Torrence battles way Northwest Nationals victory

Steve Torrence not only officially secured a starting place for NHRA’s Countdown  to the Championship, but he did it in winning fashion Sunday by outlasting a tough Top Fuel line-up on a 90-plus-degree day to claim the the O’Reilly Auto Parts Northwest Nationals title at Pacific Raceways.

The victory was the Kilgore, Texas driver’s third in his fifth final round of a season that has carried him from a challenger to a true championship contender.  It also fulfilled a promise Torrence made one week ago after a first-round loss at Sonoma, Calif.

“We are going to Seattle and we are going to close this Western Swing with a bang,” he commented at the time.

This triumph was well-earned.  He ended the competitive day for Steve Chrisman, Khalid alBalooshi, Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon allowing him to climb within one point of third-place Tony Schumacher (1,109-1,108) in Full Throttle Series standings.

His first-round decision over Steve Chrisman – featuring a sashaying Torrence Racing/Capco Contractors Inc. dragster going down the 1,000-foot track – was the most spectacular of the daym highlighting his sharp driving skills.  He stopped the timer in 4.563 seconds at 208.46 mph to beat Chrisman’s traction-troubled run of 6.880 at 84.31.

“I didn’t think the car moved around that much until I saw the replay,” he recalled.  “It was my job to get the car to the finish line . . . and I did.  Steve Chrisman has a very consistent race car that goes down the track. I heard him there beside me and I knew I had to stay there.  As long as I heard him there I was going to pedal the car.

“We’ll take a win any way we can get it.  We definitely had to work for that one today. We had a good race car today and we wanted to win this one for (crew chief) Richard Hogan.  It was his birthday.”

Torrence left first against alBalooshi in the quarterfinals -- .067 to .099 – and advanced with his fifth hole-shot decision of the season, 3.879 at 303.03 to a 3.877 at 312.64 before ousting Doug Kalitta in the semifinals with a 4.138, 274.898 to a 6.310 at 142.39.

In the finale against longtime friend Shawn Langdon, Torrence was determined to finish first . . . and then he was one of the last ones to find out that he had.

“He had me pretty nervous,” he said.  “Shawn’s a great driver.  We grew up racing against each other. I felt the car trying to knock the tire off in the final round and I just tried to get the car to the finish line.  But I didn’t know where he was and I didn’t know who won.  I kept gesturing to the guys at the top end and asking who won, but they didn’t know.  And then someone told me I did!”

The winning time was 4.168 seconds at 261.98 to 4.329 at 254.57.

The team resumes series action at Brainerd, Minn., Aug. 17-19, in the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals.

Steve Torrence seeks sea level success at Sonoma

With a semifinal finish already tucked away after the first race of NHRA’s Western Swing in Denver, Steve Torrence and his traveling Torrence Racing/Capco Contractors Inc. Top Fuel crew are breathing easier as they prepare for the Sonoma Nationals at the scenic raceway in the Sonoma wine country.

By the time qualifying begins Friday for the three-day event, all the mechanical changes made for last Sunday’s mile-high race will be tucked away for another year and crew chief Richard Hogan will have his sea-level tuning combinations in place.

“It will be good to get back to racing in conditions we are more accustomed to,” said Torrence.  “There is one thing for certain . . . we aren’t going to sweep the Western Swing,” he added with a laugh.  “But we will do the best we can to get a win in Sonoma.  We still have a chance to win two of the Swing races.”

Sunday’s performance was another confidence booster for the first-year team that has won twice (Atlanta and Englishtown, N.J.) in four final rounds.  He defeated Shawn Langdon and Doug Kalitta before losing to Antron Brown, the eventual race winner.

Torrence is fourth in points and climbed within 40 of third-place Tony Schumacher (990-950) as the drivers jockey for top-10 berths leading into the Countdown to 1 title showdown that begins Sept. 16 in Charlotte, N.C.  Brown won the race and is second (1,060). Spencer Massey is the leader with 1,071.

As Hogan finessed the tune-ups, Torrence has honed his skills.  He has a 23-11 round-win record and has reduced the number of first-round losses to just three.  After his last first-round exit, he went to the finals in back-to-back races at Chicago and Norwalk, Ohio.

This is Torrence’s second Top Fuel appearance at Sonoma.  He won one round in 2010 driving for another team. 

The Swing’s last stop is in Seattle, Aug. 3-5.

Round wins, consistency on Torrence’s Norwalk to-do list

A cautiously optimistic Steve Torrence said five months ago that he hoped his new Torrence Racing Top Fuel team would be able to run with the best teams in NHRA’s Full Throttle series and, perhaps, be in the top five when the last cars go down the track on November 11.

