>>BACK

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

 

DESPITE PROGRESS, TORRENCE LOSES GROUND
CAPCO Dragster Out in Second Round at Norwalk

July 5, 2015 -- Steve Torrence’s bid for the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel championship has gone from the bizarre to the ridiculous. 

            After qualifying well but failing to win a round in five straight tour events, the talented Texan got a breakthrough first round win over a quality opponent in Sunday’s ninth annual Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park.

            Unfortunately, after beating J.R. Todd in round one, he couldn’t get his Capco Contractors dragster past the Mac Tools entry of No. 1 qualifier Doug Kalitta in round two.  As a result, he lost more ground in his bid to earn a starting spot in the NHRA playoffs beginning in September.

            It was another case in which the 32-year-old cancer survivor set things up with a great qualifying performance only to be frustrated on race day. 

            During the qualifying phase, he was one of only three drivers to improve his performance on every trip down the 1,000 foot course, was quickest in session three and his per-run (3.784 seconds) was third best after Kalitta (3.768) and reigning series champion Tony Schumacher (3.781). 

            Nevertheless, those aren’t the numbers that count and the four-time tour winner will move on this week to Route 66 Raceway outside Chicago, Ill., trailing Clay Millican, a Norwalk semifinalist, by two rounds in the battle for the tenth and final transfer position to the Countdown and a shot at the $500,000 Mello Yello Championship. 

            “I know I sound like a broken record,” Torrence said, “but we really are running better than our record shows.  We’ve just been stuck in a rut in the middle of the season.  We went through the same thing last year, but it didn’t seem to last this long.  It’s just momentum.  There’s negative and there’s positive. Once you start winning it seems like you keep winning.  We’re close to winning again but obviously we’re not there; not yet.”

            On a positive note, since Kalitta was a repeat winner this season, Torrence still has a shot at claiming the last guaranteed position in the Traxxas Nitro Shootout in which he was runner-up two years ago.  Currently, Kalitta, Schumacher, Spencer Massey, Shawn Langdon, Antron Brown and Richie Crampton are in.  The next driver to join them as a 2015 winner will be in the field with the eighth spot determined by fan vote and lottery.

            “All we have to do is win Chicago,” Torrence said.  “That’s what we’re going to try to do.”

 

# # #