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TORRENCE STARTS HIS ‘DRIVE FOR FIVE’
Toyota Joins Team Capco for 62nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals
POMONA, Calif. – Energized by a new technical partnership with Toyota, Steve Torrence and his Capco Contractors race team begin an historic and rare “Drive for Five” tour this week with the start of the 62nd annual Lucas Oil Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
A winner of half the races he has started over the last two seasons (15 of 30) and the tour’s dominant driver since 2016 with 46 victories (28 more than anyone else, regardless of category), the 38-year-old Texan is poised this year to become just the fourth pro driver in NHRA history to win as many as five straight titles. He believes the new alliance with Toyota provides a little added impetus.
Total appearances: 24
Final rounds: 4
Tour victories: 3 (including 2016 Winternationals)
No. 1 qualifier: 3
Won-Lost record: 27-21
Quickest time: 3.657 seconds, Feb. 9, 2019
Fastest speed: 333.00 mph, Feb. 11, 2018
Track records – 3.628 seconds by Clay Millican, Feb. 10, 2018; 333.58 mph by Brittany Force, Nov. 10, 2018.
“I feel like this new partnership will only improve what Torrence Racing can do on the track,” said the 51-time tour winner. “I’ve seen first-hand that the drivers associated with Toyota (including good friends Antron Brown and Alexis DeJoria) aren’t just part of a roster, but part of a family, and that’s what appealed to me.”Final rounds: 4
Tour victories: 3 (including 2016 Winternationals)
No. 1 qualifier: 3
Won-Lost record: 27-21
Quickest time: 3.657 seconds, Feb. 9, 2019
Fastest speed: 333.00 mph, Feb. 11, 2018
Track records – 3.628 seconds by Clay Millican, Feb. 10, 2018; 333.58 mph by Brittany Force, Nov. 10, 2018.
Torrence admitted that he will need all the help he can get in a campaign in which eight-time former champ Tony Schumacher will return to full-time competition for the first time since 2018 and in which young, hungry independents are hoping to make a name for themselves at the expense of the reigning champion and his “Capco Boys.”
“There’s definitely guys coming after us,” Torrence said, “but that’s what makes it fun. It’s all about the competition. The longer you’re on top, the harder it is to stay there and that’s our challenge this year – to stay on top.
Torrence, of course, believes his team is equal to the challenge and recent history would support that view.
With Richard Hogan and Bobby Lagana Jr. making the tuning decisions on his 11,000-horsepower dragster, the former Top Alcohol Dragster World Champ (2005) has won 81.6 percent of his Top Fuel matches over the last five years (263-59).
Moreover, in 2021, he had one of the 20 best seasons in the sport’s long history when he posted a 60-9 record, the best mark in any pro class since 2008.
“These Capco Boys are unbelievable,” Torrence said. “The best in the business, bar none. No matter how many races I wind up winning, it won’t be because of anything I’ve done. The Capco Boys do all the work and I’m just the guy who’s lucky enough to drive the best race car out there. We’ve won 51 times, but all that means to me is that 51 times I didn’t screw it up. I’m going to go out and try and make it 52 this weekend and we’ll go on from there.”
Winternationals qualifying begins with a single nitro session at 6:30 p.m., Texas time, on Friday followed by sessions at 2:30 and 6:30 on Saturday. Sunday eliminations begin at 1 p.m., Texas time. Delayed television coverage will air on FS1 from 9 p.m. until midnight, Texas time, Sunday.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships. Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
Looking Back:
Steve Torrence at the Lucas Oil Winternationals
Year Qualifying Position/Racing Result
2010 Pomona1 6. Lost to Antron Brown
2011 Pomona1 10. Lost to Doug Kalitta
2012 Pomona1 9. Lost to Shawn Langdon
2013 Pomona1 8. Beat Spencer Massey; lost to Tony Schumacher
2014 Pomona1 6. Beat Terry McMillen, Clay Millican; lost to Khalid alBalooshi
2015 Pomona1 5. Beat Troy Buff; lost to Spencer Massey
2016 Pomona1 1. Beat Steve Faria, Morgan Lucas, Richie Crampton and Doug Kalitta
2017 Pomona1 8. Beat Troy Buff; lost to Leah Pritchett
2018 Pomona1 2. Beat Steve Faria; lost to Antron Brown
2019 Pomona1 1. Beat Steve Faria, bye, Mike Salinas; lost to Doug Kalitta
2020 Pomona1 Did Not Compete
2021 Pomona1 4. Lost to Antron Brown
At the Auto Club Finals:
