Austin Prock: 'I felt pretty confident going that we were going to have the car to beat'
Paul Lee: 'It’s going to be great just to see our friends and the fans'
Jack Beckman: 'I don’t know if anyone wants to get back more than me'
Tim Wilkerson: 'I don’t think they’re ready for my attitude. It’s gonna be fun'
Kenny Delco: 'We were fast, we qualified fourth at Pomona and Phoenix'
Steve Torrence: 'You’ve got to come out and swing for every one of ’em'
Cristian Cuadra: 'I think I’m doing well, but I have a lot of room to improve'
Tommy Johnson Jr.: 'I’ve not wanted to win a championship more than this year'
Brittany Force: 'We’re ready for all this to be over so we get back to what we love'
Robert Hight: 'I can’t wait to get back and try to defend our championship'
Alex Laughlin: 'All we have to do is shove the car back in the trailer, and we are ready to go racing'
Shawn Langdon: 'I’m trying to stay as fresh as I can so we can be ready to go'
Chris McGaha: 'We’ve come up with some new ideas and we’ve beaten on some things'
J.R. Todd: 'I have all the confidence that we will be in contention when it counts'
Clay Millican: 'I can’t wait to stomp on that loud pedal ... it’s been way too long'
Bob Tasca III: 'Trust me, this Motorcraft car is going to have its day in the sun'
Antron Brown: 'I’ve been doing everything I can; I’m gonna come back hungry and ready'
Jason Line: 'It doesn’t matter what track we start with, the cars will all be ready to go when we get the call'
Fernando Cuadra Jr: 'We’re applying many of the things we learned from the first two races'
John Force: 'I’ll be ready. I know the car. I could drive it with my eyes closed'
Rahn Tobler maps out plans and goals for the NAPA Auto Parts Funny Car team
Leah Pruett: 'This is not the time to test or play; it’s time to run with what we know'
Ron Capps: 'It’s going to feel crazy the first time any of us steps on the gas for the first time'
Doug Kalitta: 'We’re all just really hungry and ready to make it happen'
Bo Butner: 'I feel like when we all come back racing we’ll be stronger than ever!'
Jeg Coughlin Jr: 'It’s time to go. Every round will be as important as the last'
Matt Hartford: 'We have a car that can run for the championship—bar none'
Alexis DeJoria: 'I just hope that everybody makes it back to the track safely'
Justin Ashley: 'Having a break like this really puts things in perspective'
Erica Enders: 'Our great start proves the organization’s hard work is paying off'
Steve Torrence: 'You’ve got to come out and swing for every one of ’em'
STEVE TORRENCE | CAPCO Contractors dragster
Current points position: 5th | Best season e.t. to date: 3.671
Early-season report card: After sitting out the season opener for personal reasons, the reigning world champ racked up his first event win of the season in Phoenix, where the team had tested during the pre-season. The new-look Richard Hogan-tuned car qualified No. 2 with a 3.67 and ran 3.60s in the semifinals and final round to beat his father, Billy, and Doug Kalitta to claim the victory. Torrence also found another reason to celebrate as he got married to Natalie Jahnke May 9 at his parents’ home in Kilgore, Texas, with family and racing friends like Antron and Billie Jo Brown in attendance.
Looking back: “We tested really well, and I feel confident that if we had gone to Pomona we would have done well, but I’m very proud of where we left off. I think we were very happy with how everything went in Phoenix. Hopefully, missing Pomona won’t be detrimental, but before any of this [shortened schedule] it wouldn’t have been detrimental in any way.”
Looking ahead: “I’m excited about there being no points reset this year. I prefer to not have a Countdown anyway –- it has never benefited me in any scenario –- so I’m looking forward to that because I think the champ should be whoever wins the most races. This changes the whole plan; you’ve got to come out and swing for every one of ’em; there’s no relax time.”
Shop talk: “The guys were pretty happy with the way the car was when they put it in the box after Phoenix so they’re just going through everything to prep for when we do return, but, as far as changing anything, no, not really. When we get the official plan [for the schedule] we will start gearing up for that and maybe look at doing some testing.”
The final word: “Everybody’s at the same advantage or disadvantage in some way because we won’t have driven in a long time, but it’s no different than going through the offseason and getting back in. When you’re out of that thing for two months and crawl back in you’re like, ‘How much of a good idea is this?’ You gotta work out some bugs, but I think I may look forward to getting back into the car a little more this time and am going to be a little more excited than normal.”