Steve Torrence declared at last year’s NHRA Finals that, “I’m not quitting, I will be back.” When the gates opened for the NHRA Gatornationals earlier this week, the CAPCO Contractors/ Toyota Racing hauler pulled through, with the four-time NHRA Top Fuel champion on the entry list.
Torrence isn’t intent on just participating, he’s here to recapture the domination that led to his championships including one season where he swept the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship.
“These CAPCO boys are still the best in the business,” Torrence said. “They haven’t lost anything. It’s just that the competition is so much better than it was.”
Torrence noted the increased competition, citing that last year featured eight different winners and seven different No. 1 qualifiers. “There are no easy rounds,” he added. “On race day, everybody has to be perfect, and even then, there’s no guarantee.”
Though coming off a seventh-place finish and some disappointments in recent seasons, Torrence remains confident about his team’s potential. “I still feel like we’ve got a lot of wins left in us, and after a couple months away, I think all of us are ready to get back after it,” he said.
Historically, the Gatornationals has posed a challenge for Torrence, a former Top Alcohol Dragster champion. and the only driver to win NHRA series titles in both Top Alcohol and Top Fuel. He has won the event just once in his pro career, during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, driving a tribute car for “Big Daddy” Don Garlits.
Without the Garlits’ magic, Torrence holds an 8-10 record in his first 10 appearances at the Florida event but has gone 7-4 since his breakthrough win, with a runner-up finish to Mike Salinas in 2023.
Despite not achieving the results he desired over the past three seasons, Torrence has won at least one tour event for 10 consecutive years, the longest active streak in Top Fuel and the second longest overall. Since the start of the 2017 season, he has the most race wins (47) and final-round appearances (66).
