Steve Torrence is a stubborn, ditch-digging, pipe-laying, and self-described “loose-lipped” Texan who was so determined that he would not allow the NHRA Top Fuel championship to slip away from him like he did on the final day of last season that he went on a merciless tear, crushing all of his competition in the Countdown.

The Capco Contractors Dragster driver used a 3.751-second, 326.32-mph 1,000-foot pass to win Sunday’s Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway about an hour after he had clinched that title that had eluded him less than a year ago.

With steely precision, Torrence extended his elimination-win streak to 20 rounds, sweeping five of the first six playoff races in unprecedented fashion to assure his team at least a $500,000 reward.

All that’s left for him to conquer is the Nov. 8-11 NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Calif. And he said he wants to keep his foot on the gas for that, too.

“Nobody has ever done this,” he said of his unpitying march to the title. It occurred to him Saturday night, he said, that “At this point it’s not about winning the championship anymore. Every round we go is history. You don’t get an opportunity very often to make history.”

Richie Crampton, whose daily job is building cars at Morgan Lucas Racing, gave Torrence a quick, fast, and cooperative Capco Contractors Dragster this year. And during their semifinal match-up Sunday, he gave Torrence another precious gift: a tire-smoking mess in the opposite lane, allowing Torrence to finish his mission. Then in the final round Sunday, he sped away easily from Leah Pritchett, whose sputtering start also was symbolic of every Top Fuel racer who has tried to corral the Kilgore, Texas, native in his quest for satisfaction.

“It’s truly a blessing to accomplish what we’ve done. It’s nothing less than a miracle,” Torrence said. “It’s a lot of hard work. These Capco boys put in a lot of hours – more than what they should. But it’s difficult to beat people with heart.”

FOX Sports commentator Amanda Busick presented him after the semifinal victory the championship trophy that was nearly as tall as the 5-foot-8 firecracker from Kilgore, Texas. Referring to some of the physical setbacks in his 35 years, she told him, “You are standing in front of a trophy that cancer can’t take from you, that a heart attack can’t take from you . . .”  Emotional but trying to remain stoic, he quipped, “There you go with Barbara Walters.”

Choking back tears, Torrence said, “This is a lifelong goal. All the glory goes to God and my mom and dad because without them, none of this would have been possible – and these Capco boys, because they put their hearts into it – and it’s difficult to beat people with heart.”

“This is unreal,” he said. Then Torrence delivered a message to those who told him an independent team had no chance to contend for a championship against the multi-car operations: “All the people who said we couldn’t do it . . . Hell, we’re here! I don’t know how we got here, but the Good Lord said we was goin’!”

Torrence shared the winners circle with JR Todd (Funny Car), Bo Butner (Pro Stock), and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

Three-time Top Fuel champion Antron Brown met Torrence when he jumped from his dragster at the top end of the track and cradled him in a long hug to celebrate Torrence becoming the NHRA’s 30th Top Fuel championship. The accomplishment salved a festering year-long wound for Torrence, who was bitterly disappointed he let last year’s honor go to Brittany Force on the final day of the season.

Looking back on his performance on and off the track last season, Torrence said, “Maybe I wasn’t ready to be the champion. I was angry last year. I had a chip on my shoulder. I had a point to prove. I wanted to win the championship on my terms and just shove it down their throats. We didn’t win the championship, but we did shove it down their throats pretty good. Maybe my attitude wasn’t right. I did a little soul-searching and re-evaluated and came back out this year. And it took a few races to get that out of my head. It took a while to look at it differently.”

(He said his team likely had that same chip on their shoulders: “They had to. I talked so much trash that I backed everybody into a corner.”)

Said Torrence, “I think we proved our point. We didn’t win the championship trophy last year, but we won twice as many races as any other race team out here. This year we’ve won 10 times. That’s five times as many as any anybody else. I don’t have anything to prove: the race car does it itself.”

He admitted, “I’m still a little loose-lipped and will say some stuff every now and then. I pretty much call it how I see it. Sometimes I just need to not be a flood and be more like a river and keep them words in the banks and not let ‘em get out.”

In the shadow of glitzy Las Vegas, where millions take a gamble on life, Torrence called it like he saw it, drove it like he wanted it, and hit a jackpot Sunday.