SO YOU WANT A RIVALRY IN TOP FUEL?

by Larry Crum    Mon, 2019-05-20 07:23

 

 

You want a rivalry in Top Fuel?

Now you’ve got one.

Rivalries have been a big part of the sport of drag racing dating back to the early years of the sport. From legendary drivers such as Garlits and Muldowney and Prudhomme and McEwen, to legendary teams such as JFR and DSR, rivalries make the sport go around.

But the newest rivalry in the sport of drag racing doesn’t involve any drivers. It doesn’t even involve any big, powerful race teams. This rivalry exists behind the scenes. It exists back at the race shop with the race car in pieces. It exists in the pits as the drivers are busy signing autographs and supporting their sponsors. It exists in the moments before the car is fired in the staging lanes.

It is the battle of the crews.

Mike Salinas and Steve Torrence have taken the Top Fuel world by storm in 2019, winning seven of the season’s first 11 races and doing it without the support of a big race team. They don’t have any major marketing partners. They don’t even have teammates. They do it all by themselves thanks to the support of game-changing crews and crew chiefs that have taken these two independent teams to the pinnacle of the sports biggest class without all of the bells and whistles that make up the big teams.

“You want a rivalry? The rivalry is our crew against their crew,” Salinas said. “I am going to make up some shirts that say ‘pit wars’ because that is what it really is. Everybody on this team, if they do great, nobody notices. But anytime they do bad, everybody is on them. My guys, I think they are the best in the business. I really do. This year you are going to find out, at the end of the year, who is the best.

“We have all the parts and pieces and all of the other stuff that makes a team work, that is not a problem. It all comes down to this team. These guys, they are on it. It is going to be really cool to run with these guys for a championship. We will get to the end and whatever happens, happens. But to be able to run with these guys on these bigger teams, that is the cool part.”

So what is the rivalry? It is Alan Johnson versus Richard Hogan. It is Alan Husen versus Bobby Lagana. It is the men calling the shots and tuning the machines of Salinas and Torrence that are making all the difference. For Salinas, that is Johnson, who came on board with the Scrappers Racing team at the start of the year, and Husen. For Torrence, it is Hogan and Lagana that have been a part of his team for several years.

It is the new rivalry in the sport of drag racing, and those sitting in the stands don’t even get to see it take place.

“They have an amazing team over there and it all comes down to their crew against our crew,” Salinas said. “Believe me, when we turn a car around in 25 minutes and it is ready to go, that is a big deal. I get to see some pretty cool stuff. We had a motor problem one race and we had 13 minutes to get up there (to the starting line). Alan and the guys, they changed it in 17 minutes. We went up there, they didn’t even have to fire it up. They said we are good to go. We went up there and won the race. On the other side I am like, ‘is that cool or what?’ It is a different level than I have ever seen, but I think the guys are amazing. I think I have the best crew out there and I want to highlight the work these guys do.”

nhra.com photo

Of course, the biggest change the team has seen has been the addition of legendary tuner Alan Johnson, who left John Force Racing as the crew chief of Brittany Force to join the smaller Salinas team at the beginning of the year. Since that move, Salinas has driven to his first wins with the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, winning at Las Vegas back in April and Bristol last weekend, as well as topping the field as top qualifier three times already this season.

“That was a single car team over (at JFR) and if you look at what they were doing, they weren’t running like that until he came on board. I am not real smart, but I would say that would be probably 60 percent of it,” Salinas said. “Alan is over here now and we let him run the show. I let him do what he needs to do and if it is running bad, then you can say something. Until then, leave him alone. Don’t even talk to the man, you are better off.”

Thanks to that success, Salinas finds himself third in the Top Fuel championship standings despite missing a couple of races - by choice mind you. In a growing trend in the NHRA, some teams are choosing not to run the entire schedule and still having success. Salinas is currently third in the championship standings with three final round visits despite missing a pair of races, joining the likes of Billy Torrence, father of Steve Torrence, who has started only six of the 11 races, but is still in the thick of the championship hunt with a win and two finals.

“I think in the future, a lot of cars are going to go this route. Just wait until the economy changes, it is going to affect all of them,” Salinas said. “I am just trying to get ahead of it. The first one that started it is Billy Torrence. Look at Billy, he is a part-timer who comes in and gets the job done. You don’t have to worry about Steve Torrence, worry about Billy. Every time Billy comes to a race that car is in the final or he is first or second in qualifying and he is just messing around with this stuff. He is just having fun. Everybody here should be worried about that guy.

“My prediction this year, Billy Torrence will come and race a few more races, he will get into the Countdown, and he will run for the championship. And I think he is going to do very well.”

 

 

 

 
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