Torrence Still Finding Time to Win
MELLO YELLO CHAMP FAVORED AT ROUTE 66 NATIONALS
CHICAGO, Ill. – So far this season, Mello Yello drag racing Champion Steve Torrence has roped calves with world champion cowboy Tuf Cooper, worked the takeout window at an Arby’s restaurant in Georgia, blocked hats at The American Hat Company in his native Texas and put together a program with the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation through which first responders got free tickets to the AAA Texas Fall Nationals this October.
Oh, yeah, he’s also managed to find time to drive his 330 mile-an-hour Capco Contractors dragster to three straight NHRA tour victories, a feat that sends him into this week’s 22nd annual NHRA Route 66 Nationals as both the Mello Yello point leader and the favorite to win Sunday’s eliminations.
Both are familiar roles for the 36-year-old who has won 22 of the last 51 races in drag racing’s premier series. To put it another way, Torrence has won more races over the last three seasons than any other four drivers in the sport’s ultimate category. That’s right. He’s won more often than Antron Brown, Leah Pritchett, Doug Kalitta and Clay Millican – combined. Or more often any other mix and match group of four Top Fuel drivers including currently inactive eight-time champion Tony Schumacher.
That’s pretty rarified air for a guy who, when he decided to form his own team in 2012, was told he couldn’t compete with what then was the establishment. In the Texas vernacular, it was a suggestion that “put a burr under his saddle” and spurred the graduate of Kilgore College to do what he’s done all his life, which is defy the odds.
Disdaining conventional wisdom, the cancer and heart attack survivor opted to rent shop space in Brownsburg, Ind., from John Force Racing, Inc., rather than build and, instead of trying to design and build proprietary parts and pieces, he opted to buy everything “off the shelf,” from the chassis to the engine to the driveline components.
Torrence’s “store bought” Top Fuel operation not only has re-energized the sport, it has revolutionized it to the point that his business model has become the new norm.
“We buy all our parts off the shelf and put them on the race car,” Torrence said. “They’re great parts. Everybody’s probably running the exact same thing with just a different stamp on it, whether it’s JFR, DSM or Alan Johnson.
“(Winning and losing) is all about these Capco boys that put these things together and Richard Hogan and Bobby Lagana (Jr.), who do the tuning. My hat’s off to them. I can’t give them enough credit. They just pay such attention to detail.”
2019 NHRA MELLO YELLO POINTS
TOP FUEL
(After 8 of 18 races leading into the Countdown to the Mello Yello Championship)
1. Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contractors dragster 701
2. Brittany Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Advance Auto Parts dragster 541
3. Doug Kalitta, Saline, Mich., Mac Tools dragster 498
4. Clay Millican, Drummonds, Tenn., Parts Plus dragster 489
5. Leah Pritchett, Danville, Ind., Mopar Dodge dragster 469
6. Antron Brown, Pittsboro, Ind., Matco Tools dragster 467
7. Mike Salinas, San Jose, Calif., Scrappers Racing dragster 466
8. Richie Crampton, Brownsburg, Ind., DHL/Kalitta Air dragster 363
9. Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., Amalie Intimigator dragster 352
10. Austin Prock, Indianapolis, Ind., Rocky Mountain Twist dragster 341
12. Billy Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contractors dragster 337
The Champ at Route 66 Raceway:
Last year at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals: After qualifying No. 1 and shattering the track records for time and speed, Steve was upset in the first round by Luigi Noveli.1.
Starts/Final Rounds/Wins/No. 1 Qualifier: 8/2/1/1
Steve’s quickest time at Route 66 Raceway: 3.677 seconds, June 1, 2018
Steve’s fastest speed at Route 66 Raceway: 333.58 mph, June 1, 2018
Steve’s won-lost record at Route 66 Raceway: 12-7
Steve’s best moment(s) at Route 66 Raceway: In 2017, Steve qualified his Capco Contractors entry fourth before beating Scott Palmer, Blake Alexander, T.J. Zizzo and, finally, Antron Brown to whom he had lost in the money round five years earlier.
Track records: 3.677 seconds by Steve Torrence, June 1, 2018; 333.58 mph by Steve Torrence, June 1, 2018.
So far, so good…. (A season summary)
Date Site Qualifying position and race detail Points
Feb. 10 Pomona, CA 1. Beat Steve Faria, bye, Mike Salinas; lost to Doug Kalitta. 2nd
Feb. 24 Phoenix, AZ 14. Lost to Antron Brown 4th
March 10 Gainesville, FL 3. Beat Dom Lagana; lost to Doug Kalitta 3rd
April 7 Las Vegas, NV 2. Lost in 2nd Quad 3rd
April 14 Houston, TX 2. Beat Kebin Kinsley, Austin Prock; lost to Antron Brown 3rd
April 28 Charlotte, NC 6. WINNER over Clay Millican (Terry McMillen, Leah Pritchett) 1st
May 5 Atlanta, Ga. 2. Beat Luigi Novelli, Scott Palmer, Shawn Reed & Brittany Force 1st
May 19 Richmond, Va. 4. Beat Todd Paton, Scott Palmer, Billy Torrence & Antron Brown 1st
June 9 31st Menard’s NHRA Heartland Nationals Topeka, Kan.
June 16 19th NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Bristol, Tenn.
June 23 13th Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Norwalk, Ohio
July 7 +7TH NHRA New England Nationals Epping, N.H.
July 21 40th Dodge Mile-High Nationals Denver, Colo.
