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For Immediate Release
Contact: Dave Densmore, denswood@aol.com / 214-244-0008, mobile

 

TORRENCE AIMS TO RECAPTURE 2012 ATLANTA FORM
Capco Contractors Driver Looking for Success in Summit Southern Nationals

           May 15, 2014 -- The love-hate relationship between Steve Torrence and Atlanta Dragway resumes this week when the 31-year-old Texan sends his Capco Contractors dragster after the Top Fuel championship in the 34th annual Summit Southern Nationals.

            One of the brightest young stars in the NHRA’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Torrence beat then World Champion Tony Schumacher in the final round at Atlanta in 2012 to claim his first pro victory, a moment that remains one of the most memorable of his career.

            Other than that, though, he has little to show for his time in Georgia.

            He did start from the No. 2 qualifying position the year he won the race, but he has qualified no higher than 10th in three other appearances, failed to make the field in 2011 and hasn’t advanced out of the first round in any year other than 2012, losing last season to fellow Texan Spencer Massey.

            Nevertheless, off this year to the best start of his pro career, Torrence is confident that crew chief Richard Hogan will put a car beneath him capable of challenging point leader and former world champion Antron Brown for Sunday’s title.

            A second degree black belt in taekwondo who has applied the techniques he learned in that discipline to racing, Torrence has emerged this season as the most consistent of the serious championship contenders.

            In six races, he has reached the semifinals five times, most recently three weeks ago in the O’Reilly Spring Nationals at Houston, Texas.  The downside is that he has yet to win a race and secure a spot in the $100,000 Traxxas Nitro Shootout in which he has been runner-up the last two years.

            “Richard Hogan and the crew have been doing a great job,” Torrence said of his veteran crew chief.  “It’s been a little frustrating (not advancing to the final round), but we know we have a fast car.  We could have won any of those races and as long as we keep putting ourselves in a position to win, it’s gonna happen.”

            Torrence had hoped to get a little additional help this week in the form of a second Capco dragster driven by his father, Billy.  However, business responsibilities at Capco, a company he founded in 1995, compelled the elder Torrence to postpone his 2014 debut for at least another month.

            Meantime, Steve will continue to pursue the championship without the additional data provided by a second car.  In a category in which the multi-car teams have been dominant, it’s a daunting challenge – but not an overwhelming one.

            After all, after winning his battle with Hodgkins lymphoma as a teenager, the graduate of Kilgore (Texas) College believes no goal is beyond his reach.

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