Eleven races into the 17-event regular season, the driver from Kilgore, Texas is one of the hottest on the circuit.  He has been to three final rounds in the last five races, winning at Atlanta and Englishtown, N.J.  His runner-up finish last Sunday at Joliet, Ill. put him a solid fourth in points going into the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals, Friday through Sunday, in Norwalk, Ohio

“It’s always a good weekend when you make the final round,” said Torrence.  “The car was consistent and crew chief Richard Hogan and the guys were great.  But that race is over, now we are concentrating on Norwalk.

“We want to keep everything going the way it has been.  Richard has been doing a good job tuning the car in the hot weather . . . and we hope to take advantage of that.  It looks like it will be hot and humid again in Norwalk.”

Although he prefers to not look too far into the future, Torrence realizes that – barring any unexpected incidents – he will be one of the 10 drivers to qualify for the six-race Countdown to the Championship that begins Sept. 16.

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“We’re looking forward to that,” he commented,” but we want to see how well we can do in the next seven races (before the Countdown begins).  There are a lot of really good teams out there.”

He is one of only two-one car team drivers in the top 10 point standings.  Torrence has 775 points and Clay Millican is 10th with 490.

Torrence trails DSR teammates Tony Schumacher (879), Antron Brown (876) and Spencer Massey (868).

Torrence loses tough final round at Route 66 Raceway

Steve Torrence advanced to his third final round of the season Sunday at Route 66 Raceway, but this time he didn’t make it to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 Nationals finals at Joliet, Ill. 

He did, however, turn in another outstanding race-day performance that included a three-hour rain delay and was marred only by his red-light start against Antron Brown in the championship round.

 Torrence left 15-thousandths of a second too soon and Brown stopped the timer in 3.784 seconds at 322.88 mph.

“I knew I had to push the ’tree because Antron also was running well all day,” said Torrence.  “We really had a good car all day.  I thought we needed to step it up a little . . . and that got me. I put the car in a little too far.

“It was disappointing, but all-in-all this Capco team had a great weekend.”

He has victories in Atlanta and Englishtown, N.J. and a hold on fourth place in Full Throttle Series standings. 

Those are impressive results considering this was the 14th race for the Torrence Racing/Capco Contractors Inc. Top Fuel team, including three from 2011.  Just six races remain before the start of the Countdown to the Championship.

Torrence’s driving was flawless until the last lap.  He jumped ahead of Cory McClenathan in the first round – a .043-second reaction to a .099 – and never looked back.  His 3.859-second, 318.99 mph 1,000-foot time beat a traction-troubled 5.2589 at 133.13. 

His .054 reaction and a 3.833 at 320.36 against Spencer Massey’s .077, 3.836 at 323.77 in the next round took him into the semifinals against Hilary Will.  Torrence’s quickest run and the day, 3.817 at 319.37 beat Will’s tire-smoking 7.780 at 76.85.

The Capco team will be back in action Friday in the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio.

Hot Torrence team ready to turn up the heat in Bristol

He savored the memories of his recent Top Fuel victory at Englishtown, N.J., but now it is time for Steve Torrence and his Torrence Racing/Capco Contractors Inc. team to get back to work. 

While NHRA’s Full Throttle Series offers its millions of fans the almost-instant gratification of knowing who wins each round, victorious teams usually have a few days to reminisce about their hard-fought decisions before they begin preparing for the next event.

That, for Torrence, is the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Friday through Sunday at Bristol Dragway, Bristol, Tenn. – a track like Englishtown that is steeped in drag racing tradition. 

“Things are going really well for the Capco team,” Torrence said.  “Richard Hogan has the car running awesome. Hopefully things will continue to go along like they are. We want to keep the momentum going.

“We are focusing on Bristol.  I’ve only raced a Top Fuel car there once, in 2010, and that was with another team.  It’s a good track.  We know the weather will be hot, but Richard has a good handle on the hot-weather tune-ups.  I am really excited about the race.”

In nine 2012 events, this new, one-car team has been to two finals – winning at Englishtown and Atlanta – and two semifinals; been in the top half of the starting line-up seven times, including one low qualifier, and had three consecutive second-place starts.

The effort has accumulated 644 series points for Torrence, good enough for the fifth spot and puts him 27 points behind third-place Antron Brown with seven races remaining before the Countdown to 1 six-race title showdown.

But Torrence isn’t paying attention to the points.  He told Joe Castello on WFO.com radio that he doesn’t “look at points. The only time points matter is at the final race at Pomona.  We will continue to do the same things. 

