Once upon a time…

It is how every great fairytale begins, and it is exactly how Steve Torrence would begin his story of the 2016 season so far.

Owning one of the most dominating cars in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series this season, Torrence continued his ownership of the Top Fuel class with what could prove his class-best ninth top qualifier award of the season if his time holds. Torrence, who has qualified first in four of his last five races including two straight, raced to the provisional top spot in the Capco Contractors/Rio Ammunition Top Fuel dragster Friday at the 29th annual Protect The Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Lucas Oil at Pacific Raceways.

“I don’t think you could script this any better. It is like those fairytale storybooks for kids,” Torrence said. “If I’m dreaming, don’t touch me. Don’t wake me up. It’s been an unbelievable journey to this point. I’ve said it time and time again, I don’t do anything but step on the gas when the light comes on and drive it straight. I’ve got a really great group of guys that stand beside me.”

Led by the tuning prowess of crew chiefs Richard Hogan and Bobby Lagana, Torrence blasted to the top of the charts during the evening session on Friday with a new track-record run of 3.701 at 328.54 mph. Torrence sat second after session one with a 3.780, but turned it up a notch in the next-to-last pairing of the session. He also benefited from a lengthy track cleanup, pushing his qualifying time back nearly half an hour, allowing the track to cool significantly for his chart-topping run.

“That is the benefit of being quick in the first session, you get to run a little later. Sometimes that doesn’t work out for you, but this time it did and we hit the nail on the head,” Torrence said.

Just behind Torrence on the charts is Brittany Force, who drove the Monster Energy dragster to a 3.729 at 325.06 mph. Clay Millican is currently third with a 3.733 at 319.29 mph. Antron Brown (3.737) and Doug Kalitta (3.741) round out the top five after two of four sessions in Seattle. Tony Schumacher, who was quickest after session one, is currently sixth.

“It takes absolute dedication and consistency for that car to be able to go out and do that time after time,” Torrence said. “What’s been the main driving factor for me is don’t be the weak link. Today, in qualifying, I don’t really have to do anything. Race day is when I have to earn my keep.

“I don’t know what the conditions will bring tomorrow, but this track has proven to be pretty stellar right off the bat. We would have went 74 or 75 our first lap had the blower belt stayed on it. I don’t know if that 70 will stick, but if it doesn’t, I hope we can be the one to best it.”

While a ninth top qualifier award of the season would be tremendous, Torrence is focused on taking it a step further and trying to bring home his third win of the season. Currently, the young driver is third in the standings, and is looking to make up ground and set himself up for success in the Countdown to the Championship coming up in a little over a month.

“Our success has definitely instilled more confidence in me as a driver because I know I’ve got a car that has been one of the most dominating cars on the circuit,” Torrence said. “The reasons that we’ve lost are mistakes that we have made. It doesn’t disgruntle us in any way, because we feel like we have the car that will either win the race or lose the race.

“These guys see that consistency and know that we are going out there fast lap after lap and it forces those guys to have to race a lot harder and maybe make a mistake against us.

“These green hats are awesome, but they aren’t wins.”