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TORRENCE CAN’T CAPITALIZE ON NO. 1 START
But Billy Torrence Goes to Semis at Midwest Nationals

September 27, 2015 -- On a spectacular weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park, Steve Torrence posted career best numbers for 1,000 foot time and speed and still couldn’t get his Capco Contractors Top Fuel dragster beyond the second round at the 18th annual AAA Insurance Midwest Nationals. 

Meanwhile, in the most productive outing of his Top Fuel career, Billy Torrence went all the way to the semifinals in the second of the Capco dragsters while also recording career bests for the 1,000 foot distance.  

The No. 1 qualifier for the fifth time in his career, the younger Torrence beat Kyle Wurtzel in the first round but just couldn’t get past Dave Connolly in round two even though he crossed the finish line at a personal best 329.42 miles per hour.  Connolly won by a razor thin.029 of a second.

“Dave and I are friends,” Torrence said, “and that’s what we like, good close racing.  I just wish we had been on the good side of it, but it didn’t happen this weekend. We’ve got nothing to apologize for.  Both of these Capco cars were bad hot rods.  We would up losing to the two cars that were in the final.  I lost to Dave and dad lost to Antron (Brown).”

When the Countdown resumes this week at Reading, Pa., with the 31st annual NHRA Keystone Nationals, Torrence and Connolly will be tied for eighth place in Mello Yello points but they’ll start 193 points behind Brown, the 2012 series champion who has gone back-to-back in this year’s first two playoff races.

“Somebody’s going to have to stop Antron, for sure,” Torrence said.  "Those guys have been lights out.  I said it was still wide open for anyone who got the hot hand.  Unfortunately for the rest of us, right now it’s Antron who’s got the juice.”

The 32-year-old former Top Alcohol Dragster World Champion (2005) will go it alone at Reading.  His dad will rejoin him next month when the tour moves to the Texas Motorplex outside Dallas for the 30th annual AAA Texas Fall Nationals.

“It’s always great when my dad can be out here racing with me,” Torrence said, “and when he’s racing, we get twice as much data, which we hope we can use down the road.  Plus, it doesn’t hurt when he beats guys like (Larry) Dixon and Tony (Schumacher).”

 

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