Torrence Back In Championship Form Headed Back To Home Track In Dallas|

It was a shocking start to the NHRA Mello Yello Inaugural to the Championship for reigning Peak Fuel globe champ Steve Torrence. But the talented Texan has more than made upward for it at the past 2 races, looking dorsum in championship form as he heads to his NHRA Mello Yello Elevate Racing Serial home track with another world title on his mind.

Torrence started the half dozen-race playoffs with a beginning-round loss – his offset opening-circular loss since February and offset in the Countdown to the Title since 2022 – but those concerns immediately went past the wayside. He rebounded with a final circular appearance in St. Louis and a victory on Monday in Charlotte, regaining the points lead in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster and putting Torrence back on track for a possible 2d straight title heading to Texas Motorplex for this weekend's 34th annual AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals.

"Y'all have to go rounds and you need to win races," said Torrence, who has nine wins in 2019. "I think we demand to win ii more races to exist pretty solid and have an opportunity to win some other championship. We'll just practise the all-time nosotros can do. I'm looking forward to going to Dallas. Information technology's a good fourth dimension right now having the momentum going back-to-back. We need to try to go there and deport this momentum and see if nosotros tin can exist successful."

Torrence (Acme Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Motorcar), Tanner Gray (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were terminal year's winners of the event that volition be televised on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) in 2019, including alive final eliminations coverage ii:00 p.m. (ET) on Dominicus, Oct. xx. It is the fourth of six playoff races and 22nd of 24 races during the 2022 NHRA season, and Torrence appears to be edifice toward another big end after his Charlotte win.

Torrence qualified No. ane at the race and then beat his closest competitor, veteran Doug Kalitta, in the final round. It gave him 36 career wins, with 28 of those coming since 2017. It'southward an incredible step he's kept, only Torrence has simply tried to stay in the moment. He credits crew chiefs Richard Hogan and Bobby Lagana for keeping him locked in, specially as the pressure rises with each race during the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.

"You can allow yourself to succumb to the pressure or you tin can look at the situation for what information technology is," Torrence said. "Y'all don't do annihilation differently in the last six races that you did the first eighteen (in the regular season). You just keep that mindset and yous can't lose focus with what yous're doing. You just take to block out who that guy is, whether it'southward Doug Kalitta or Tony Schumacher or Doug Kalitta, or whoever. You can't permit what or who'south in the other lane influence you."

Torrence will aim to be gear up for the task at hand in Dallas, where he will look for a second career Tiptop Fuel win. He stretched the lead to thirty points over Kalitta with the Charlotte victory, but it is far from over. Brittany Force, the 2022 globe champ and Dallas winner, is still in contention and remains 92 points backside Torrence. Kalitta is hungry for his commencement career earth title, merely Torrence is simply worried about pushing forward and maintaining consistency. It's a formula that's worked about perfectly the last two seasons, and Torrence has no reason to change it.

"We don't run the big numbers, simply nosotros go out and endeavour to race to win," Torrence said. "I'd rather plough win lights on than have pretty time slips. We didn't accept the start to the Countdown we wanted, but we got it turned around. Ultimately, you need to go out and try to win all of them. We but demand to maintain our consistency. We stumbled in Reading and possibly we had relaxed a lilliputian too much. We redirected our focus and got back on the same page (in St. Louis) and went dorsum to what got u.s. to that point."