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TORRENCE STUMBLES AT POMONA
Second Round Exit Costs Four-Time Champ the Top Fuel Point Lead

April 2, 2023 -- The consistency that kept Steve Torrence and his CAPCO Contractors Top Fuel dragster atop the Camping World point standings for the season’s first two races evaporated in a cloud of tire smoke Sunday, sending the four-time former World Champion to the sidelines in the second round of the 63rd annual Lucas Oil Winternationals at In-N-Out Dragstrip.
           
The loss to Austin Prock opened the door for Justin Ashley to climb to No. 1 in the standings ahead of back-to-back races contested in the four-wide format in which Torrence has been dominant the last six seasons.

Before Sunday’s stumble, the talented Texan had made eight trouble-free runs down the now standard 1,000-foot course in times ranging from a best of 3.689 to a worst of 3.779.  His 3.715 in Sunday’s first round conquest of Josh Hart was his second quickest of the season, providing absolutely no indication of what was to come.

“Not what we wanted or what we expected,” said the 53-time tour winner, “but as competitive as it is this year, you can’t afford to make any mistakes.  We’ll just look at the data and move on to the four-wide races.

When qualifying for the fifth NHRA Four-Wide Nationals begins on April 14 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Torrence will trail Ashley by 45 points.  The 39-year-old cancer survivor has won the Vegas four-wide two of the last four times it has been contested and has been even more prolific in the Circle K 4Wide at Charlotte, N.C., winning four of the last five races. 

That’s six wins in four-wide events that first were contested in 2010.  No one else in any category has won more than three four-across events.  LVMS became a four-wide venue in 2018 after contesting a spring event in the traditional two-wide format from 2000 through 2017.

 

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