Top Fuel points leader and reigning champion Steve Torrence was excited to have a night qualifying session Friday to open the Dodge//SRT Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented By Pennzoil at Bandimere Speedway – even though he said, “It’s way past my bedtime.”

But the Capco Contractors Dragster driver salvaged the class’ sketchy performance, grabbing the provisional No. 1 qualifying position with the only three-second Top Fuel pass on the suburban Denver 1,000-foot course.

He used a 3.778-second elapsed time at 327.11 mph “to put on a show like that, just to cap the day off. There were not a lot of good runs out there. To finish strong for the fans like that – and for the Capco team - was awesome.

“It’s always an awesome track to come to. The fans are unbelievable,” Torrence said of his triumphant return to Morrison, Colo., as the 2019 race winner. This staple on the Camping World Drag Racing Series tour was axed last season because of COVID-19 restrictions. “It feels great,” he said of both his results and the chance to add a Western Swing sweep to his list of shiny accomplishments.

In the past five years, Torrence has earned three Top Fuel crowns and 36 victories. He has reached the final round at 48 of 90 events. He was the first to claim championships in both the Top Alcohol (2005) and Top Fuel divisions and the first to sweep the races in NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship (2018).

“I’ve got so much pride and so much confidence in these guys,” he said of his Richard Hogan- and Bobby Lagana-led team, “because time and time again, they continue to rise to the occasion and show why we’re all the champs. Whatever the conditions, whatever the adversity, they always adapt and overcome.”

Only 10 Top Fuel cars made qualifying attempts Friday. And the tentative Nos. 2 and 3 racers – Joey Haas (4.054, 259.56) and Antron Brown (4.180, 269.78), respectively – were the only ones quicker than 5.8 seconds.

Torrence said the factors at play at this venue can be challenging: “Every time you come to Denver, it’s always different – no air . . . the car doesn’t stop as good . . . it feels sluggish. But when you go [3.]77 on the mountain and first night out of the box, it definitely gives you a little bit of confidence going into tomorrow.”

Two Saturday qualifying sessions are scheduled before the racing order is set for eliminations that begin Sunday morning.

But, Torrence cautioned, he’s expecting a “totally different day on Sunday.” He said, “We’ll just try to get ready for it.”

Also atop the leaderboard Friday night were Funny Car’s Matt Hagan and Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith, who moved to the top when Steve Johnson’s third-quickest pass in track history at 7.145 seconds in the quarter-mile was disqualified because of a fuel irregularity.