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TORRENCE NO. 1 QUALIFIER AT ST. LOUIS
Four-Time Reigning Top Fuel Champ Equals Career Best at 3.655 Seconds
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Energized by speculation that he had raced himself out of title contention after only two playoff races, Steve Torrence responded Friday by sending his Capco Contractors Top Fuel dragster to its quickest run in almost five years, stopping the timers at World Wide Technology Raceway in 3.655 seconds at a finish line speed of 327.43 miles per hour.
QUALIFYING LEADERS
Top Fuel – 1. Steve Torrence, Capco Contractors dragster, 3.655 seconds, 327.43 mph; 2. Josh Hart, R+L Carriers/Technet dragster, 3.667, 333.33 mph; 3. Shawn Langdon, CMR Roofing dragster, 3.679, 329.26 mph; 4. Doug Kalitta, Kalitta Air dragster, 3.684, 334.32 mph; 5. Brittany Force, Flav-R-Pac/Monster Energy dragster, 3.685, 335.48 mph; 6. Tony Schumacher, SCAG/Okuma dragster, 3.694, 326.79 mph; 7. Justin Ashley, Phillips Connect/Vita C dragster, 3.698, 331.99 mph; 8. Clay Millican, Parts Plus dragster, 3.703, 334.24 mph; 9. Antron Brown, Matco Tools dragster, 3.707, 331.85 mph; 10. Mike Salinas, Pep Boys/Scrappers dragster, 3.710, 330.72 mph
Photos by Mark Rebilas
A determined Steve Torrence is in position to make up ground on the point leaders Sunday when he starts his Capco Contractors dragster from the No. 1 position in the NHRA Midwest Nationals at St. Louis.
Four-time reigning World Champion Steve Torrence, right lane, drove his Capco Contractors dragster to the No. 1 qualifying position for Sunday's NHRA Midwest Nationals by equaling his career best time of 3.655 seconds Friday night at World Wide Technology Raceway outside St. Louis.
After failing to earn a single qualifying bonus point in the first two races of the Countdown, Torrence was quickest in two of three qualifying sessions at WWTR. He followed his 3.655 effort, which equaled the quickest run of his pro career, with runs of 3.703 and 3.687 seconds.
Trying to become just the fourth driver in pro drag racing history to win as many as five consecutive NHRA series championships, Torrence will start Sunday against fellow Texan Buddy Hull trailing pacesetting Justin Ashley by 94 points.
A 52-time winner on the Camping World tour, Torrence will start from No. 1 for the 34th time in his career, for the third time this year and for the third time in this event. He won the 2018 Midwest Nationals from the No. 1 starting position. The last time he won a race from No. 1 was June 27, 2021 when he went wire-to-wire in the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio.
“We have a 10:30 start tomorrow, so the track will be very good,” Torrence said. “The track actually was better than we anticipated on our last (qualifying) run. I thnk we could have run better than we did (Friday night), but we missed it a little bit. Some of the other cars were aggressive and we were maybe a little bit lax.
“I’m looking forward to race day. We’ve got good momentum,” he said. “The car is running well and we will be excited to see what we can do.”
Steve’s Quickest Career Elapsed Times:
Performance Date Site Race Result
3.655 seconds Feb. 23, 2018 Phoenix, Ariz. WINNER
3.655 seconds Sept. 30, 2022 St. Louis, Mo. To Be Determined Sunday
3.656 seconds Aug. 31, 2019 Indianapolis, Ind. 2nd Round Loss
3.657 seconds Feb. 9, 2019 Pomona, Calif. Runner-Up
3.661 seconds Nov. 10, 2018 Pomona, Calif. WINNER
3.662 seconds Oct. 17, 2020 Dallas, Texas WINNER
3.664 seconds June 3, 2022 Epping, N.H. 1st Round Loss
3.667 seconds Oct. 16, 2021 Bristol, Tenn. Runner-Up
3.669 seconds Sept. 26, 2021 St. Louis, Mo. WINNER
3.671 seconds July 29, 2016 Sonoma, Calif. Semifinal Loss
Performance Date Site Race Result
3.655 seconds Feb. 23, 2018 Phoenix, Ariz. WINNER
3.655 seconds Sept. 30, 2022 St. Louis, Mo. To Be Determined Sunday
3.656 seconds Aug. 31, 2019 Indianapolis, Ind. 2nd Round Loss
3.657 seconds Feb. 9, 2019 Pomona, Calif. Runner-Up
3.661 seconds Nov. 10, 2018 Pomona, Calif. WINNER
3.662 seconds Oct. 17, 2020 Dallas, Texas WINNER
3.664 seconds June 3, 2022 Epping, N.H. 1st Round Loss
3.667 seconds Oct. 16, 2021 Bristol, Tenn. Runner-Up
3.669 seconds Sept. 26, 2021 St. Louis, Mo. WINNER
3.671 seconds July 29, 2016 Sonoma, Calif. Semifinal Loss
About Toyota
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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.
