NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

 

 

 

 

Winning is all the motivation Steve Torrence needs

Defending champ Steve Torrence shows up to testing knowing he has every opportunity to repeat in 2019
31 Jan 2019
Jacob Sundstrom, NHRA National Dragster Associate Editor
News

Steve Torrence didn’t think about racing much during the offseason. He worked too hard. The business boom at Capco Contractors is the dictionary definition of a good problem to have. Even at preseason testing, Torrence’s iPhone goes off like a firecracker on a warm Texas evening. 

“Sorry about that, it’s my horseshoe guy. You know what they call that,” he asks, not expecting a native Californian to know what a Ferrier is. Nice try, smart guy. I digress.

“These guys have everything ready and really, this whole team has gotten to a point where it’s self-sustaining,” Torrence said, joyfully oblivious of the shivers going up and down the spines of rival race teams everywhere. “(Co-crew chief Bobby Lagana) does a great job of running it and Justin Crosslin is in more of a supervising role where he takes care of some of the day to day stuff. Hogie (that’s fellow co-crew chief Richard Hogan) is remote like me, but he has such a great work ethic like any of these guys and that’s what makes this team so great.”

Sure enough, the first time the team went down the track on Thursday morning the dragster threw a 3.689 on the board. Yes, the conditions (59*) and dry air cooperated, but don’t let that take anything away from what the Capco team accomplished with a green track. The team didn’t miss a beat after going low Thursday.

 

 

After winning the championship in 2018, it might be reasonable to wonder what Torrence would draw on for motivation in 2019. That’s only true because he was so vocal about his source in 2018: Namely, the 2017 championship that got away. That frankly ignores what got the Kilgore, Texas native out here in the first place: He just loves racing too damn much. 

“We’re not out here just to win one championship – we’re out here to win,” said Torrence. “The championship, though it’s not, should be the result of who was the best all year long. We want to win every time we’re out here, not just the last six. We like to compete. We like to race. For us it’s just about going one round at a time and winning those. You stack enough of those trophies together and you’ll get yourself another championship.”

He’s riding a 24-round win streak and can go for his 25th at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, which kick off on Feb. 8. [Tickets]