+Indicates events won by Steve Torrence in 2018
MELLO YELLO CHAMP FAVORED AT ROUTE 66 NATIONALS
CHICAGO, Ill. – So far this season, Mello Yello drag racing Champion Steve Torrence has roped calves with world champion cowboy Tuf Cooper, worked the takeout window at an Arby’s restaurant in Georgia, blocked hats at The American Hat Company in his native Texas and put together a program with the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation through which first responders got free tickets to the AAA Texas Fall Nationals this October.
Oh, yeah, he’s also managed to find time to drive his 330 mile-an-hour Capco Contractors dragster to three straight NHRA tour victories, a feat that sends him into this week’s 22nd annual NHRA Route 66 Nationals as both the Mello Yello point leader and the favorite to win Sunday’s eliminations.
Both are familiar roles for the 36-year-old who has won 22 of the last 51 races in drag racing’s premier series. To put it another way, Torrence has won more races over the last three seasons than any other four drivers in the sport’s ultimate category. That’s right. He’s won more often than Antron Brown, Leah Pritchett, Doug Kalitta and Clay Millican – combined. Or more often any other mix and match group of four Top Fuel drivers including currently inactive eight-time champion Tony Schumacher.
That’s pretty rarified air for a guy who, when he decided to form his own team in 2012, was told he couldn’t compete with what then was the establishment. In the Texas vernacular, it was a suggestion that “put a burr under his saddle” and spurred the graduate of Kilgore College to do what he’s done all his life, which is defy the odds.
Disdaining conventional wisdom, the cancer and heart attack survivor opted to rent shop space in Brownsburg, Ind., from John Force Racing, Inc., rather than build and, instead of trying to design and build proprietary parts and pieces, he opted to buy everything “off the shelf,” from the chassis to the engine to the driveline components.
Torrence’s “store bought” Top Fuel operation not only has re-energized the sport, it has revolutionized it to the point that his business model has become the new norm.
“We buy all our parts off the shelf and put them on the race car,” Torrence said. “They’re great parts. Everybody’s probably running the exact same thing with just a different stamp on it, whether it’s JFR, DSM or Alan Johnson.
“(Winning and losing) is all about these Capco boys that put these things together and Richard Hogan and Bobby Lagana (Jr.), who do the tuning. My hat’s off to them. I can’t give them enough credit. They just pay such attention to detail.”
2019 NHRA MELLO YELLO POINTS
TOP FUEL
(After 8 of 18 races leading into the Countdown to the Mello Yello Championship)
1. Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contractors dragster 701
2. Brittany Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Advance Auto Parts dragster 541
3. Doug Kalitta, Saline, Mich., Mac Tools dragster 498
4. Clay Millican, Drummonds, Tenn., Parts Plus dragster 489
5. Leah Pritchett, Danville, Ind., Mopar Dodge dragster 469
6. Antron Brown, Pittsboro, Ind., Matco Tools dragster 467
7. Mike Salinas, San Jose, Calif., Scrappers Racing dragster 466
8. Richie Crampton, Brownsburg, Ind., DHL/Kalitta Air dragster 363
9. Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., Amalie Intimigator dragster 352
10. Austin Prock, Indianapolis, Ind., Rocky Mountain Twist dragster 341
12. Billy Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contractors dragster 337
The Champ at Route 66 Raceway:
Last year at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals: After qualifying No. 1 and shattering the track records for time and speed, Steve was upset in the first round by Luigi Noveli.1.
Starts/Final Rounds/Wins/No. 1 Qualifier: 8/2/1/1
Steve’s quickest time at Route 66 Raceway: 3.677 seconds, June 1, 2018
Steve’s fastest speed at Route 66 Raceway: 333.58 mph, June 1, 2018
Steve’s won-lost record at Route 66 Raceway: 12-7
Steve’s best moment(s) at Route 66 Raceway: In 2017, Steve qualified his Capco Contractors entry fourth before beating Scott Palmer, Blake Alexander, T.J. Zizzo and, finally, Antron Brown to whom he had lost in the money round five years earlier.
Track records: 3.677 seconds by Steve Torrence, June 1, 2018; 333.58 mph by Steve Torrence, June 1, 2018.
So far, so good…. (A season summary)
Date Site Qualifying position and race detail Points
Feb. 10 Pomona, CA 1. Beat Steve Faria, bye, Mike Salinas; lost to Doug Kalitta. 2nd
Feb. 24 Phoenix, AZ 14. Lost to Antron Brown 4th
March 10 Gainesville, FL 3. Beat Dom Lagana; lost to Doug Kalitta 3rd
April 7 Las Vegas, NV 2. Lost in 2nd Quad 3rd
April 14 Houston, TX 2. Beat Kebin Kinsley, Austin Prock; lost to Antron Brown 3rd
April 28 Charlotte, NC 6. WINNER over Clay Millican (Terry McMillen, Leah Pritchett) 1st
May 5 Atlanta, Ga. 2. Beat Luigi Novelli, Scott Palmer, Shawn Reed & Brittany Force 1st
May 19 Richmond, Va. 4. Beat Todd Paton, Scott Palmer, Billy Torrence & Antron Brown 1st
June 9 31st Menard’s NHRA Heartland Nationals Topeka, Kan.
June 16 19th NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Bristol, Tenn.
June 23 13th Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Norwalk, Ohio
July 7 +7TH NHRA New England Nationals Epping, N.H.
July 21 40th Dodge Mile-High Nationals Denver, Colo.
+Indicates events won by Steve Torrence in 2018
