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For Immediate Release
Contact: Dave Densmore, denswood@aol.com / 214-244-0008, mobile
TORRENCE CARRIES ‘BROOM’ INTO SONOMA
CAPCO Driver Only One With a Chance to ‘Sweep The Swing’
July 28, 2015 -- Just five days after besting seven-time series champion Tony Schumacher in the final round of the Mopar Mile-High Nationals, Texan Steve Torrence climbs back into the cockpit of his Capco Contractors dragster this Friday at Sonoma Raceway with his eye on a sweep of the three critical races comprising the Western Swing.
While that might seem a bit ambitious for a driver who, until last week, hadn’t won a Mello Yello tour event in more than two years, the reality is that Torrence is the ONLY Top Fuel driver who carries a broom into this week’s 27th annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals; the only one with an opportunity to “Sweep the Swing.”
“We have a great team,” Torrence said after winning his fifth Top Fuel title but his first since June 16, 2013 at Bristol, Tenn., “(but) what we’ve been doing is not representative of the team we’ve got. As a driver, I haven’t been doing my job as well as I should but the win at Denver was a big confidence booster.
“(Crew chief) Richard Hogan and my guys have been busting their butts to give me a fast car,” said the 2005 Top Alcohol Dragster World Champion, “but my focus and concentration hasn’t been where it needs to be. (The Denver win) was just what we needed and I can wait to get back to racing.”
Despite the grueling physical and mechanical demands of the Western Swing, Torrence believes the back-to-back-to-back format is beneficial from a mental standpoint.
“(Racing on successive weekends) can keep your head in the game because you stay focused going from one race to the next,” said the 32-year-old cancer survivor. “You develop a rhythm. That’s what we’ve been missing.”
Having finally dealt with the longest winless streak of his pro career, Torrence now can turn his attention toward moving up in driver points prior to the start of the NHRA playoffs in September.
“We’re better off than we were (after moving from 10th to ninth in points),” Torrence said, “but we’ve still got work to do. We had a great car on the mountain (at 5,800 foot Bandimere Speedway), but now we have to adapt back down to sea level for the next two races. That’s what makes the Swing so tough.
“But I’m feeling good about our chances. It’s hard to explain how big that Denver win was but I’d say it was the biggest win I’ve had in Top Fuel. It got us back on track in the points, it qualified us for the Traxxas Shootout and a shot at a hundred grand payday and it got the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation in the winners’ circle for the first time since we started working with Taya (Kyle) and her people to tell their story.”
Torrence is particularly excited about snatching up the last guaranteed starting spot in the Traxxas Nitro Shootout, especially since he missed the race altogether last year.
“We came so close to winning the $100,000 in 2013 (runner-up to world champion Shawn Langdon) and then to not get in last year was painful,” he admitted. “But (the Traxxas Shootout is) just an Indy week bonus. Right now, we’re just focused on trying to move up in points. We’re better off than we were but we’re still not in any kind of safe position.
“We’ve gotta go to each race and just break it down one round at a time,” he said. “We need every point possible so hopefully we can pick some up in qualifying and then just take it one lap at a time, like we did in Denver.”
Torrence rolls into Sonoma 25 points ahead of No. 10 J.R. Todd and 82 up on No. 11 Clay Millican with four races remaining before the Top 10 is secured for the Countdown to the Championship.
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