Steve Torrence was on top of the world in 2017, scoring eight wins to that point in the season. He was leading the points and a cinch to capture his first NHRA Top Fuel title, and the second since winning a Top Alcohol Dragster series championship. Homecoming couldn't have come at a more excellent time for the Kilgore, Texas-based driver as he entered the NHRA FallNationals at the Texas Motorplex.

Then it all came crashing down.

Torrence, who has logged more seat time at the track outside of Dallas than any other on the tour, seemed to have the race in hand until he crossed the finish line after a second-round victory. It was then that a tire inexplicably blew out at more than 300 miles per hour, sending him and his 10,000 horsepower hybrid crashing heavily into the concrete guardwall.

Torrence's backup dragster never maintained the same torrid pace, and as a result, he lost the championship on the final day of the season.

“That was probably the best car I’ve ever had,” lamented the 23-time tour winner. “I felt like if that (crash) hadn’t happened, we probably would‘ve won (the Fall Nationals) last year. So, yeah, we’d like to win at our hometown track but, more importantly, we’d just like to keep the momentum going in the Countdown.”

And, here Torrence stands, with a bit of deja vu.

“We’re just going to go in there, make sure we get qualified and then go one round at a time – just like we have all season,” Torrence said. “It’s the same attitude we had last year. This time, maybe we’re a little better prepared for what can happen, but it’s the same intensity, some focus. We’ve got a ‘take no prisoners’ mindset.”

This weekend he and crew chief Richard Hogan, freshly released from medical restrictions after successfully undergoing a procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat last week at the Cleveland Clinic.

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Torrence will attempt to do what he's done so well this season, and win races.

“Very seldom do I win races,” confessed the 35-year-old cancer survivor. “It’s the team and the race car. All I can do is screw it up. Fortunately, I’ve been able to do my job more times than not this year, and my comfort level is very high right now.

“I couldn’t have a better group of guys backing me up than this Capco crew,” he said. “I put all my faith in them, and they give me a (competitive) race car every time. I’m just blessed to be part of this team.”

Last year it was Brittany Force who came out of nowhere to snake the championship away from Torrence, and while he and many didn't see the threat, he's got his eye on the potential challenger.

Although Brittany Force came from out of nowhere to win last year’s championship, passing him on the last day of the season, Torrence knows who poses the biggest threat in his current bid.

“Clay (Millican) and Grubby (crew chief David Grubnic) are running really hard, and that’s who I think right now we’re going to have to go toe-to-toe with for this championship,” he surmised. “But you never know. Our plan is just to win ‘em all, and right now we’re doing pretty good.”