Torrence at Odds with Norwalk

At Summit Motorsports Park, site this week of the 18th Summit Racing Equipment Nationals, the “odds” favor former Top Fuel World Champion Steve Torrence whose three wins in Ohio’s biggest drag race came in sequential odd-numbered years starting in 2017.

With that cycle interrupted in 2023 by a second-round loss to Justin Ashley, the tenacious Texan is determined to re-establish himself this week as the “Odd Man In” at SMP.

Driving a CAPCO Contractors Top Fuel Toyota that is beginning to look more-and-more like the one in which he won four consecutive series titles from 2018 through 2021, Torrence is seeking his second win in the last three races in a late bid to improve his position in the driver standings ahead of the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship.

Although he was ousted in the second round of last week’s Virgnia Nationals at Richmond, the 42-year-old rancher and businessman considered the weekend productive, nonetheless.

“We made three good runs in the heat in qualifying (3.883, 3.888 and 3.877),” he said, “and we won our first (Mission Foods) 2Fast/2Tasty race of the year.  We’re obviously more consistent that we’ve been for awhile and we’ll try to build on that this weekend at track that’s been pretty good for us.”

Ironically, Torrence was just so-so in his first six appearances in the Summit Nationals, posting a 6-6 record while advancing beyond the second round just one time.  

In 2016, though, he was forced to withdraw from the event after suffering a mild heart attack following a particularly strenuous workout at his local gym and, since then, has won 81 percent of his two-car matches while hoisting the trophy three times. 

His bid for a fourth Summit Nationals title will begin with Friday qualifying sessions at 5 and 7:30 p.m., Texas time, followed on Saturday by sessions at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Texas time.  Sunday eliminations begin at 10 a.m., Texas time.