Torrence Wins 4th Straight Event To Start The Countdown
After tallying 8 event wins in 2017, only to come up just short of the championship hunt, Steve Torrence and his CAPCO team have been on a mission to make sure that doesn’t happen again in 2018. So far, so good!
Torrence entered the Countdown to the Championship with the points lead following Indy and hasn’t lost a round since, sweeping the first four events since the points “reset”, something that’s never been done before in either nitro category. Comparatively speaking, Steve isn’t necessarily out-muscling the competition. He’s not putting up huge numbers, but he is putting up very solid runs on a ridiculously consistent basis. If you know anything about the world of drag racing, you know that consistency is often far more important than outright performance.
Steve is always quick to give credit to his team, and rightfully so. While he gets to be the guy to strap into his black, white and red hotrod and do the driving, without a car that’s impeccably prepared and perfectly tuned round after round, he wouldn’t be chasing history and entering the last 2 races of the year with a very legitimate chance of sweeping the Countdown, something that, as far as I can remember, hasn’t been done in any professional category. I feel as if I’m running the risk of jinxing Torrence’s run at history, but please know I’m being very literal when I say I’m knocking on wood in hopes of not ruining the stellar streak this team is on.
For those keeping score at home, Torrence is also looking to become the first independently-funded team to win a professional championship in decades. CAPCO is the Torrence family business, started by Steve’s dad Billy, who also runs Top Fuel on a part-time basis, meaning that while they do get support from some sponsors and companies who provide parts, the bulk of their funding comes out of their own pockets.