Steve Torrence has been relentless in his bid to secure the 2018 NHRA Top Fuel championship, going as far as winning every single round of competition in the Countdown to the Championship thus far.

Torrence's approach isn't rocket science; it's a matter of good old keeping his eye on the prize.

"We are not really worried about what anyone else is doing," Torrence said. "We know we need to qualify and then go round after round. We have to gain those rounds. It's crunch time. It will go down to the last two events. We need to be consistent, maintain and execute. It's gonna fall how it's gonna fall, the good Lord knows the plan. Who knows where it's going to be."

Clay Millican, who in the Countdown to the Championship has reached the semifinals twice and went to the final round in Dallas, stumbled in the second round at Charlotte but still has the best mathematical chance to catch or surpass Torrence.  Torrence heads into Las Vegas next weekend with a 169-point lead over Millican with a little over an eight round lead with only eight rounds left in the season. 

The level of respect for Millican, Torrence believes, makes it hard to cheer against the one driver who presents the most formidable challenge to his championship run.

"It's up to me and Clay to determine where it's going to fall," Torrence said. "I'll be honest, I want to win, but if he wins, I will be happy for him. There's just some people I don't like out here. Clay ain't one of them. He's a good buddy of mine. It's pretty fun to be racing him, and going toe to toe."

"That sucker is like a little 'ole raccoon; you can't get him to go away. Then he said to me this was going to be like a heavyweight battle to the end. I said, 'Clay, obviously you haven't looked at us. I'm a little thick, but there ain't nothing on you. Maybe it's gonna be a midget fight 'til the end. We are going to have a good time."

Torrence says Millican's team is cut from the same cloth as his Kilgore, Texas-based team. It's as if there's an alliance of the non-mega teams making the most noise of any this year in Top Fuel.

"Clay's team, Terry McMillen's team, and my team are definitely going out there and saying, 'You don't have to be a multi-car team to be competitive or dominant, we have had some pretty dominant cars."

"I take pride in seeing that we put these teams together and we're going head to head with the powerhouses and winning. I think Clay would say the same thing. For lack of a better word, it's a band of misfits over there and one over here where I am at. They might not be the best, but they have the biggest hearts. These guys work hard, day and night. When I talk to my guys, they are at the shop, even at 7:30 PM."

This dedication is the driving force behind Torrence's championship run.

"When you have a smaller, family-feel environment, people are willing to go that extra inch, extra mile to win because they feel appreciated and they are part of something bigger it's really pretty neat. It's unbelievable to be in the middle of it and see it happen. It's special. We want to win this championship for them; those guys who have put their entire lives into this."