TORRENCE RETAINS POINT LEAD
Four-Time Top Fuel World Champ Falls in Semis at NHRA Arizona Nationals
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Steve Torrence had a blast Sunday in the final race at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. Unfortunately, it was the literal and not the figurative kind, a massive engine explosion that ended his bid to put his CAPCO Contractors dragster in the Arizona Nationals winners’ circle for the third time in five years.
Despite the rare engine failure and a subsequent point deduction assessed by the NHRA, Torrence will move on to this week’s 63rd annual Lucas Oil Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., as the Top Fuel point leader, a position he has occupied with regularity over the last six seasons.
The No. 6 qualifier, Torrence took out Krista Baldwin in round one and handled Austin Prock in round two.
In the semifinalis, he was closing the gap between himself and No. 7 qualifier Justin Ashley when his car fireballed, slowing from a 331.85 mile-an-hour finish line speed in round two to just 305.84 mph. Ashley won in 3.740 seconds. Torrence was a couple ticks behind at 3.743.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands. The company directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America, more than 39,000 of them in the U.S. Over the past 65 years, Toyota has assembled nearly 45 million cars and trucks in North America at the company’s 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, the company’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
Through our more than 1,800 North American dealerships (including nearly 1,500 in the U.S.), Toyota sold more than 2.4 million cars and trucks (more than 2.1 million in the U.S.) in 2022, of which, nearly one quarter were electrified vehicles (full battery, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell).
About CAPCO Contractors Inc.
Capco Contractors, Inc. is a family owned-and-operated construction company specializing in the oil and gas industries. A proud American company based in Texas with clients around the world, Capco was founded in 1995 by Billy Torrence and initially operated from a small office and one job-site trailer with a staff of only 12 employees. From those humble beginnings, Capco Contactors, Inc. has developed into a full-service pipeline company, capable of all aspects of pipeline work including site work, creation of compressor stations, mainline pipeline construction and pipeline integrity projects. It employs more than 200 people with main offices in Henderson, Texas.
