Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence saw Brittany Force put a 3.722-second elapsed time on the Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park scoreboard Friday as qualifying kicked off for the Camping World NHRA Drag Racing Series’ first visit here since 2019.

Then he saw his father, Billy Torrence, make a 3.724-second pass at what turned out to be the class’ fastest speed of the meet so far, 325.37 mph.

And then the Capco Contractors Dragster decided he’d show them how it’s done in qualifying for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

“I think that we were going to be a little more greedy when we went up there,” Steve Torrence said.

And “greedy” paid off.

The man who already has won three of the season’s first six races reeled off a 3.705-second pass on the 1,000-foot course at Norwalk, Ohio, that fell just four-thousandths of a second short of the track elapsed-time record that Doug Kalitta set in 2017. Torrence’s speed was 324.83 mph.

That gave Torrence the tentative No. 1 starting spot, but he must hold onto it through two more qualifying sessions scheduled for Saturday if he is to claim his third No. 1 start of the year and 30th overall.

And, with that, Torrence said, “Now I’m going to go get some ice cream.” This facility is famous for its $1 per pound ice cream, which has inspired the tradition of winners receiving a special ice-cream-scoop trophy along with the Wally statue.

Other tentative No. 1 qualifiers Friday were Ron Capps (Funny Car), Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock), and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

Torrence said the facility and conditions set the perfect stage for his performance Friday.

“From a driver’s standpoint [sitting on the starting line], you see ’em [the crew chiefs] changing stuff but you don’t know what they’re doing. I think that we were probably backing it up some. But the track was great. The car went out there. It was a nice, smooth pass. We always like to come here. This track’s unbelievable. And given the weather that was off and on [and caused the schedule to change a couple of times], I think we ended up running about the time we were scheduled to [originally]. So just a good day.”

He said that on a scale of 1 to 10, he would score a “probably a nine or 10” for himself right now in terms of confidence that he will have one of the quickest cars on the property.

Torrence said that’s “just because I have so much confidence in these guys. At one point in my career and with this team, we were the ones that needed it to be hot and we could go down any racetrack. And I still have that confidence in Richard [crew chief Hogan] and Bobby [car chief Lagana]. Now I’ve got that same feeling when it’s throw-down conditions – just like what you had [Friday night], when you had to go out there and run hard.”

The hurry-up-and-wait nature of a fickle Mother Nature didn’t mess up Torrence’s rhythm, he said.

“For me, no. Me, I’m just hanging out and waiting until it’s my time to do the job. It probably did for the guys, because they got it ready, then tore it apart and got it ready again,” he said.

And when it was Steve Torrence’s time to do the job, he didn’t disappoint.       

When eliminations start at 11 a.m. (ET) Sunday, Torrence will be going after his 44th victory. And he has been on a torrid pace both here and on the Camping World Series tour overall since he missed this race in 2016 after experiencing a minor heart attack. (Doctors in his Kilgore, Texas, hometown have said it likely was because of radiation treatments he underwent as a teenager during treatment for Hodgkins lymphoma. He asked if he was able to go back to work and the doctor said, “Sure. What do you do?” That certainly startled the doctor, but Torrence was racing his 11,000-horsepower, 330-mph dragster two weeks later.)

And in six Norwalk appearances before his heart issue, he had a 6-6 record with no winners-circle appearances.  Since then, he’s 10-1 with victories in 2017 and 2019. So technically, he’s the “defending champion” at this race, which was dropped from the 2020 schedule because of the pandemic.

Overall, Steve Torrence has earned 38 of his 43 Top Fuel victories since sitting out the 2016 edition of this event. During that stretch, has won 78.7 percent of his individual matches (239-64).

Consequently, he is on pace to become just the seventh driver in NHRA professional drag-racing history to win four consecutive championships. He’s hoping to join Don Prudhomme, Bob Glidden, Lee Shepherd, Kenny Bernstein, John Force, and Tony Schumacher.

Meanwhile, Brittany Force, who’s second in the order at least overnight, said, “I’m feeling good after our 3.722 in the first session on Friday night here in Norwalk, Ohio. This Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team has had a tough couple of races. So to come into the weekend with a killer run has this whole team pumped. Currently in the No. 2 spot and we’re not done yet. Going to get after it again with two runs on Saturday and get ready for race day.”