday, Torrence had been either first or second in Camping World points after every event in the series, a remarkable achievement considering that he and his CAPCO Contractors crewmates have celebrated only one win thus far this year.
“Like I’ve said so many times, it’s gonna go right down to the wire,” Torrence said of the points race. “We’re halfway through (the playoffs) and there are five drivers who still have a legit shot. That said, I like where I’m sitting with these CAPCO boys behind me and the Countdown coming home to Texas!”
As was the case the previous week at Charlotte, Torrence and his team got behind the curve in the first qualifying session on Friday night and scrambled to catch up the rest of the weekend.
“(Friday) night was the hero session and I guess we forgot our cape,” Torrence said. “We were on a monster run until we overpowered the track and didn’t make it down (the track). My guys did a great job of getting us back in the hunt on race day. We got a huge win against Justin (regular season champion Justin Ashley) but we just didn’t have quite enough against Leah.”
Torrence has taken his Red Line Oil-protected Top Fuel Toyota to the final round five of the last eight years at the Motorplex with wins in 2018 and 2020.
Photos by Mark Rebilas
Steve Torrence and his CAPCO Contractors Top Fuel Toyota dropped a narrow decision to Leah Pruett and her Code 3 Associates dragster, foreground, in Sunday's Midwest Nationals at St. Louis.
27th NHRA Midwest Nationals FINAL ROUND RESULTS
Top Fuel – Clay Millican, Parts Plus dragster, 3.758, 331.94 mph, def. Leah Pruett, Code 3 Associates dragster, 3.775, 327.66 mph.
Funny Car – Matt Hagan, American Rebel Dodge Charger, 3.991, 324.90 mph, def. Ron Capps, NAPA Toyota Supra, 4.025, 306.88 mph.
Pro Stock – Greg Anderson, HendrickCars.com Chevy Camaro, 6.552, 209.92 mph, def. Aaron Stanfield, Janac Brothers Racing Chevy Camaro, 6.567, 209.14 mph.
I can't believe it! Haven Charli Torrence, daughter of four-time Top Fuel World Champion Steve Torrence, reacts to her dad's semifinal exit from Sunday's Midwest Nationals at St. Louis. Torrence trails Doug Kalitta by 51 points halfway through the Countdown to the Championship.
NHRA CAMPING WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
TOP FUEL
(After three of six races in the Countdown to the Championship)
1. Doug Kalitta, Saline, Mich., MAC Tools dragster 2348
2. Leah Pruett, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Code 3 Associates dragster 2301
3. Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, CAPCO Contractors dragster 2297
4. Justin Ashley, Farmingdale, N.Y., Phillips Connect dragster 2271
5. Antron Brown, Pittsboro, Ind., Matco Tools dragster 2252
6. Mike Salinas, San Jose, Calif., Scrappers Racing dragster 2224
7. Brittany Force, Aberdeen, N.C., Flav-R-Pac/ Monster Energy dragster 2210
8. Clay Millican, Drummonds, Tenn., Parts Plus dragster 2196
9. Tony Schumacher, SCAG Power Equipment dragster 2163
10. Austin Prock, Pittsboro, Ind., Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist dragster 2162
11. Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air Careers dragster 2133
12. Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., R+L Carriers dragster 2098
Next Scheduled CAMPING WORLD TOUR Event:
38th annual Texas Fall Nationals
Oct. 13-15, 2023
The Texas Motorplex
Dallas, Texas
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 (including 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.
