Steve Torrence Scores First Top Fuel Victory At Atlanta

Steve Torrence captured his first career Top Fuel victory while Ron Capps ended John Force Racing’s win streak in the Funny Car division in Sunday’s final eliminations at the 32^nd Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, GA.

Greg Anderson topped the Pro Stock division while Eddie Krawiec was the winner in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Steve Torrence made the most of out his first career Top Fuel final round appearance, taking on no.1 qualifier “The Sarge” Tony Schumacher.

Driving for his own family-owned team, the 2005 NHRA Top Alcohol National Champion tried to capitalize on the momentum gained in the last two events where he qualified first and second, but got knocked out in the early rounds.

After qualifying in the second position on Saturday, Torrence beat out J.R. Todd, Bob Vandergriff and Brandon Bernstein in three stout rounds to reach the finals – the first time he’d made it past the semi-finals in 55 career Top Fuel starts – and faced Schumacher, who bested Pat Dakin, Terry McMillen and Doug Kalitta to reach his 114^th final round and his fourth at Atlanta, still looking for his first win at the track.

In the final, Schumacher was first off the line with a .031 light, but then went up in smoke before he reached the 60-foot mark, while Torrence went 3.893 at 320.66 mph to win his fifth national event victory, including four Top Alcohol victories.

“It hasn’t really even set in,” said Torrence. “We’ve been working our tails off since last year at this race. This was the last race that I raced with Dexter [Tuttle] and we set out to start our own team. To kind of start the new team and get the first win here, that’s a big deal for us.”

“We’re 10 races into this new team. Getting this first win, it’s unbelievable. To do it here at Atlanta is awesome. This is a great racetrack. It just hasn’t caught up to me yet. Hopefully, this is the start of a lot of really good things.”

Ron Capps continues to make strides after missing the show in Las Vegas in March, making it to three straight final rounds with new crew chief Rahn Tobler.

On Sunday, Capps finally broke into the win column and broke up John Force’s stranglehold on the Funny Car division with a victory over JFR driver Robert Hight in the finals.

John Force himself started the six-race streak at the season-opening event at Pomona, then Hight captured the next four events and Mike Neff extended the streak with a victory last week at Houston.

Hight seemed to have momentum on his side, taking the top qualifier spot and knocking off Bob Bode, teammate Courtney Force and Jim Head to reach the money round for the fifth time this season.

Capps, who beat out Daniel Wilkerson, Matt Hagan and Jeff Arend to reach the finals, had already lost out Hight at Charlotte and to Neff in Houston and was now facing Hight in the final for the third time in his career.

In the final, both drivers hit nearly identical lights and were side by side at the 60-foot mark before Hight started to lose traction and Capps pulled away, going 4.166 at 303.91 mph to grab his 34^th Funny Car Wally.

“This is such a great team, and right from the get-go in Charlotte, the first run reminded me how fun it can be to race again,” said Capps.  “I was starting to just get a little frustrated and wondered if maybe I wasn’t as good as I used to be when I was younger. It just got very difficult. When Don [Schumacher, team owner] made the move and put me with Rahn [Tobler] and John Collins, I’m telling you it was just unbelievable. I’m having so much fun right now. I’m the luckiest guy in the world to be driving this car.”

The Pro Stock final matched up featured the top two drivers in the points standings, with three-time Atlanta winner and points leader Greg Anderson beating out defending event winner and no. 1 qualifier Jason Line on a holeshot for his third win of the season.

Anderson, who came into the weekend with a 60 point margin on teammate Jason Line and riding a hot streak of four final-round appearances in the first six races, won out over Greg Stansfield, Steve Kent and Allen Johnson for his 20^th career final-round meeting against Line, who faced down Warren Johnson, Vincent Nobile and Ronnie Humphrey to run for the money for just the second time this season.

At the start, Anderson was first out of the gate with a .039 to Line’s .081 and that was all he needed, going 6.649 at 208.26 mph to win on a holeshot over Line, who went 6.618 at 209.62 in the loss.

“We’re very happy as a team,” said Anderson. “It’s great to have three Summit cars in the semis. That doesn’t happen too often with multi-car teams. It just tells you that everybody is rowing the boat in the same direction and pulling their load. That’s what I’m the most proud of – assembling this team and instilling in them that it doesn’t matter which driver wins.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, defending National Champion Eddie Krawiec won his second event of the season, beating out Michael Ray in his first career final round showing.

Krawiec cruised the final round after red-light wins over Michael Phillips and Karen Stoffer before topping Shawn Gann to face Ray, who had the tougher road taking on Matt Smith, points leader Andrew Hines and no. 1 qualifier Hector Arana, Sr. to move on from the semi-finals for the first time in 19 career starts.

