[coverattach=1]Pomona -- With 21 cars in the field and some of the toughest competition seen all year, sometimes you have to count your blessings that your team had a solid effort which is exactly what Steve Torrence did at the Auto Club NHRA Finals held at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. "I was glad to be back in the car. That was the main thing" said the talented driver from Kilgore Texas. Torrence was runner up at this race in 2005 when he was driving an A/Fuel Dragster.
Torrence qualified the VisViva "Living Force Energy" drink Top Fuel Dragster ninth in the final qualifying order but was briefly on the poll position during the opening round of qualifying with a 3.86, which earned the team some kudos from announcer Bob Frey and the fans on hand. On the team's final qualifying run the car experienced some problems with the blower belt but that didn't seem to shake Torrence's confidence. "On the last qualifying pass, I experienced some problems with the belt, but up until then the car ran great and I was confident the car would run well in the first round" Torrence said.
In the opening round of eliminations Torrence took on Rod Fuller driving the CAT entry. Torrence got out in front of Fuller with an 0.043 reaction time to Fuller's 0.056. But, down track the belt came off and Fuller grabbed the win with a 3.83 at 314 MPH to Torrence's 3.93 at 254 MPH. "The belt came off and he was able to drive around me. Other than the belt problem, we had a car that could go the Winner's Circle" said Torrence.
Even with the early first round exit, Torrence was still happy with how well everything went for the Tuttle team. "It was a good weekend. Everyone had fun and the car ran consistently well. I hope that in the off season we can keep our team together and be back here next year" Torrence said after the race concluded.
Torrence qualified the VisViva "Living Force Energy" drink Top Fuel Dragster ninth in the final qualifying order but was briefly on the poll position during the opening round of qualifying with a 3.86, which earned the team some kudos from announcer Bob Frey and the fans on hand. On the team's final qualifying run the car experienced some problems with the blower belt but that didn't seem to shake Torrence's confidence. "On the last qualifying pass, I experienced some problems with the belt, but up until then the car ran great and I was confident the car would run well in the first round" Torrence said.
In the opening round of eliminations Torrence took on Rod Fuller driving the CAT entry. Torrence got out in front of Fuller with an 0.043 reaction time to Fuller's 0.056. But, down track the belt came off and Fuller grabbed the win with a 3.83 at 314 MPH to Torrence's 3.93 at 254 MPH. "The belt came off and he was able to drive around me. Other than the belt problem, we had a car that could go the Winner's Circle" said Torrence.
Even with the early first round exit, Torrence was still happy with how well everything went for the Tuttle team. "It was a good weekend. Everyone had fun and the car ran consistently well. I hope that in the off season we can keep our team together and be back here next year" Torrence said after the race concluded.
