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

 

TORRENCE RACES BACK INTO TOP 10
CAPCO Dragster Out in Second Round at Chicago

July 12, 2015 -- Steve Torrence sped to career best performance numbers during Saturday qualifying and drove back into the Top 10 Sunday on the strength of a first round victory in the 18th annual Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.

            A four-time Mello Yello tour winner, Torrence took advantage of cooler conditions resulting from weather-related Saturday delays and stopped the 1,000 foot timers in 3.743 seconds at 321.58 miles per hour to grab the No. 4 starting position.

            Until Saturday, the Texan’s quickest trip down the 1,000 foot course had been 3.751 seconds, the time with which he qualified for the season-opening Circle K Winternationals at Pomona, Calif.  Unfortunately, he was unable to sustain his qualifying momentum during eliminations.

            After dispatching Terry McMillen in Sunday’s first round, the 32-year-old cancer survivor was pulling away from three-time former world champion Larry Dixon when something failed on his Capco Contractors Top Fuel dragster.

That slowed him from the 320 mile per hour form he flashed during qualifying to only 278.92 mph and completely erased the .028 of a second advantage he enjoyed a 660 feet, allowing Dixon to advance by a narrow .007 of a second.  Dixon’s winning time was 3.894.  Torrence trailed at 3.902 after winning the starting line battle, .073-.074.

            Although he was unable to string together multiple round wins, Torrence will start the grueling Western Swing with a Countdown position in his sights.  After falling to No. 11 in the Mello Yello driver standings, the former Top Alcohol Dragster World Champ (2005) moved around Clay Millican and back into the elite Top 10.

            He will need to maintain his Top 10 status through the next five races to earn another shot at the $500,000 Mello Yello Championship.  When the tour moves to Denver for the July 24-26 running of the 36th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals, he will lead Millican by 16 points and trail No. 9 J.R. Todd by 42.

            As has been the case for so much of the season, Torrence was the quickest of those eliminated in the second round.  It provided little solace to the accomplished bow hunter who hasn’t been able to advance beyond the second round since he was runner-up to Antron Brown at the 4Wide Nationals at Charlotte, N.C., last March.

 

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