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BRAINERD, Minn. – Despite a streak-ending second round loss to close friend Antron Brown Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, Steve Torrence and his CAPCO Contractors team move on to the last race in the regular season virtually assured of starting no worse than third in the Countdown to the Championship.
Team CAPCO Competition Capsule
From the 41st Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn.
STEVE TORRENCE
Qualifying position/performance: No. 3 at 3.758 seconds, 328.54 miles per hour.
Qualifying bonus points: Seven; two for second quick time in Q1 and Q4, three for quick time in Q3.
Mission 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge points (event/season): 0/12
Race finish: Second round
Current points position: Second
Race detail: Beat Kyle Wurtzel, 3.691, 332.34 mph, to 3.776, 311.99 mph; lost to Antron Brown, 3.716, 327.43 mph, to 3.738, 330.63 mph.
Despite his quarterfinal exit from Sunday’s 41st Lucas Oil Nationals, an event he had won the last two years and in which his dad, Billy Torrence, won his first Top Fuel trophy in 2018, the four-time World Champ remained solidly in second place in Camping World points.From the 41st Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn.
STEVE TORRENCE
Qualifying position/performance: No. 3 at 3.758 seconds, 328.54 miles per hour.
Qualifying bonus points: Seven; two for second quick time in Q1 and Q4, three for quick time in Q3.
Mission 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge points (event/season): 0/12
Race finish: Second round
Current points position: Second
Race detail: Beat Kyle Wurtzel, 3.691, 332.34 mph, to 3.776, 311.99 mph; lost to Antron Brown, 3.716, 327.43 mph, to 3.738, 330.63 mph.
With only the 69th annual Dodge U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park pending before points are adjusted for the playoffs, Torrence is 101 points behind pacesetting Toyota teammate Justin Ashley and 125 ahead of Brown, who leapfrogged reigning series champion Brittany Force Sunday to grab third place.
“We’ll just go to Indy and see what happens,” Torrence said. “If we can get another trophy (he won the world’s oldest, largest and most prestigious drag race in 2017 and 2021 and has been runner-up on three other occasions), who knows what happens with the points. Besides, the championship is still gonna come down to who does best in those last six (playoff) races.”
Since losing the 2017 championship to Force on the last day of the season, Torrence has become the unchallenged master of the Countdown. In addition to being the only driver in any category to have swept all six races, which he did in 2018, he has compiled a stellar 63-13 record in the last four Countdowns (in addition to winning a non-Countdown title in the COVID-shortened 2020 season).
“There’s still a lot of racing to do and I know we’ve got a race car that can win every week,” Torrence said. “Nobody I’d rather face the challenge with than these bad-to-the-bone CAPCO boys.”
Not that the 40-year-old Texas businessman has given up on winning an unprecedented fifth regular season championship.
“Indy pays one-and-half times as many points as any other race (in the regular season),” he said, “so that at least gives us a shot.”
Torrence is further encouraged by the fact that, over the last four races, he’s started no worse than fourth and has earned an average of five qualifying bonus points per event, best in the category.
Photos by Mark Rebillas
Left photo: Four-time Top Fuel World Champion Steve Torrence, left, 2021 and 2022 winner of the Lucas Oil Nationals, watches the action at Brainerd, Minn., with dad Billy, who won the race in 2018. Despite a second round exit, Torrence remained second in points.
Right photo: Steve Torrence and his CAPCO Contractors Top Fuel Toyota came up short Sunday in their bid for a third straight win in the Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn.
41st Lucas Oil Nationals FINAL ROUND RESULTS
Top Fuel – Antron Brown, Matco Tools dragster, Leah Pruett, Dodge Direct Connection dragster
Funny Car – Ron Capps, NAPA Toyota Supra, 3.887, 332.75 mph, def. Robert Hight, Cornwell Tools Chevy Camarom 3.900, 324.90 mph.
Pro Stock – Dallas Glenn, RAD Torque Systems Chevy Camaro, 6.566 seconds, 201.56 mph, def. Kyle Koretsky, Lucas Oil Chevy Camaro, 11.229, 78.42 mph.
NHRA CAMPING WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
TOP FUEL
(After 14 of 15 events leading up to the Countdown to the Championship)
1. Justin Ashley, Farmingdale, N.Y., Phillips Connect dragster 1133
2. Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, CAPCO Contractors dragster 1032
3. Antron Brown, Pittsboro, Ind., Matco Tools dragster 907
4. Brittany Force, Aberdeen, N.C., Flav-R-Pac dragster/ Monster Energy 885
5. Leah Pruett, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Rayce Rudeen dragster 871
6. Austin Prock, Pittsboro, Ind., Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist dragster 789
7. Mike Salinas, San Jose, Calif., Scrappers Racing dragster 761
8. Doug Kalitta, Saline, Mich., MAC Tools/Toyota dragster 753
9. Clay Millican, Drummonds, Tenn., Parts Plus dragster 731
10. Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., R+L Carriers dragster 715
Next Scheduled CAMPING WORLD TOUR Event:
69th annual Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals
Sept. 1-4, 2023
Lucas Oil Raceway
Indianapolis, Ind.
Top Fuel – Antron Brown, Matco Tools dragster, Leah Pruett, Dodge Direct Connection dragster
Funny Car – Ron Capps, NAPA Toyota Supra, 3.887, 332.75 mph, def. Robert Hight, Cornwell Tools Chevy Camarom 3.900, 324.90 mph.
Pro Stock – Dallas Glenn, RAD Torque Systems Chevy Camaro, 6.566 seconds, 201.56 mph, def. Kyle Koretsky, Lucas Oil Chevy Camaro, 11.229, 78.42 mph.
NHRA CAMPING WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
TOP FUEL
(After 14 of 15 events leading up to the Countdown to the Championship)
1. Justin Ashley, Farmingdale, N.Y., Phillips Connect dragster 1133
2. Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, CAPCO Contractors dragster 1032
3. Antron Brown, Pittsboro, Ind., Matco Tools dragster 907
4. Brittany Force, Aberdeen, N.C., Flav-R-Pac dragster/ Monster Energy 885
5. Leah Pruett, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Rayce Rudeen dragster 871
6. Austin Prock, Pittsboro, Ind., Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist dragster 789
7. Mike Salinas, San Jose, Calif., Scrappers Racing dragster 761
8. Doug Kalitta, Saline, Mich., MAC Tools/Toyota dragster 753
9. Clay Millican, Drummonds, Tenn., Parts Plus dragster 731
10. Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., R+L Carriers dragster 715
Next Scheduled CAMPING WORLD TOUR Event:
69th annual Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals
Sept. 1-4, 2023
Lucas Oil Raceway
Indianapolis, Ind.
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.
