Steve Torrence Wins His 3rd Four Wide In a Row in Charlotte

While many of the NHRA’s top drivers have a hard time going rounds when the tour rolls into either of the 4-wide venues in Vegas and Charlotte, Steve Torrence and his crew have really taken a liking to 4-wide racing. If you need proof, how about the fact that Torrence has raced his way to victory at the last three 4-wide events.

Starting in Charlotte last year, Torrence and his CAPCO-sponsored dragster have now won 9 straight rounds of competition – keeping in mind, of course, that these events are only 3 rounds to win instead of the usual 4 – on 4-wide drag strips.

The final round featured four very capable cars, each of these drivers having taken at least one event win within in the past year. Starting nearest the camera, former world champion Doug Kalitta lined up alongside Torrence, while Terry McMillen and our very own Clay Millican occupied the two farthest lanes.

At the hit, it looked to be literally anybody’s race, with all 4 cars launching hard and keeping the tires planted through the first 550 feet or so of the 1,000 foot racetrack. Millican began to haze the tire around that point, falling off pace while a tell-tale puff of smoke from McMillen’s car indicated he’d lost power, leaving Kalitta and Torrence to duke it out.

By the time the cars streaked across the 1/8th mile mark, the CAPCO car had pulled ahead to a car length lead and Torrence simply kept the car pointed toward the stripe and watched as the win light streaked toward him. At the top end, a jubilant Torrence capped the day with an animated interview, showing that even after taking his eighteenth career win, he still gets fired up seeing the light come on his lane, especially when there are four of them!

Congrats to Steve and crew from all of us here at Speed Society, with a special shout out to the team’s clutch specialist, Gary Pritchett, husband to none other than our own Leah Pritchett.