“Richard has been out here long enough to know exactly how to run the car,” he continued.  “He knows we are going to need a lot of inventory for the Countdown.  We are making plans for the Countdown now.

“I do not want to get the cart before the horse.  We have had some success.  I don’t think that it is just a flash in the pan.  I do think we have a very good team.  But we will continue to take it one race, one round at a time.” 

Asked about his Englishtown elimination wins by one-thousandth of a second over Tony Schumacher and Spencer Massey, Torrence remarked, “To beat Tony Schumacher or Spencer Massey at a race, you have definitely achieved something, but to beat them back-to-back . . . I think we were living lucky that day.”

Massey is the series points leader (753) and Schumacher is second (719).  They are Team Schumacher entries. 

TORRENCE, GRAY, ANDERSON AND KRAWIEC EARN VICTORIES AT TOYOTA NHRA SUPERNATIONALS IN ENGLISHTOWN

Steve Torrence raced to his second Top Fuel victory of the season Sunday at the Toyota NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

Johnny Gray (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, which was slightly delayed by a passing afternoon thunderstorm as teams prepared for their final rounds.

Torrence beat Tony Schumacher and Spencer Massey in earlier rounds with quicker reaction times and then used a horsepower advantage to edge Brandon Bernstein at the finish line in the final round.  In the final, Torrence’s Capco Contractors dragster finished in 3.800 seconds at 323.66 mph while Bernstein’s MAV TV/Lucas Oil machine trailed with a 3.807 at 321.04.

“It’s really a little surreal coming out and having success in a short time,” Torrence said. “I figured this team to be a competitive team and run with these guys, but I didn’t expect to do as well as we have. It’s really gratifying to be able to go out and do that well. Today, we had some really tough races. Two races, we won by a thou against both of the Schumacher cars. I don’t know but it’s more gratifying when you go out and you really have races that you’ve got to beat the guy beside you rather than them smoking the tires or whatever. I had my best light of the weekend against Brandon that round, and I was pretty pumped up because I knew he’d been on it. I may have cheated the car a little bit. I think it was going to go .79 instead of .80, but I stole from the starting line.”

Massey, who failed to certify his his category-best low E.T. of the event as a national record, maintained his series lead over second place Schumacher with the semifinal effort. Torrence, who also won at Atlanta in May, has surged to fifth in the points standings.

“The car that I’ve got right now is the best Top Fuel car that I’ve ever driven, so I do feel like we have a championship contender car if it stays the way that it’s running,” Torrence said. “We’ll just see. [Contending for the championship] is in the back of my mind, but we’re still going one round, one race at a time because consistency is the key. We’re trying to get some parts built up for the Countdown, and when that time comes, we’ll start looking in that direction. I don’t want to get the cart before the horse. I just want to go out here and keep racing and hopefully get some round-wins.”

In Funny Car, Gray claimed his first victory of the season and second of his career by beating teammate Ron Capps in the final round. Gray pulled away from Capps, who was making his fifth consecutive final round appearance, with a performance of 4.078 at 314.39 in his NTB/Service Central Dodge Charger. Capps’ NAPA Auto Parts Charger, which posted the quickest run in NHRA history on Friday with a blast of 3.964 seconds, lost traction and finished in 5.358 at 160.71. Capps also failed to back-up his category-best performance during eliminations to certify it as a national record.

Gray faced tough competitors all day, as he beat Jim Head, John Force and Robert Hight in the opening rounds.

“There wasn’t anything easy about it,” Gray said. “Nothing is ever easy trying to outrun any of the fuel cars that are out there, but Rob [Wendland, crew chief], Rip [Reynolds, assistant crew chief], and all the guys just gave me a great race car all weekend. I think a .11 was our slowest pass of the weekend. What can you say? That car’s just awesome. It’s fun to drive. It goes good. It goes straight. You know what it’s going to do, so we’re really looking forward to going to the next race.”

With the semifinal finish Hight increased his series lead over Capps, who solidified his second place position with the runner-up effort. Gray, who failed to qualify for the Countdown playoffs last season, made a major move toward making the top 10 this season with this victory, climbing to fourth in the standings.

“We struggled a little bit and we lost it a little bit a few races back, but we made some changes along with the help of Rahn Tobler and Mike Green and just really all the guys over at the DSR brain trust,” Gray said. “They came over and kind of got us back on track and helped the guys kind of get the car lined up, and now she’s just a pooch. You just take her up there, and she goes right down the racetrack.”