Krawiec made short work of Ray in the final, going 6.905 at 195.53 mph over Ray, who clocked 7.036 at 187.94 mph.

NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
Atlanta Dragway – Commerce, GA
Summit Southern Nationals Finals – May 6, 2012

TOP FUEL
1. Steve Torrence; 2. Tony Schumacher; 3. Brandon Bernstein; 4. Doug Kalitta; 5. Bob Vandergriff; 6. Clay Millican; 7. Spencer Massey; 8. Terry McMillen; 9. J.R. Todd; 10. Hillary Will; 11. Antron Brown; 12. David Grubnic; 13. Khalid alBalooshi; 14. Shawn Langdon; 15. Pat Dakin; 16. Morgan Lucas.

FUNNY CAR
1. Ron Capps; 2. Robert Hight; 3. Jim Head; 4. Jeff Arend; 5. Courtney Force; 6. Matt Hagan; 7. Cruz Pedregon; 8. Johnny Gray; 9. Jack Beckman; 10. Bob Tasca III; 11. John Force; 12. Alexis DeJoria; 13. Tony Pedregon; 14. Daniel Wilkerson; 15. Bob Bode; 16. Tim Wilkerson.

PRO STOCK
1. Greg Anderson; 2. Jason Line; 3. Ronnie Humphrey; 4. Allen Johnson; 5. Erica Enders; 6. Vincent Nobile; 7. Mike Edwards; 8. Steve Kent; 9. Shane Gray; 10. Kurt Johnson; 11. Rodger Brogdon; 12. Jeg Coughlin; 13. Greg Stanfield; 14. Larry Morgan; 15. Warren Johnson; 16. Ron Krisher.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
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Final Round Results

Top Fuel — Steve Torrence, 3.893 seconds, 320.66 mph def. Tony Schumacher, 4.913 seconds, 169.44 mph.

Funny Car — Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.166, 303.91 def. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.399, 273.44.

Pro Stock — Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 6.649, 208.26 def. Jason Line, GXP, 6.618, 209.62.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.905, 195.53 def. Michael Ray, Buell, 7.036, 187.94.

Round-By-Round

TOP FUEL
ROUND ONE — Terry McMillen, 4.086, 268.81 def. Khalid alBalooshi, 4.401, 235.19; Bob Vandergriff, 3.919, 317.72 def. David Grubnic, 4.043, 245.40; Brandon Bernstein, 3.842, 320.51 def. Hillary Will, 3.963, 299.86; Steve Torrence, 3.846, 320.58 def. J.R. Todd, 3.859, 319.67; Tony Schumacher, 3.852, 317.57 def. Pat Dakin, 4.765, 158.54; Clay Millican, 3.962, 286.80 def. Shawn Langdon, 4.583, 199.88; Spencer Massey, 3.823, 322.11 def. Morgan Lucas, 5.871, 120.67; Doug Kalitta, 3.895, 318.02 def. Antron Brown, 4.019, 281.07

QUARTERFINALS — Schumacher, 3.905, 302.35 def. McMillen, 5.082, 144.06; Bernstein, 3.891, 313.51 def. Millican, 4.699, 166.35; Torrence, 3.848, 319.82 def. Vandergriff, 3.884, 320.43; Kalitta, 3.911, 315.05 def. Massey, 4.887, 153.82

SEMIFINALS — Schumacher, 3.894, 307.72 def. Kalitta, 6.557, 139.16; Torrence, 3.886, 316.97 def. Bernstein, 3.890, 315.64;

FINAL — Torrence, 3.893, 320.66 def. Schumacher, 4.913, 169.44.

FUNNY CAR
ROUND ONE — Johnny Gray, Dodge Charger, 4.125, 307.58 def. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 4.225, 302.62; Ron Capps, Charger, 4.148, 305.77 def. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.806, 170.88; Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.143, 310.20 def. John Force, Mustang, 4.269, 301.87; Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.169, 301.27 def. Bob Bode, Chevy Impala, 4.922, 196.30; Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.197, 302.21 def. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.474, 209.36; Jim Head, Solara, 4.707, 252.05 def. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 5.356, 143.98; Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.225, 284.27 def. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Camary, 4.274, 261.47; Courtney Force, Mustang, 4.138, 309.42 def. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.168, 305.01

QUARTERFINALS — Capps, 4.165, 303.57 def. Hagan, 4.328, 280.19; Head, 4.250, 302.69 def. C. Pedregon, 4.627, 221.20; Hight, 4.165, 304.87 def. C. Force, 4.198, 305.91; Arend, 4.188, 301.33 def. Gray, 6.209, 108.25

SEMIFINALS — Capps, 4.164, 304.05 def. Arend, 6.201, 113.28; Hight, 4.194, 296.57 def. Head, 4.852, 190.59

FINAL — Capps, 4.166, 303.91 def. Hight, 4.399, 273.44.

