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For Immediate Release
Contact: Joe Sherk, jlsherk@aol.com/360-981-4806, mobile

 

TORRENCE LOSES CLOSE SEMIFINAL RACE AT HOUSTON

April 30, 2012 -- Steve Torrence came within five-thousandths of a second – and approximately two feet – Sunday of advancing to the first final round of his career in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals near Houston.

He did all he could, including driving the Torrence Racing/Capco Contractors Inc. Top Fuel  dragster to wins over T.J. Zizzo and Shawn Langdon in the first two rounds before meeting Antron Brown in the semifinals.

However, it didn’t diminish the outstanding performance his team turned in before a large number of friends and fans among the crowd that cheered him on at Royal Purple Raceway.

In the deciding race, Torrence left the starting line first (.046-second to .060) but Brown’s dragster lit the win light in 4.011 seconds 278.35 mph a 4.030 at 276.80.

“It was not a bad day to be in Texas,” Torrence said of the 1,000-foot lap). “Both of our cars had been running good and they started smoking the tires about the same time.  We were both hitting the throttle down the track and he was able to sneak around me at finish line.”

Torrence’s quickest run of the day came in his decision over Zizzo, 3.830 seconds at 322.11 mph to 4.041 at 288.95 mph.  He beat longtime friend and rival Shawn Langdon in the next round with a 3.878 at 320.20 to a 3.895 at 318.02).  He jumped ahead of Langdon with a .012-second reaction time to a .055 and was never challenged.

“It was a good race. We are happy our team put on a good show for everyone,” Torrence continued.  “We have qualified first and second at the last two races, we want to take that momentum to the Atlanta next week.”

The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals runs Friday through Sunday in Commerce, Ga., near Atlanta.

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