Anderson raced to his fourth Pro Stock victory of the season and 74th of his career in a new car, a Chevy Camaro. Anderson defeated teammate Jason Line in the final round with a performance of 6.560 at 212.03 in his Summit Racing Equipment Camaro, while Line’s Summit Racing Pontiac GXP trailed with a 6.588 at 200.98.  It was also the 100th win for the KB Racing team, owned by Ken Black.

“We brought [the new Camaro] here with high hopes and surpassed those hopes,” Anderson said. “This is a fantastic weekend. Couple weekends ago I lost in the final to Allen Johnson. I thought I had the better car. I had a better light and we shook the tires. I lost and I told [team owner] Ken Black, that maybe you should be on hand for the 100th win for KB racing. For him to come across the country from Las Vegas, he must have had that feeling. He jetted all the way over here.”

Anderson, who qualified sixth, advanced to the final with early round wins over Ron Krisher, Mike Edwards and Allen Johnson.  It was his fifth career win at Raceway Park, which makes him the winningest Pro Stock driver in the track's history, moving past Bob Glidden and Warren Johnson.

Line pulled ahead of the final round race, but then slowed dramatically as the two cars charged toward the finish line.

“In the final, Jason would have won but he broke a valve spring and that cost him about two-hundredths,” Anderson said. “If this had been a 1,000-foot race he’d have won but this isn’t Top Fuel. We run a quarter-mile and that made the difference. It’s tough for Jason but the bottom line was we couldn’t lose in the final.”

Anderson, who increased his series lead with the victory, was thrilled to win with his new Camaro in its debut.

“It was a gutsy call to bring the Camaro here,” Anderson said. “It was a tough decision but I’m so excited about GM being back in Pro Stock, and the muscle car being back in Pro Stock. We knew that the sooner we got it out here the better off the class would be. Even if it wasn’t 100-percent, we were bringing it.”

Local favorite Krawiec, former Raceway Park general manager, claimed an emotional first Pro Stock Motorcycle victory at the historic track, taking the automatic victory when his final round opponent Hector Arana Sr. fouled at the start on his Lucas Oil Buell. Krawiec claimed his 14th career victory by finishing in 6.921 at 171.45 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.

“During my TV interview I actually started crying,” said Krawiec, an Englishtown, N.J. native who now calls Indianapolis home. “[Team owner] Terry Vance has said many times, that something that never comes out of Eddie’s mouth is ‘I have nothing to say.’ But I was speechless.”

Krawiec, who increased his series lead with the win, defeated Joe DeSantis and former world champs Matt Smith and LE Tonglet in the first three rounds to advance to the final. He knew he would need to be on his game for the final with Arana, who had posted some of the quickest runs of the day.

“I knew I had to hit the tree good and make a nice run to have a chance of winning,” Krawiec said. “I let Craig Treble whip me here in 2009 because I thought I had a better bike and I laid back on the starting line. He picked my pocket and still doesn’t let me forget it. I thought that was my one and only chance to win this race. Thankfully, it wasn’t.”

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues June 15-17 with the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway.

Torrence beats Bernstein for SuperNationals title

Steve Torrence’s Top Fuel driving prowess – and a strong race car – carried him to his second NHRA Top Fuel victory Sunday afternoon at fabled Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J.

His title-round decision over Brandon Bernstein in the Toyota SuperNationals was his second win in the last three races. His first was May 6 at Atlanta.

This Torrence Racing one-car team continues to prove it belongs among the championship contenders after only nine races.

Torrence wasn’t intimidated with seven-time champion Tony Schumacher and series point leader Spencer Massey on his side of the ladder.  When it came time to deal with them, he did.

The first-year team owner from Kilgore, Texas left the line first and got the win light about six inches in front of Schumacher in the second round.  His time was 3.838 seconds at 319.76 mph to 3.809 at 319.75.  Torrence’s reaction time was .070-second to .107-second.

Massey, who set NHRA Top Fuel elapsed time and speed records during qualifying did get a .072-.074-second edge and he, too, trailed by about six inches at the finish line. 

 “It seems so surreal to come out here and do that well,” commented Torrence.  “We had some really tough races.  We won two races by one thousandth (of a second) against both Schumacher cars and that’s pretty gratifying.” 

When it got down to the finals, Torrence said he was ready.  “I was pretty pumped up when I raced Brandon.  I knew crew chief Richard Hogan and the guys gave me a good race car and I just wanted to beat the car sitting next to me. 

“I looked up at the scoreboard and saw the 3.80 come on.  It took a little bit for the win light to come on beside it.  I was saying ‘come on, come on.’”  The time was 3.800 seconds at 323.66 mph to 3.807 at 321.04.

“Having the good car that we did made it easy to do.  And I had all the confidence that every time I went to the line the car would go down the track.”

