Billy Torrence sparked a bit of discussion at the Countdown opener last month at Reading when he accepted his Top Fuel winner’s trophy and referred to the manipulated points adjustment -which erases the actual tally of earned points and gives the Nos. 2-10-seeded drivers a huge break by bunching up the standings – as “the Loser Appreciation Program.” That’s because this year, the NHRA is allowing racers out of the top 10 to participate in the Countdown if he/she attended every regular-season event and made at least two qualifying passes at each.

Torrence and son Steve – and fellow Top Fuel racer Josh Hart – contend that the NHRA decision-makers have caved into the “Everybody gets a trophy for showing up” practice.

“I agree with him,” Hart said of Billy Torrence’s remark. “If you’re not worthy of making the top 10, you shouldn’t just automatically be in it.”

(Hart knows that applies to himself. He’s not a Countdown qualifier. He didn’t attend every race, but he could have qualified on points had he not skipped two events this summer because some of his crew members became ill with RSV, a respiratory virus that can mimic COVID. “I’m very loyal,” Hart said. “Got to make hard choices.” Besides, Hart said, “Every one of us has the same opportunity as [dominator Steve Torrence]. It’s up to us to capitalize on it.”)

Billy Torrence said it never bothered him that a championship sometimes was decided before the final race of the season – which the sanctioning body also has chosen to manipulate with a points-and-a-half reward system.

“That’s just the way it rolls,” he said. “I always liked it when [Funny Car’s] John Force had it locked up by Dallas. I don’t care if it’s us or the Kalittas or the Forces or Josh Hart or whoever – if they have walked the walk, let ’em talk the talk.”

Naturally, Funny Car’s Jim Campbell and Pro Stock’s Kenny Delco disagree. They are the only two racers left in the Countdown who got in by using the new rule. Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Cory Reed also did, but he suffered a broken leg in a nasty spill at Charlotte in the second playoff race. 

Campbell, Funny Car’s No. 11 seed, said in response to Billy Torrence, “First off, those [Capco] cars run absolutely phenomenally, so they’re going to make the Countdown on points, even if they run half the season. We’re not like NASCAR, where we have 40 cars and it goes to 20 or whatever. If you run the whole season, you should have a chance to make the top 10 by the end of the year.

“And I think that’s just fair, because we’re out here every weekend. The other cars earn it on points, that’s fine. But if you’re a full-time car, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with these cars making the Countdown – because it takes a lot of time, work, and effort to go to every race,” the Jim Dunn Racing driver said.

“So put it this way: If there were only 10 cars in the Countdown, if you take the playoffs in any other sports, if you had 10 cars in the Countdown and another six or seven cars didn’t show up, how fun is that going to make the sport to have 10 cars? Somebody’s going to get a bye. Somebody’s going to get two byes. So that wouldn’t make it any fun. So I don’t know,” Campbell said.

“But I’m stoked to make the Countdown,” he said. “So if it’s a Participation Award, then thank you. I participated in it, and I’m more than happy. If I can wind up in the 10th, ninth, eighth, then it’s a great marketing tool for next year, saying we were a top-10 car.”

Campbell said, “We don’t have enough cars to really have a Countdown. If you run the races and all that stuff and you earn your way into the top 10 on points by the end of the year whether you ran 10 races or 20 races or nine race and you made it on points, you can do it on a points thing for the top 10. I think all touring cars should automatically make the Countdown. I get it that in some of the classes you have a [huge] points lead.

“I’m just stoked that I’m in the Countdown and I actually have a chance to make the top 10 for the first time in my career,” he said. “And however we got here . . . that’s what the rules say, and I’m happy with it. I showed up at every race. We made the minimum qualifying runs.

“It’s good for the sport. You got more cars in it,” Campbell said. “Pro Stock’s got the same thing and Pro Stock Motorcycle. I think it’s fair. I have no problem with it. The Capco cars are obviously are stout cars. They’re well-funded cars. We’re out here trying to do the best we can with the budget that we have.”

Veteran Delco used the new rule to score his first Pro Stock Countdown berth this year as the No. 11-ranked driver. He, too, gave the new rule a thumbs-up: “It encourages racers to go to all the races and support NHRA and the fans. It has also given us full fields in Pro Stock every race this year. This is great for our fans, and at the end of the year we are rewarded with the opportunity to compete for a position in the top 10. It’s a win-win.”