Steve Torrence closing in on another Top Fuel title in Pomona – Press Telegram - California News Times
Steve Torrence closing in on another Top Fuel title in Pomona – Press Telegram - California News Times
Viernes 12 de Noviembre del 2021
Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence, center, stands next to his 11,000 horsepower dragster in the pits prior to the opening round of qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals on Friday at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Funny Car driver Robert Hight sits in his hot …
Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence, center, stands next to his 11,000 horsepower dragster in the pits prior to the opening round of qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals on Friday at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Funny Car driver Robert Hight sits in his hot …
Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence, center, stands next to his 11,000 horsepower dragster in the pits prior to the opening round of qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals on Friday at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Funny Car driver Robert Hight sits in his hot rod prior as he is pushed towards the starting line during the opening round of nitro qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Hight is the provisional top qualifier. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Top Fuel driver Antron Brown heads down track during the opening round of nitro qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Funny Car driver John Force heads down track during the opening round of nitro qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Funny Car driver John Force (right) along with his daughter Brittany Force (center) speak with race fans in the staging lanes prior to the opening round of nitro qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Funny Car driver Matt Hagan warms up his hot rod in the pits prior to the opening round of qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Funny Car drivers Cruz Pedregon (near lane) and J.R. Todd (far lane) head down track during the opening round of nitro qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Gary Pritchett, a member of Steve Torrence’s Top Fuel team, pushes Torrence’s 11,000hp dragster into its pit prior to qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence stands next to his 11,000hp dragster in the pits prior to the opening round of qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Race fans Darren Cascaril, left, 15, and Preston Wilkin, right, 14, both from Canyon Lake, push their souvenir racing tires through the pits looking for autographs during the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021.(Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence heads down track during the opening round of nitro qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Top Fuel driver Antron Brown heads down track during the opening round of nitro qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence heads down the track during the opening round of qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals on Friday at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. Torrence had the second-fastest qualifying time and is closing in on his fourth consecutive season title. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Funny Car points leader Ron Capps (near lane) heads down track against his teammate, and second in the points, Matt Hagan during the opening round of nitro qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Top Fuel driver Leah Pruett heads down track during the opening round of nitro qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence heads down track during the opening round of nitro qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Top Fuel driver Antron Brown heads down track during the opening round of nitro qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
“Big” Jim Dunn walks out of the way as his Funny Car driver Jim Campbell does his burnout during the opening round of nitro qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Funny Car driver J.R. Todd speaks with a crew member prior to the opening round of nitro qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Funny Car driver Robert Hight sits in his hot rod prior as he is pushed towards the starting line during the opening round of nitro qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Hight is the provisional top qualifier. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence stands in his hauler in the pits prior to the opening round of qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Race fan Curtis Booth, from Little Rock, Arkansas, holds his ears as he stands behind the Funny Car of Matt Hagan as he warms up the 11,000hp nitromethane burning hot rod prior to the opening round of qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence (right) stands next to his 11,000hp dragster in the pits prior to the opening round of qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Race fans watch from nitro haze as Funny Car driver Alex Miladinovich warms up his 11,000hp hot prior to the opening round of qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Funny Car driver Matt Hagan takes off his gas mask after warming up his hot rod in the pits prior to the opening round of qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence stands in his hauler in the pits as he watches his crew work on his 11,000hp dragster prior to the opening round of qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence (center) stands next to his 11,000hp dragster in the pits prior to the opening round of qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence stands in his hauler in the pits prior to the opening round of qualifying at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A Super Gas competitor heads towards the staging for sportsman eliminations during the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Super Gas drivers sit in the staging lanes as they wait for the second round of sportsman eliminations to begin during the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Race fans Darren Cascaril, left, 15, and Preston Wilkin, right, 14, both from Canyon Lake, push their souvenir racing tires through the pits looking for autographs during the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Super Gas driver Dave Archambault, from Calgary, sits in his hot in the staging lanes as he waits for the second round of sportsman eliminations to begin during the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. Pro qualifying continues Saturday with eliminations beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Top Fuel legend Shirley Muldowney, left, speaks with Gary Park from Simi Valley in the pits during the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A Super Gas driver does his burnout during the second round of sportsman eliminations at the 56th annual NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
POMONA – Steve Torrence began his drag racing career in 2005 in the Top Alcohol class, the NHRA’s triple-A league. After moving up to Top Fuel in 2010 and finishing a respectable eighth, he sought advice from kingmaker Don Schumacher, whose multi-car team has dominated the sport for much of the past two decades.
Don Schumacher Racing started out as a one-car team in 1998. That one car was driven by Don’s son Tony. The team has since had as many as eight cars in the nitro Top Fuel and Funny Car classes. Don Schumacher’s advice to a then 28-year-old Torrence was, basically, you can’t compete as a single-car team.
Well, guess what? Steve Torrence is dominating as a single-car team. Technically, the team has two cars, since father Billy Torrence is now also competing and not doing poorly himself. It is more of a one-family operation, based in Kilgore, Texas.
Torrence inched closer to a historic fourth consecutive NHRA Top Fuel season championship during the lone round of qualifying Friday evening at the NHRA Finals currently taking place at Auto Club Raceway.
Torrence had the second-fastest qualifying time while his closest competitor, Brittany Force, burned her tires halfway down the 1,000-foot track and qualified 11th. Billy Torrence, who is third in the season standings, was the third-fastest qualifier Friday.
Steve Torrence gained three points on Force and now leads by 108. Mike Salinas had the top time in Top Fuel qualifying on Friday with an elapsed time of 3.694 seconds and a top speed of 328.78 mph.
In Funny Car competition, Ron Capps extended his lead over his closest competitor, Matt Hagan, by qualifying second. Hagan qualified 12th and now trails Capps by 61 points. The top Funny Car qualifier Friday was Robert Hight at 3.894 seconds and 330.55 mph.
Qualifying continues Saturday with two rounds in Funny Car and Top Fuel, beginning at 12:30 p.m. Other qualifying begins at 10:30 a.m. Elimination rounds on Sunday begin at 10 a.m., two hours after the track opens.
After Friday’s session, Steve Torrence relaxed in his pit with his family, which included his father Billy, his mother Kay, and wife Natalie Jahnke, a native of Rancho Cucamonga and a La Verne University graduate. Also there, sound asleep, was Haven Charli Torrence, born April 7 of this year. She is the first child for Steve and Natalie, who have been together since 2017 and were married on May 9, 2020.
Torrence, asked about that conversation with Don Schumacher, said, “I didn’t take it as being malicious or anything like that. I took it as a challenge.”
Torrence, now 38, has more than met the challenge. If, as expected, he claims the 2021 Top Fuel title, he will come within two of the NHRA record of six consecutive season titles, held by Tony Schumacher.
“Everyone on our team works extremely hard,” Torrence said.
That, he says, is the key reason for his success. And he sets a good example. Between races, he works as a salesman for the family’s drilling company, Capco Contractors, which is also his major sponsor.
“I was at work yesterday before coming out here,” he said, “and come Monday, I’ll be back at work.”
And almost assuredly possessing another NHRA title.
Q1: Steve-O and the CAPCO Boys have a stellar run of 3.698 at 317.05mph. +3 Points! #NHRAFinals#HowBoutDemCAPCOBoys pic.twitter.com/5Qfjcgsg5x
Steve Torrence closing in on another Top Fuel title in Pomona – Press Telegram Source link Steve Torrence closing in on another Top Fuel title in Pomona – Press Telegram