The march to the winner’s circle began when he eliminated Bob Vandergriff, 3.8708 at 323.35 mph to 3.862 at 320.58.

Torrence remained fifth with 644 Full Throttle series.

Torrence wants to keep the pressure on at Englishtown

The path to playoff contention in NHRA’s Full Throttle Drag Racing Series is littered with broken parts and broken hearts.  Only the top 10 professional drivers in each class after 17 races advance to the Countdown to 1.

Steve Torrence’s first-year team is doing its best to clinch a position in the top five as the series moves to legendary straight-line track Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., for the 43rd annual Toyota SuperNationals, Friday through Sunday. 

He has been one of the most consistent dragster drivers in the last six races with a team that has competed in only 11 races, including three last year.  He claimed his first Top Fuel victory May 6 at Atlanta.  He was the low qualifier at Charlotte as well and has been the second qualifier at the last three events.  In series scoring, he is a solid fifth with 527 points.

“We are excited about going to Englishtown,” said Torrence.  “It is always one of the biggest races of the season.  The track has a long history in the sport and there are a lot of great drag racing fans.

“We had a motor problem in the last race at Topeka that knocked us out in the second round against David Grubnic.  After the guys inspected it, they said it was a parts failure . . . and we know what caused it.  We were running well before that happened and I don’t think that should hinder us any this weekend.

“We were happy to see Grubnic go on and win the race.  He hadn’t won in a long time.”

“Our plan this weekend is still the same,” concluded Torrence.  “We want to be as consistent as we have been, stay in contention and get more round wins.”

Engine woes send Torrence to the sidelines at Topeka

Steve Torrence’s string of good performances came to a flaming halt on Sunday in the second round of the Summernationals at Heartland Park Topeka.

An engine explosion triggered a flash fire and Torrence took a brief, wild ride. The car changed lanes before he could get it stopped and David Grubnic drove to the easy win.

“It was going good until it quit,” quipped Torrence. “I felt the tires lose traction and the then motor let go. There were a lot of flames. It’s too bad that it happened.”

Crew chief Richard Hogan said a broken connecting rod was the part likely responsible for the malfunction.

Torrence did begin the day with a win over Hillary Will, 3.776 seconds at 326.79 mph to 3.932 at 298.27.

“All in all, it was still a pretty good weekend,” he said. “The car ran well in the first round – it was third-quickest – and we continued to qualify well. We will be ready for the next race at English Town

Elated Torrence goes for two in a row at Topeka

The days are getting hotter as June approaches, and so is the performance of Steve Torrence and his Torrence Racing/Capco Contractors Inc. Top Fuel dragster team.

The first-year team enjoyed his finest NHRA Full Throttle Series race two weeks ago when he dominated on a hot Atlanta Raceway track and came away with his first professional victory.  So the forecast for 85-degree temperatures for the Dollar General NHRA Summernationals at Topeka, Kansas, Friday through Sunday, aren’t that troubling.

“The car performed well in the heat.  It was absolutely flying,” said Torrence, “and it will hot in Topeka, so that definitely bolsters our confidence.  We know Richard Hogan, our crew chief, has a good handle on the tune-up in hot weather conditions and on hot tracks. 

“It really takes a good crew chief to be able to finesse the race car and get it to go down the track . . . and still run quick.  That was huge for us.”

As he looked forward to this race at Heartland Park Topeka, Torrence recalled the memories of his first Top Alcohol Dragster victory there in 2005.  He went on to win nine times in 11 final rounds in 13 races and clinched the Lucas Oil championship. 

“Now, I’d like to win my second race there in the fuel car, he said.”

Hogan’s tune-ups allowed Torrence to make eight strong runs at Atlanta – four in qualifying and four in eliminations, especially the final showdown with Tony Schumacher, the seven-time world champion and Top Fuel driver with the most wins.

As Torrence cruised down the track to victory, Schumacher’s car lost traction and fell back. 

“Any time you can win a Top Fuel race – or any race – that definitely boosts your confidence,” continued Torrence.  “That is just the motivation to try harder at your next race.”

Torrence didn’t have any trepidation when it came time to get his new team up and running last year.  His intentions were simple: build a strong one-car team to compete against the domination of multi-car teams. 

The results speak for themselves: Ten races later he was victorious.  He earned his first top qualifier position at Charlotte last month and followed with second-place starts at Houston and Atlanta.  He reached the semifinals at Las Vegas and Houston as well.

“We were very pleased to get that win for Capco and Torrence Racing,” he commented.  “But we are not satisfied with that.  We want to keep going.  If anything, it has made us hungry for another one.”