{"id":12607,"date":"2017-09-11T20:14:08","date_gmt":"2017-09-12T01:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=12607"},"modified":"2017-09-15T20:24:34","modified_gmt":"2017-09-16T01:24:34","slug":"top-fuel-points-leader-steve-torrence-maintaining-a-successful-status-quo-heading-to-nhra-carolina-nationals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2017\/09\/11\/top-fuel-points-leader-steve-torrence-maintaining-a-successful-status-quo-heading-to-nhra-carolina-nationals\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence maintaining a successful status quo heading to NHRA Carolina Nationals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Courtesy of the NHRA<\/em><\/p>\n

CONCORD, N.C. \u2013 Following a successful 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series<\/a> regular season, Top Fuel\u2019s Steve Torrence<\/strong> doesn\u2019t plan on changing much in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship. Considering that recipe for success includes seven victories, nine final rounds, a Traxxas Shootout win and the points lead, that certainly makes the most sense.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Steve Torrence. NHRA photo<\/p><\/div>\n

With his latest victory coming at the prestigious Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals and with a win at zMAX Dragway already to his credit in 2017, Torrence feels confident heading into this weekend\u2019s NHRA Carolina Nationals at the state-of-the-art facility. His 10,000-horsepower Capco Contractors Inc. dragster has been dialed in all season, and Torrence fully expects to keep pushing forward at the Countdown to the Championship opener.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been our main objective, get the car where we want it and don\u2019t change it,\u201d said Torrence, who is seeking his first world championship. \u201cWe\u2019ve found a recipe for success and the car has done what we\u2019ve told it to. I\u2019m confident in the car, my team and myself. I don\u2019t mean this in a negative context, but I\u2019m not concerned about anybody but us. The way we\u2019re going, I feel like we\u2019re going to do the best we can and it\u2019s up to them to beat us. It\u2019s a difficult mindset to get into and stay in, but with the way everything has gone, I\u2019m confident in where we\u2019re at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antron Brown (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Chip Ellis (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year\u2019s winners of the event that will be televised on FOX Sports 1, including live final eliminations coverage starting at 2:30 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Sept. 17. It is the 19th of 24 races during the 2017 season and the first event in the NHRA\u2019s six-race playoffs, creating a sense of urgency for championship contenders to start off well.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Steve Torrence. NHRA photo<\/p><\/div>\n

That includes Torrence, who will have a 20-point lead over back-to-back world champion Brown heading into Charlotte. There\u2019s a bevy of talented title challengers behind him as well, with Leah Pritchett, Tony Schumacher and Doug Kalitta sitting 30, 40 and 50 points back, respectively. But like he\u2019s proven all year, Torrence is ready for the challenge. His seven victories have all come in the last 13 races and the talented Texan insists that razor-sharp focus won\u2019t let up now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve all kept each other moving forward and motivated,\u201d said Torrence, who has 15 career victories. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say anything this year has been easy, but I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve lost focus at all, either. If anything, it\u2019s probably just made us focus and concentrate harder, especially winning in Indy the way we did. It\u2019s a true testament to my guys and how driven they are. We\u2019re in the best position we can possibly be and I\u2019m excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Torrence\u2019s impressive driving, along with a team, led by crew chiefs Richard Hogan and Bobby Lagana that has meshed remarkably well makes for a potent combo heading into the Countdown to the Championship. His victory at the Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway was his first of the regular season, and Torrence wouldn\u2019t mind kicking off the playoffs in a similar fashion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really does give you confidence,\u201d Torrence said. \u201cAny of the track where you\u2019ve got good info and have had success, you enjoy going back to. I\u2019m excited to go back there. We just want to go, keep doing what we\u2019ve been doing and keep the ball rolling. We\u2019ve got the hottest Top Fuel car there is right now and we want to keep that rolling. Everybody is on the same page and we\u2019re going to try to hang onto that lead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ron Capps will again take the Funny Car points lead into Charlotte, looking to repeat last year\u2019s title run, while defending event winner Force will look for a late-season surge.<\/p>\n

Line\u2019s Pro Stock title defense continues in Charlotte, but he will have to chase down top drivers like No. 1 seed and points leader Bo Butner, rookie Tanner Gray, who has four wins, and teammate Greg Anderson. <\/p>\n

Ellis\u2019 Pro Stock Motorcycle win help spur a fifth-place finish for the veteran a year ago, but everyone is chasing former world champ LE Tonglet, who has five victories in 2017.<\/p>\n

The NHRA Carolina Nationals also features thrilling competition in the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, as well as the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. After Nitro qualifying, fans can watch spectacular jet cars. Larsen Motorsports\u2019 four jet dragsters sponsored by Florida Tech, Matrix System Automotive Finishes, Halo Technology, and the American Dream, will make exhibition passes. As always, fans can interact with their favorite drivers as they\u2019re granted an exclusive pit pass to the most powerful and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet. This opportunity gives fans direct access to the teams, allowing them to see firsthand the highly-skilled mechanics service their hot rods between rounds, and get autographs from their favorite drivers.<\/p>\n

Fans also will want to visit NHRA\u2019s popular Nitro Alley and Manufacturers Midway, where sponsors and race vendors create a carnival atmosphere, with interactive displays, simulated competitions, merchandise, food and fun for the entire family.<\/p>\n

Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 2:45 and 5:15 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15, and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 12:45 and 3:15 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 12 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 17.<\/p>\n

To purchase general-admission or reserved seats, call 800-455-FANS (3267). Tickets also available at www.zmaxdragway.com. Kids<\/a> 12 and under are free in general admission areas with a paid adult. To honor the Salute to First Responders, military and first responders can save 20 percent on general admission tickets at the gate. For info about the NHRA visit www.NHRA.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Courtesy of the NHRA CONCORD, N.C. \u2013 Following a successful 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series regular season, Top Fuel\u2019s Steve Torrence doesn\u2019t plan on changing much in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship. Considering that recipe for success includes seven victories, nine final rounds, a Traxxas Shootout win and the points lead, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12610,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[487,6,50,178],"class_list":["post-12607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nhra","tag-carolina-nationals","tag-nhra","tag-steve-torrence","tag-zmax-dragway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Torrence_Steve_Action_2017.jpg?fit=2250%2C1500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-3hl","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12607"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12611,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12607\/revisions\/12611"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}