Yahoo Autos NHRA U.S. Nationals Friday Qualifying: Steve Torrence Starts Fast in Top Fuel
Four-time Top Fuel champion Steve Torrence made the quickest run on Friday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, racing to the Top Fuel provisional No. 1 position at the 69th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals.
Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 15th of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.
Top Fuel
Torrence went 3.708-seconds at 329.42 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster, going to the top spot on the final run of the night. If that holds, Torrence would earn his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and 36th in his career. He is aiming for his second win in three years at the world’s biggest drag race and third overall at The Big Go.
“This is a huge confidence builder,” Torrence said. “You have to come to Indy and be ready to endure it, and today is the longest day. Everybody likes to see these things at night and fire coming out of them. It's just exciting and it adds a different element to it. We all say we're riding on fire-breathing dragons, but until the nighttime, you don't get to see it.
“It gives us an opportunity to work on the tune-up, work on the raceday setup, and adjust from there. When you go out on Q1 and make a good run, you're comfortable. It gives us that luxury. And it is The Big Go. You want to be the quickest every time. You want to win the race, but there is some prestige to being No. 1, even if it is for the day.”
Funny Car
Tasca’s strong summer in Funny Car continued on Friday, powering to the top in the loaded category with a run of 3.864 at 324.90 in his 11,000-horsepower Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang. If that holds, Tasca would earn his fifth No. 1 qualifier in what has been a strong season for the veteran. Currently fourth in points, Tasca has a chance to move into third with a strong weekend that will also include a spot in Sunday’s Pep Boys NHRA All-Star Funny Car Callout.
“I give all the credit to the guys, we worked really hard on Monday at Brainerd testing some things we felt we needed to make a change, and you saw some of that tonight,” Tasca said. “It felt so good, it sounded good, it was smooth, and I came back to the guys and I said, ‘When you pull it up on the computer, you're going to smile.’
“Sometimes you get all of it and it's sketchy, but I felt it like it was planted all the way down the racetrack. Tomorrow is a new ballgame. I think you're going to have to step up to hold onto it, but the good news is that we've got a package that we can definitely step up for tomorrow night.
