Top Fuel star Steve Torrence wasn’t sleepless in Seattle – not at all.

He was victorious.

Torrence snapped a 20-race winless streak by capturing the title at the Northwest Nationals in Seattle, which also happened to be the last race he won on July 23, 2023.

Torrence clocked a 3.963-second elapsed time at 279.79 mph to edge Shawn Langdon, who slowed to 4.171 seconds at 216.79 mph.

“Great weekend for sure. And I didn't realize it until earlier in the week that we hadn't won since here" last year, Torrence said. “You kind of start winning these things week in and week out, you take for granted how difficult what we do really is. The Capco boys did a good job. ... We've been working on this setup that we have, and it's definitely shown a lot of promise to go out there and throw down when it needs to go fast.

"We've had a difficult time to manage the power that we're making right now when conditions are subpar, and so I think this weekend was exemplary of what we can do and what we need to do because you had the gamut of conditions today, you've had the gamut of conditions through the weekend, but especially (Sunday), where somebody can run low E.T. of the weekend, Q or E1. ... In the final, you're struggling to get it down through there, 96 or whatever won it.”

This was Torrence’s 55th career Wally and his latest win came from the No. 1 qualifying spot.

“When we were dominant, when we were winning, we could go down the racetrack in any condition. It could be wet, we probably could make it down through there, and that just breeds confidence in you as a driver," he said. "And I think that's a lot of what's going on with [Funny Car winner and points leader Austin Prock]. I mean, he's driving like a machine. The car is there every time and when he gets in, he knows that he has the car to win the race and he's doing a great job. And it's fun to watch because he's getting to race with his family just like we do. It's his dad and brothers and mom, they're all here. That's a very unique situation that a lot of people don't have the luxury of having, and that both of us do.

"I have a lot of respect for Austin. I think he's a great kid. I see some of the cockiness and drive and fire of myself in him, and I like to see that, and I think it's great for the sport," he added. "But for us, for the Capco team, I mean, we've struggled. We have not gone out and set the world on fire, but at the end of the day, I mean, we've been there when we needed to be there. Could have won the championship last year, didn't have the driver to do it; had the car to do it.

"We will keep fighting, we'll keep digging. We've put ourselves in a hole on our own, and we're having to dig out. Every shovel we dig from the side we're putting under us and crawling out that hole. I think we're beginning to see some light. Hopefully, it starts getting bright quickly because it's been dark for about a year and a half, two years. But we're getting there, and we stick together as a team.”

On Sunday, he beat Ron Smith, had a bye run second round, then upended Doug Kalitta and before taking down Kalitta's teammate Langdon.

“Honestly, I kind of expected that just because that's typical for final round at Seattle,” Torrence said. “You're going to go down there and, one of you is going to probably smoke the tires, if not both of you, and you need to be on your ‘A’ game. I don't remember a lot of races vividly, but I remember the final round here in 2012 against Langdon, I think I ran 4.16. Both of us went out, smoked the tires, and pedaled. This time it went a lot further and then just started to whisper the tire. And I'm like, 'Okay, I'm going to get off and I'm just hanging it to the end. If it blows up, it blows up. If not, we're going to go.' But you got the momentum and sometimes it's better to just leg it, let it spin and hope it makes it to the end before it does blow up.

“But I think we left pretty close to each other. I don't know what the lights were, but I think we left pretty close to each other, and I could hear him right there with me -- and then I did. I heard him start to go away right as our car wolfed the tire, and I'm like, ‘Oh, man.’ So, you get off, you get back on and it's spinning, but you're trying to hold it straight. And I look over as I go by and I thought it said 95, but it said 96, and then you saw the 95 and you look down and you were waiting on that light on the wall to come on and it took forever. It finally came on. I was like, 'Whoo, thank the good Lord!' because we've been trying to win one of these for a long time.”

Torrence knows all about winning races and world championships. The Kilgore, Texas, driver won four world titles from 2018-21.

This is the third Top Fuel Wally in Seattle for Torrence, joining the ones he captured in in 2012 and 2023. A year ago, he defeated Doug Kalitta in the final round.

“I thought I fell in some kind of substance that was wind repellent, but I've said it over and over, you got to dance with the girl you brought,” Torrence said. “These Capco boys have taken me to the front year after year after year, and when they're struggling a little bit, you just got to stick it out because, as a team, we're much stronger and we're definitely champions. You can't forget that even though when you run, you just showed up with all new stuff and don't have a clue what you're doing some weekends, and then you run the four-time champ. It's mentally taxing.

“I didn't get that feeling" that I would never win again, he said. "But you definitely appreciate them a lot more. When you win these things, you come in, you're like, 'OK, let's just throw this sucker in an airplane and go home, I got to go back to work.' Now I'm like, ‘Hey, let's just hang out. Let me rub on old Wally's head for a little bit here.’”

Torrence arrived in Seattle fifth in the points standings on the strength of five semifinal performances including the last race in Norwalk, Ohio, on June 30. Following his Seattle victory, Torrence is now third with 773 points, trailing only Kalitta (932) and Langdon (812).