Year Qualifying Position/Racing Result
2006 Pomona2 13. Lost to Melanie Troxel
2008 Pomona2 9. Lost to Rod Fuller
2009 Pomona2 11. Lost to Doug Kalitta
2010 Pomona2 9. Lost to Antron Brown
2012 Pomona2 8. Lost to Bob Vandergriff Jr.
2013 Pomona2 15. Lost to Shawn Langdon
2014 Pomona2 13. Beat Doug Kalitta; lost to J.R. Todd
2015 Pomona2 8. Beat Dave Connolly; lost to Antron Brown
2016 Pomona2 7. Beat Wayne Newby; lost to Shawn Langdon
2017 Pomona2 5. Beat Troy Buff; lost to Antron Brown
2018 Pomona2 2. Beat Cameron Ferre, Billy Torrence, Brittany Force and Tony Schumacher
2019 Pomona2 1. Beat Cameron Ferre, Brittany Force; lost to Richie Crampton
2020 Pomona2 Event Not Contested due to COVID-19
2021 Pomona2 2. Beat Brandon Welch, Doug Kalitta, Cameron Ferre and Antron Brown
NHRA CAMPING WORLD TOUR Championship Points (2021 FINAL)
TOP FUEL
1. Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contractors dragster 2873
2. Brittany Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., FLAV-R-PAC/Monster Energy dragster 2637
3. Mike Salinas, San Jose, Calif., Scrappers Racing dragster 2619
4. Justin Ashley, Plainview, N.Y., Strutmasters dragster 2556
5. Billy Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contractors dragster 2498
6. Antron Brown, Pittsboro, Ind., Matco Tools dragster 2427
7. Leah Pruett, MOPAR/Pennzoil/Komatsu dragster 2401
8. Clay Millican, Drummonds, Tenn., Parts Plus dragster 2384
9. Shawn Langdon, Indianapolis, Ind., DHL/Kalitta Air dragster 2310
10. Doug Kalitta, Ann Arbor, Mich., Mac Tools/Mobil 1 dragster 2290
Looking Ahead:
2022 NHRA Camping World Tour
2-27 NHRA Arizona Nationals Phoenix, AZ
3-13 Amalie Oil Gatornationals Gainesville, FL
4-3 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Las Vegas, NV
4-24 Mopar Express Lane Spring Nationals Houston, TX
5-1 NGK/NTK 4Wide Nationals Charlotte, NC
5-15 NHRA Virginia Nationals Richmond, VA
6-5 NHRA New England Nationals Epping, NH
6-19 NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Bristol, TN
6-26 Summit Racing Equipment Nationals Norwalk, OH
7-17 Dodge Mile-High Nationals Denver, CO
7-24 NHRA Sonoma Nationals Sonoma, CA
7-31 FLAV-R-PAC Nationals Seattle, WA
8-14 Menard’s Nationals Topeka, KS
8-21 Lucas Oil Nationals Brainerd, MN
9-5 Dodge SRT U.S. Nationals Indianapolis, IN
NHRA PRO SERIES:
Most Consecutive Championships, modern era (1974-Present)
No. Driver Category Span
10 John Force Funny Car 1993-2002
6 Tony Schumacher Top Fuel 2004-2009
5 Bob Glidden Pro Stock 1985-1989
4 Steve Torrence Top Fuel 2018-2021*
4 Don Prudhomme Funny Car 1975-1978
4 Kenny Bernstein Funny Car 1986-1989
4 Lee Shepherd Pro Stock 1981-1984
3 Raymond Beadle Funny Car 1979-1981
3 Joe Amato Top Fuel 1990-1992
3 Bob Glidden Pro Stock 1978-1980
3 Greg Anderson Pro Stock 2003-2005
*Active streak
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.
