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TORRENCE NO. 1 QUALIFIER AT INDY
Four-Time World Champ Seeks Third U.S. Nationals Top Fuel Title Monday
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Steve Torrence marked another item off his competitive bucket list Sunday when his initial 3.708 second qualifying effort propelled him to the No. 1 starting position for Monday’s 69th annual Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Although he’s been a finalist in five of his last 10 appearances in the world’s biggest drag race and even though he won “The Big Go” in 2017 and 2021, until Sunday the 40-year-old Texan never had qualified his CAPCO Contractors Top Fuel dragster on the drag racing equivalent of the pole.
He followed up his 3.708 on Friday night with runs of 3.836 and 3.722 Saturday, earning a total of nine qualifying bonus points, the most he has accumulated in any race this season. He will oppose Will Smith, driver of the car owned by three-time World Champion Larry Dixon in Monday’s first round with an unprecedented fifth regular season championship still within his reach.
It will be the four-time World Champion’s 36th career start from No. 1 and his second in the last three events on the Camping World tour.
“It’s hard not to be confident when these bad-to-the-bone CAPCO boys give you a car that can run in the cool of the evening or the heat of the day,” said the 54-time tour winner. “Now it’s up to the driver to do his job.”
Photos by Will Lester
Left photo: Crew chief Richard Hogan makes final adjustments to the CAPCO Contractors Top Fuel Toyota before driver Steve Torrence took it to the top of the qualifying order at the 69th NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis.
Right photo: Steve Torrence drives the CAPCO Contractors Top Fuel Toyota to the No. 1 qualifying position for Monday’s 69th NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis. Torrence has reached the final round in five of his last 10 appearances in the world’s biggest drag race but never before had qualified No. 1.
