Photos by Mark Rebilas
However, when the series moves to Brainerd International Raceway for this week’s 39th Lucas Oil Nationals, the next-to-last event before points are adjusted for the Countdown, the 38-year-old Texan, winner of five straight regular season championships and three consecutive overall titles, WILL NOT be the favorite.
That’s right. The sport’s dominant driver over the last five seasons, winner of 30 more races than anyone else in Top Fuel over that span, will start Sunday eliminations as a mere contender.
The favorite’s role will be shared by the two drivers with the second most wins since 2016 – Brittany Force, who won last week at Topeka, Kan., has been the top qualifier the last four races and is No. 2 in points, and Leah Pruett, winner of two of the last three iterations of the Lucas Oil Nationals (2017 and 2019) and the current BIR track record holder at 3.640 seconds.
Of course, there still will be a Torrence in the conversation. It just won’t be Steve. Instead, it will be dad and Capco teammate Billy Torrence who, in 2018, qualified No. 1 at BIR on the way to a breakthrough first career Top Fuel win at the expense of his son’s close friend and competitive nemesis, Antron Brown.
Photos by Mark Rebilas
As for the champ, the Lucas Oil Nationals is the only race in the series in which he and his team have not celebrated at least one victory. The frustration runs even deeper, though. Not only has the younger Torrence never won at BIR, he never has reached the finals and never started from the No. 1 qualifying position.
Torrence looks forward to finally changing that narrative this weekend.
“We just never have been able to put everything together,” Torrence said of his BIR struggles. “We’ve run well. I think we qualified second the last two races (2018 and 2019) and I know we’ve been to the semifinals a couple times (2008 and 2018).
“I’m glad to be back, though,” he said. “I think as a group we respond pretty well to challenges like this. With Richard Hogan, Bobby Lagana and the rest of the Capco Boys behind me, I never go up there thinking I’m not going to win no matter what the numbers say. I know we’ve got a car that can win; we just have to go out and do it.”
Having won more than half the races contested this season (six of 11), Torrence will begin qualifying Friday 342 points ahead of Brittany Force and 354 points ahead of Brown. His Brainerd results notwithstanding, the cancer survivor is on pace this year to become just the seventh driver in NHRA professional drag racing history to win four consecutive titles and just the second (after Tony Schumacher) to do so in Top Fuel.
Looking Back
Steve Torrence at the Lucas Oil Nationals
Year Qualifying Position/Racing Result
2008 Brainerd 2. Beat Hillary Will, Morgan Lucas; lost to Cory McClenathan
2010 Brainerd 13. Lost to Larry Dixon
2012 Brainerd 13. Lost to Morgan Lucas
2013 Brainerd 8. Beat Tommy Johnson Jr.; lost to Clay Millican
2014 Brainerd 13. Beat Richie Crampton; lost to Morgan Lucas
2015 Brainerd 4. Beat Terry McMillen; lost to Shawn Langdon
2016 Brainerd 5. Lost to Terry McMillen
2017 Brainerd 6. Beat Luigi Novelli, Doug Kalitta; lost to Antron Brown
2018 Brainerd 2. Beat Bill Litton, Tony Schumacher; lost to Antron Brown
2019 Brainerd 2. Beat Cameron Ferre; lost to Doug Kalitta
2020 Brainerd Event Not Contested
Steve’s quickest time: 3.699 seconds, Aug. 20, 2016
Steve’s fastest speed: 330.15 mph, Aug. 28, 2017
Track records – 3.640 seconds by Leah Pruett, Aug. 18, 2017; 333.16 mph by Brittany Force, Aug. 18, 2017.
Steve Torrence this season
March 14 at Gainesville, FL 1. Beat Joe Morrison; lost to Josh Hart.
April 18 at Las Vegas, NV 2. WINNER over Doug Kalitta (Clay Millican and Antron Brown)
May 2 at Atlanta, GA 2. Beat Buddy Hull, Justin Ashley, Shawn Langdon; lost to Antron Brown
May 16 at Charlotte, NC 2. WINNER over Brittany Force (Antron Brown and Josh Hart)
May 23 at Houston, TX 1. Beat Mitch King, bye, beat Clay Millican and Doug Kalitta.
June 13 at Epping, N.H. 4. Beat Clay Millican, Leah Pruett; lost to Mike Salinas
June 27 at Norwalk, OH 1. Beat Shawn Langdon, Leah Pruett, Austin Prock and Brittany Force
July 18 at Denver, CO 2. Beat Rob Passey, bye, Mike Salinas and Joey Haas.
July 25 at Sonoma, CA 2. Beat Cameron Ferre, Doug Kalitta, Antron Brown and Leah Pruett
Aug. 1 at Pomona, CA 4. Lost to Antron Brown.
Aug. 15 at Topeka, KS 4. Beat Leah Pruett, Justin Ashley; lost to Brittany Force
NHRA CAMPING WORLD TOUR Championship Points
(After 11 of 13 regular season events)
TOP FUEL
1. Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contractors dragster 1090
2. Brittany Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., FLAV-R-PAC/ Monster Energy dragster 748
3. Antron Brown, Pittsboro, Ind., Matco Tools dragster 736
4. Leah Pruett, Avon, Ind., Sparkling Ice Spiked Seltzer dragster 611
5. Shawn Langdon, Indianapolis, Ind., DHL/Kalitta Air dragster 587
6. Mike Salinas, San Jose, Calif., Scrappers Racing dragster 571
7. Justin Ashley, Plainview, N.Y., Strutmasters/GuardLab dragster 523
8. Billy Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contractors dragster 510
9. Clay Millican, Drummonds, Tenn., Parts Plus dragster 482
10. Doug Kalitta, Ann Arbor, Mich., Mac Tools/Mobil 1 dragster 471
Looking Ahead 2021 NHRA Camping World Tour
9-05 Dodge SRT U.S. Nationals Indianapolis, IN
Countdown to the Championship
9-12 Mopar Express Lane Nationals Reading, PA
9-19 NHRA Carolina Nationals Charlotte, NC
9-26 NHRA Midwest Nationals St. Louis, MO
10-10 NHRA Texas Fall Nationals Dallas, TX
10-17 NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Bristol, TN
10-31 Dodge SRT Nationals Las Vegas, NV
11-14 Auto Club Finals Pomona, CA
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