PRO STOCK
ROUND ONE — Vincent Nobile, Dodge Avenger, 6.633, 208.91 def. Rodger Brogdon, Pontiac GXP, 6.646, 209.01; Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.618, 208.75 def. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.617, 208.36; Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.631, 208.75 def. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.668, 208.04; Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.649, 208.97 def. Kurt Johnson, GXP, 6.639, 208.55; Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.624, 209.49 def. Greg Stanfield, Chevy Camaro, 6.665, 207.46; Allen Johnson, Avenger, 6.594, 209.98 def. Jeg Coughlin, Avenger, 6.653, 208.52; Jason Line, GXP, 6.599, 209.95 def. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.722, 206.54; Steve Kent, GXP, 6.635, 208.84 def. Ron Krisher, GXP, 13.595, 63.20

QUARTERFINALS — Humphrey, 6.673, 208.17 def. Edwards, 6.647, 209.04; Anderson, 6.623, 209.23 def. Kent, foul; Line, 6.605, 209.49 def. Nobile, 6.646, 209.14; A. Johnson, 6.613, 209.75 def. Enders, 6.637, 208.46

SEMIFINALS — Anderson, 6.670, 208.75 def. A. Johnson, 17.209, 45.41; Line, 6.634, 209.26 def. Humphrey, 12.278, 70.83;

FINAL — Anderson, 6.649, 208.26 def. Line, 6.618, 209.62.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
ROUND ONE — Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 6.983, 187.68 def. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.978, 191.21; Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.963, 191.84 def. John Hall, Buell, foul; Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.984, 192.30 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.051, 190.83; Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.945, 191.76 def. Jerry Savoie, Buell, 8.961, 97.71; Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.047, 190.38 def. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 8.003, 119.71; Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.888, 195.70 def. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, foul; Hector Arana, Buell, 6.894, 195.03 def. Joey Gladstone, Buell, 7.051, 187.94; Michael Ray, Buell, 6.974, 190.54 def. Matt Smith, Buell, 15.301, 47.70;

QUARTERFINALS — Gann, 6.950, 192.71 def. Ellis, foul; Ray, 6.970, 191.62 def. Hines, 6.958, 193.74; Arana, 6.863, 195.28 def. Pollacheck, 6.999, 189.73; Krawiec, 6.901, 194.66 def. Stoffer, foul;

SEMIFINALS — Krawiec, 6.953, 193.52 def. Gann, 7.058, 190.92; Ray, 7.060, 187.99 def. Arana, 7.087, 188.73;

FINAL — Krawiec, 6.905, 195.53 def. Ray, 7.036, 187.94.

Point Standings

Top Fuel
1. Tony Schumacher, 604; 2. Spencer Massey, 579; 3. Antron Brown, 574; 4. Morgan Lucas, 536; 5. Steve Torrence, 467; 6. (tie) Doug Kalitta, 385; Shawn Langdon, 385; 8. Bob Vandergriff, 352; 9. Brandon Bernstein, 316; 10. Clay Millican, 299.

Funny Car
1. Robert Hight, 702; 2. (tie) Ron Capps, 499; Mike Neff, 499; 4. Cruz Pedregon, 403; 5. Johnny Gray, 384; 6. Jack Beckman, 377; 7. Bob Tasca III, 358; 8. John Force, 354; 9. Jeff Arend, 324; 10. Courtney Force, 320.

Pro Stock
1. Greg Anderson, 651; 2. Jason Line, 579; 3. Allen Johnson, 498; 4. Mike Edwards, 492; 5. Vincent Nobile, 489; 6. Erica Enders, 376; 7. Ronnie Humphrey, 350; 8. Greg Stanfield, 299; 9. Rodger Brogdon, 286; 10. Larry Morgan, 280.

Pro Stock Motorcycle
1. Eddie Krawiec, 337; 2. Andrew Hines, 270; 3. Hector Arana Jr, 224; 4. Hector Arana, 190; 5. Karen Stoffer, 182; 6. Michael Ray, 178; 7. Matt Smith, 158; 8. Scotty Pollacheck, 141; 9. Shawn Gann, 138; 10. LE Tonglet, 121.