And Torrence acknowledged he has developed a special relationship with the fans in Seattle.

“The thing is, a lot of, though fans get to interact with us, and they see us for, sometime at the ropes, they see you mostly on TV and they see you in the absolute highest of high or lowest or low of your emotion, so they don't get a complete read on who you are as a person," he said. "And I will tell you, I might be the most competitive person at this place. If not, I'm really close to it. I hate losing with a passion and I've not been the best loser. I mean, and I've been a smart-ass winner, but that's things that you just kind of learn to be better at. And last year here, I don't like it when people don't like me, but if you don't know me ... I will kind of add some fuel to the fire.

“Last year here, every single lap, Q1, we pull up on the scales. I hear these people across the track, ‘Boo!’ and I'm like, ‘Who the hell are they booing at?’ I ask the guys in the truck, I'm like, ‘What are they doing?’ Next round, ‘Boo,’ and I'm like, 'Obviously, they're booing us. We didn't do anything.' Every single lap. Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Well, so now I'm like, ‘OK, well screw those guys.’ I'm blowing them kisses and waving, and we won the race. And I was like, I told the guys earlier [Sunday], I'm like, ‘I hope we win the race. I'm inviting those suckers to the winner circle.’ They came and they're big boys. They showed up and I'm like, ‘Hey guys, these are the guys that I blow kisses at.' Ended up becoming friends with the guys, had a blast. They were in our winner-circle photos. Friday morning when I got here, right at the back of the ropes, who's standing there? Them.”

That’s when Torrence had a plan for his booing fans this weekend.

"Last year it worked good, so let's boo me again," Torrence said. “This year, it did the same. The funny part is they had Capco shirts, Capco hats, all the gear. Every round, they booed every round. And they told me earlier, right over here just a minute ago, they're like, ‘We tried to get the whole section to boo you, but they wouldn't.’ I was like, ‘Well, you're not doing your job very good, clearly.’ So, yeah, it was cool. It was kind of a funny story. You get to develop relationships with fans and people when they actually take the time to come talk to you and see what you're about. Because the 15 seconds down there at the end, I mean, that's not a good representation of who we are as people.”

Torrence said he takes a lot of pride in winning, especially for his Capco employees.

“I'm trying to win a race and go home and go to Capco and go to work and take care of my family. Out here we pay for this out of our pocket. So, it isn't the way I make a living, but it definitely affects my living,” Torrence said. “So, I'm very intense and I just like to do well, and I want everybody around me to be the same competitor. I've said this before, competition throughout time has had different consequences. When you were a gladiator, your ass got killed if you didn't win. I mean, I kind of still carry that mindset. I didn't want Shawn Langdon to chop me with a sword right there.

“That's the mindset I had when we went up there. We just go do the best we can and have a good time. But I think over the last couple of years, being able to do this with my family, having my daughters, I still have that intensity, but you enjoy the moments a lot more.

"It’s not about, 'Let's win this race and go to the next one.' You enjoy winning the race. You enjoy winning the round. You enjoy spending that time because you don't get those moments back. And there was a time in my career where it wasn't about today, it was always about tomorrow. This isn't good enough. We just won this race, but that's what we're supposed to do. Now we got to win the next one and the next one. And when you take a step back and adjust your mindset and enjoy it, it's a lot more fun.”

There’s no question Torrence has evolved over time both on and off the track.

“It's like, ‘OK, you've won some championships, but how's this one going to be different?’ I mean, man, 15 years ago you'd have told me I was going to be a four-time champion, and I'd have been like, ‘Yeah, right. Man, we're going to go try to win a couple races and go home.’ But I think it's just evolution as a person, as a man, as a father of a family, and you just enjoy those moments. I've always been a guy who worked diligently at a goal. I've always been goal-oriented; I've always had targets. I've been very vocal about them. I don't think as a person or as a mindset, I've changed. I just learned to keep my mouth shut.

“You know yourself; you know what motivates you, but you also just enjoy them. I don't think that I'm different. I will say, 2018, I was mad. I was mad the whole time. I felt like things didn't go the way that I wanted them to go. And whether they went the way that I wanted them to go or not, the outcome wasn't there. And the amount of work that it took to get to that point, and you think, 'I may never have that opportunity ever again.' The guys didn't do anything different. I just came in there like a rabid lion. But as you go, you kind of step back and say, ‘Hey, we've done a lot of really cool stuff,’ and I want to enjoy it and remember it. I'm building a new office at Capco right now, and we're building a trophy room in there for all the stuff because all the guys at Capco, I have one Wally at home. That's what I set up there. I have one Wally at home, and it's from here in 2012, but the rest of them go back to work because those guys, they're the reason that we're here. And they like to see that. So when I walk in the office (Monday) morning, this goes on the credenza, and those guys will come in and be like, ‘Hey, that's cool, man. We saw you last night.’ But that's the guys that take care of us. That's the guys that keep us out here.”