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For Immediate Release
Contact: Dave Densmore, denswood@aol.com / 214-244-0008, mobile

 

ON HOME TURF, TORRENCE GOES AFTER A RARE DOUBLE
Capco Contractors Top Fuel Dragsters in NHRA races Saturday, Sunday at Motorplex

September 18, 2014 -- For favorite son and Mello Yello title contender Steve Torrence, what could be better this weekend than a Texas two-step?  Well, how about a Texas two-step on the concrete floor of his favorite dance hall, Billy Meyer’s Texas Motorplex? 

            That’s the scenario in which the 31-year-old cancer survivor finds himself this week after NHRA officials moved the completion of last week’s Pep Boys Nationals from Charlotte, N.C., to Dallas.

            The result is a rare Saturday-Sunday doubleheader that has make-or-break implications for contenders in the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship.

            The Carolina race, which was suspended after a single round, will be completed Saturday in conjunction with qualifying for Sunday’s 29th annual AAA Texas Fall Nationals. 

            Torrence very much is looking forward to the unique challenge at the wheel of a Capco Contractors Top Fuel dragster that has been among the performance leaders all season.
“I’ve spent a lot of time racing in Dallas,” Torrence said. “I clinched the Top Alcohol Dragster championship there in 2005 and (because of that) the track will always hold a special place for me.

            “I haven’t had much success yet in Top Fuel but I’d definitely like to change that in front of the home crowd.”

            Indeed, Torrence expects a wealth of fan support on a track just 120 miles from Capco headquarters in Henderson.  It doesn’t hurt that the company’s founder, Steve’s dad Billy, also will compete in a second Capco-backed dragster.

            “We’ve been very blessed,” acknowledged the graduate of Kilgore College.  “We’ve got a great business (pipeline construction and maintenance) and I don’t think we’ve got any bigger fans than the guys that are part of the company. 

            “If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be able to do this,” he said.  “We’re going up against some of the best in the business and to be able to have some success and knock them off every now and then, that’s the most gratifying thing.  This is a family race team and we’re out here swinging with the big dogs.” 

            Actually, the team not only has been swinging, it’s been connecting.

            A four-time tour winner since moving up to Top Fuel on a full time basis in 2012, the younger Torrence is coming off his second straight runner-up finish in the Labor Day U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, drag racing’s single most important event.

            Moreover, after winning his first round race at Charlotte, the avid hunter and outdoorsman rolls into Dallas in third place in Mello Yello points behind only Doug Kalitta and seven-time World Champion Tony Schumacher.  It’s as high in points as he ever has been as a pro.

            “The car has been more consistent and I’m very happy with that,” he said.  “That’s a big confidence-booster this time of year. I feel like we put our best foot forward going into the Countdown.

            “I think we’ve got a better handle on the car than we’ve had all year. It’s really responded well to the changes we’ve made and that’s encouraging.”

            Plus, after struggling in the playoffs his first two years, Torrence has put together  a solid game plan for the six-race shootout.

            “We’ve held back some of our inventory, especially clutch discs and stuff we know runs well, stuff that’s been consistent, for the Countdown,” he said.  “The first year, that was our Achilles Heel.”

 

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