TORRENCE RUNNER-UP IN SEASON-OPENER
Four-Time World Champ Drops Narrow Decision to Salinas at Gatornationals
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Although Mike Salinas narrowly beat him to the finish in the final round of the 54th annual Amalie Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, Steve Torrence didn’t look like a loser Sunday; didn’t talk like one, either.
Coming off a season in which he won “only” two times and placed an uncharacteristic sixth in the Top Fuel driver standings, the 39-year-old Texan had nothing but praise for a new and improved CAPCO Contractors dragster and the team that put it together.
“We finally got our consistency back,” he said. “When you make big changes like we did last year, there always are issues you don’t anticipate. It takes time, but these guys never lost focus. They kept after it and we’re obviously headed in the right direction now.
Photos by Mark Rebilas
Left photo: Steve Torrence executes a burnout in a revitalized CAPCO Contractors Top Fuel dragster he took to runner-up honors in the season-opening Amalie Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla.
Right photo: Four-time World Champion Steve Torrence took a break with daughter Haven Charli Sunday before earning runner-up honors in the season-opening Amalie Gatornationals in Florida.
How good was Torrence’s Top Fuel Toyota? Well, it averaged 3.742 seconds on seven trips down the 1,000 foot course with times ranging from a best of 3.689 to 3.779 seconds. More important to Torrence and his crew chiefs, though, was a career best top speed of 334.32 mph in a first round conquest of Scott Palmer.
“I don’t know if anyone can dominate like we did (from 2018 through 2021),” Torrence said, “but I think we’ll win our fair share. There are a lot of good teams out there, but I wouldn’t trade these guys for anyone else.”
While he regularly defers his crew, Torrence proved again Sunday that he remains one of the sport’s top drivers. After losing the choice of lanes to Salinas for the final round, the 53-time tour winner grabbed a .032 of a second starting line advantage that kept him in front for the first 900 feet. The margin of victory for Salinas at the end was .022 of a second.
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.
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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.
