Torrence Gets it Done at Bristol

Emphatically ending a season-long winless streak, four-time Top Fuel World Champion Steve Torrence eased his CAPCO Contractors Toyota past Justin Ashley and his SCAG Power Equipment dragster in Sunday’s rain-delayed final to win the 23rd Super Grip Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. 

On a challenging track surface notorious for two significant bumps at the point where tunnels provide pedestrian access beneath it, the 42-year-old cancer survivor negotiated the 1,000-foot ribbon in 4.022 seconds at a finish line speed of 325.37 miles per hour in the final round.

Ashley, who like Torrence was seeking his first win of the year, trailed in 8.600 seconds at only 82.60 mph after an almost immediate loss of traction.

The victory, the 56th of the Texan’s Top Fuel career, was his first at the Tennessee track since 2013 and it extended to 11 the number of consecutive seasons in which he has celebrated at least one Mission Foods tour victory.  That represents the longest active streak in the sport’s signature category.  

Before Sunday’s win, which included a semifinal conquest of point leader and No. 1 qualifier Tony Stewart, Torrence had not won in 13 races -- since last July 21 when he beat Shawn Langdon to prevail in the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Seattle, Wash.  

“First and foremost, this is the week before Father’s Day and I have two beautiful girls, so that’s really special to me,” Torrence said. “My little girl (oldest daughter Haven Charli) was born in 2021 and that was kind of the end of our reign and I didn’t want her to think that I couldn’t win any more.

“It was a tough day out there,” said the only driver to have swept the races in the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship (2018).  “The conditions were really tricky and I knew I had to be consistent and do my job.  We don’t have the race car we had when we won our four championships, but we’re working hard to get it back and this was a good step in that direction.”

“We’ve been struggling, but I’m one who believes you stay with the girl you brought to the dance,” Torrence said, “so I trusted Richard (Hogan) and Bobby (Lagana Jr.) to figure it out and today was a testament to their ability to read the track and make the right adjustments to get us from A to B.  And somehow the driver did his job, too.  It feels good.”