Billy Torrence Doing Double Duty

As the founder and CEO of CAPCO Contractors, a family-owned company that once again this year will invest more than a million man-hours in the construction and maintenance of international oil-and-gas pipelines, Billy Torrence tries to maximize rare weekends like this one in which he’ll be back behind the wheel of a race car for the first time in nine months.

So, instead of pursuing just one championship in the 43rd Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, the 67-year-old Texan will chase two.

Although the bulk of the attention will be focused on his turn at the wheel of the CAPCO-backed Top Fuel Toyota usually driven by his son, Steve, he also will drive a somewhat less powerful CAPCO dragster in pursuit of his third national event victory in Super Comp.

“You’ve gotta take advantage when you have the chance,” he beamed.  “I haven’t done any kind of racing this year so I’m excited to get back into it.”

An NHRA national event winner at both the professional and sportsman levels, the elder Torrence’s victory in the 2018 Lucas Oil Nationals was the first of eight Top Fuel wins as teammate to his son, the four-time World Champion who this week is sitting out his fourth race of the campaign.

Nevertheless, what Billy remembers most about that victory is not that he qualified No. 1 for the first time in his Top Fuel career, not that he reached the final round for the first time, not that he won for the first time, not even that he beat Antron Brown in the final round on a hole shot.  Instead, he most remembers all the adversity his team had to overcame on the way to the winners’ circle.

“Two rounds, I didn’t even know if we’d make it up there,” he recalled.  “I think the problem was a throw out bearing.  But they just kept after it.  Before the semifinals, we didn’t even get to warm it up.  

After such an ordeal, what he remembers most fondly is the photo of his family and crew at the starting line watching him illuminate the win light.  “Just the pure elation of it,” he said.

Despite his long layoff, the former oilfield worker expects to be competitive in the car in which Steve won earlier this year at Bristol, Tenn.

“We have a great team put together, a great car,” he said.  “We have all the right parts and pieces.  You know, we raced full-time for 13 seasons.  We still love racing, but it’s not our priority.  

“(Steve and I) both have full-time jobs that are very demanding,” he said, “plus now we’ve got two little granddaughters. Priorities change.  We’ve got a really good group that we’re gonna try to keep together so that we can race when we want to.”

Although he was only 11th in points last year in his only full-season pursuit of the Top Fuel championship, he has three top fives to his credit and has finished as high as third (2020).  He last celebrated a victory at Reading, Pa., in 2021.

Billy’s Top Fuel bid will begin with qualifying sessions at 4:30 and 6:45 p.m., Texas time, Friday.  Qualifying continues Saturday at 12 noon and 2:30 p.m.  Final eliminations begin at 10:30 a.m., Texas time on Sunday.