SONOMA, CA – July 24, 2024 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – Steve Torrence received as good of a sign as any last weekend in Seattle that things are coming together at a perfect time, racing to his first Top Fuel victory of the year. Now, the goal is to keep that momentum rolling at this weekend’s 36th annual Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway, a track where the four-time champ has dominated over the years.
Torrence didn’t win last season, as Justin Ashley picked up the victory in the heart of wine country, but the Texan has a strong record at the picturesque facility, winning four times in a five-year stretch, including back-to-back victories in 2021 and 2022.
A fifth victory in Sonoma in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors/Toyota dragster would tie him with reigning world champion Doug Kalitta for the most Top Fuel wins at Sonoma Raceway in NHRA history and also solidify another run at a world title.
Torrence finished second a year ago, picking up one victory (Seattle) along the way. He hasn’t exactly struggled this year, either, but his first win of the year came on Sunday in Seattle, where the team showed a strong ability to run well in all conditions, the latest indication that things are coming together at an ideal point of the season.
“We hadn’t just gone out and set the world on fire,” Torrence said. “But at the end of the day, I mean, we’ve been there when we needed to be there. We could have won the championship last year and didn’t have the driver to do it. So, we’ll keep fighting and we’ll keep digging. We’ve put ourselves in a hole on our own and we’re having to dig out. We’re crawling out of that hole and I think that we’re beginning to see some light. Hopefully it starts getting bright quickly because it’s been dark for about a year and a half, two years, but we’re getting there and we always stick together as a team.”
Last year, Ashley (Top Fuel), J.R. Todd (Funny Car) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all took home wins in Sonoma. This year’s race will again be broadcast on both FOX and FS1, including eliminations coverage starting at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 28 on FOX. It is the 12th of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the annual trek to Sonoma is a loaded weekend that also includes the GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout and the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday.
Torrence will take part in the Mission…
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