Steve Torrence Victorious in Summer Nationals

Steve Torrence took home the top prize for the Top Fuel category for his drag racing efforts in the 47th Annual Summer nationals at Old Bridge Township Park Raceway on June 12. The win was Steve Torrence’s second on the 2016 Mello Yellow Drag Racing Series season, with his first coming in the season opener in Pomona, California.

The Texas born Steve Torrence’s race team claimed a hometown win at the Old Bridge Township Park Raceway in New york. Bobby Lagana Jr., Steve Torrence’s assistant crew chief, was a Raceway Park mainstay, and the entire team donned New York Yankee baseball caps for the whole weekend.

“This was a tough race — parts were coming off the car, a pedalfest, the car shut off before the finish line, the belt came off before the finish line — somehow we won it,” said Steve Torrence. “This one was all excitement. Torrence Racing is a family, and Bobby and Dom Lagana are family to me.”

Steve Torrence made it a complete weekend of drag racing after he qualified in the top of the spot on Friday. He put to rest the losing streak he had accumulated since the opening event and and climbed to third in the points, 65 shy of NHRA Top Fuel leader Doug Kalitta.

In the Top Fuel final, eventual winner Steve Torrence spun his tires against two time  champion Tony Schumacher but still managed to win by running a 4.037 second drag to 4.234 seconds of Schumacher. The second place finisher also  had some issues completing a clean run in his Don Schumacher Racing’s U.S. Army dragster.

The Funny Car final pitted teammates Ron Capps and Jack Beckman with DSR Racing. The two dragged raced against each other to determine who would have sole possession of the points lead. Top qualifier Ron Capps, managed to edge teammate Jack Beckman in the final race with a 3.954 second run at 316.90 miles per hour. Beckman spun his tires, lost traction on his dragster and was out before the final run even started.

This was Ron Capps’s the third win of the 2016 Mello Yellow Drag Racing Series and 47th overall. It topped off a stellar two weeks for the veteran dragster. Capps, won the event held the previous week, was the number one qualifier and took the title again at Raceway Park on Monday. The NAPA Auto Parts sponsored driver reeled in the most points he possibly could in the last to contests and sits atop the NHRA Funny Car category in sole position of the points lead.

“It’s something you hope will happen, but you can’t imagine it would go this easy,” said Capps. The toughest was running Del Worsham in Scott’s car in the semifinal.” he noted, referring to the Kalitta Racing car that still carries the name of Scott Kalitta, who was fatally injured years ago at Raceway Park. “That would have been some emotion if he had made it, but we had to do our job. My crew chief had the NAPA car just running perfectly. I almost felt embarrassed driving this car, it was so good.”

Two other teammates again battled each other in the Pro Stock final on Monday at Raceway Park. Jason Line, who was the top qualifying racer, was fighting it out with Greg Anderson, his Summit Racing Equipment partner in crime.

Greg Anderson had the victory handed to him on a silver platter when Jason Line jumped the gun to the start of the final race and was red-lighted. It was an automatic disqualification for Line and a automatic victory for Anderson. The win was his 83 in just 131 rounds and now Anderson sits only 68 points behind Jason Line for the points lead. The Summit Racing machines now have ten total victories this year, with the two teammates splitting those victories in half. Anderson was ecstatic in his post race interview.

“It’s unreal, a dream season for this team,” said Anderson. “It’s just cool; we’ve had such a great run. This place here is, without a doubt, my favorite racetrack. We come here knowing we have a good chance to win, and just one more time that Raceway Park has told me how much it loves me and I love it.”

 2016 NHRA Top Fuel Point Standings: