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TORRENCE FOLLOWING FAMILIAR GAME PLAN
World Champ Bidding for Las Vegas Sweep in Dodge SRT NHRA Nationals

October 27, 2021 -- Point leader Steve Torrence is poised to take another big step toward an historic fourth straight Camping World Top Fuel Championship this week when he drives his Capco Contractors dragster in the 20th renewal of the Dodge SRT NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

With only two events remaining in an expanded Countdown to the Championship, the 38-year-old Torrence leads second place Brittany Force by 73 points as he tries to join fellow Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher and five others who have won as many as four consecutive NHRA series titles.

Although he has won nine of the 18 races contested thus far this season including last April’s Denso Spark Plugs Four-Wide Nationals at LVMS, the talented Texan is taking nothing for granted.

“We learned in 2017 (when he lost the world championship on the final day of the season) that anything can happen,” he said.  “We crashed a car at Dallas and had to go to a back-up.  Then, I lost my focus and Brittany found hers and they got around us in the last race.  It was a hard lesson, but it’s one we’ve remembered the last four years.

“We’re on the same game plan we’ve been on all year,” said the only driver ever to sweep the Countdown (2018).  “Go out and win rounds.  Go out and win the race.  If you do that, the points will take care of themselves.”

Although he’s won just once in five Countdown races, Torrence has benefitted from a consistency-of-performance envied by every other team in the series.  After winning eight times in the regular season, he’s gone to the semifinals or beyond in every playoff event while winning at a 77.7 percent clip (14-4). 

Nevertheless, the former Top Alcohol Dragster World Champ (2005) insists that right now the Top Fuel class is as competitive as it has ever been.

“Five different cars have won (Countdown races) so far,” he said, “plus Brittany and Grubby (crew chief David Grubnic) have been crushing it, performance-wise.  Seems like they’re setting records every race.

“In the big picture, though, what matters is what you do round-by-round and I have the luxury of driving for the best team in the business.  With Richard Hogan, Bobby Lagana and these Capco Boys, I always go up there knowing I’ve got a car that can win no matter who’s in the other lane,” he said, “and that’s the ultimate confidence-booster right there.”

 

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