Torrence Wins Top Fuel Nitro Shootout; Qualifying Results From NHRA US Nationals

Story By: SCOTT SMITH / NHRA – BROWNSBURG, IN – Steve Torrence piloted his Capco Contractors dragster to the Top Fuel NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootout victory Saturday at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, the world’s biggest drag race, at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.

In other racing, Clay Millican (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were the provisional No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 18th of 24 events on the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

Torrence ran a 3.673-second pass at 329.50 mph to defeat Tony Schumacher’s 3.680 pass at 330.31 in his U.S. Army dragster during the specialty event final round to win the $100,000 prize. It was Torrence’s third Traxxas Shootout finals appearance and first win.

“This is just the icing on the cake; to go to Indy and be able to race in the Traxxas Shootout,” Torrence said. “Thanks to Mike Jenkins and all those guys at Traxxas that put this on. This is an unbelievable deal. When you come out here and you race for 100,000 grand and it’s a race-within-a-race, the competition level is at its highest. It’s the baddest eight guys in drag racing and when you go up there you have to bring you’re a-game every lap and we were able to come out with a win.”

Millican set the Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis Top Fuel elapsed-time record during the third of five qualifying sessions when he put up a 3.663 run at 329.10 in his Parts Plus / Great Clips dragster.

“I’m glad to be up here tonight. I know we have two more runs tomorrow,” Millican said. “I’m just so proud of (crew chief) David Grubnic and (assistant crew chief) Mac Savage and all the guys that work on that car. They’re the ones who should be up here talking, not me. They deserve all the credit, not me. I didn’t even look at the Christmas tree. My job on a run like that is to do everything a driver is supposed to do to give the race team everything they want from a driver.”

Leah Pritchett is in the No. 2 spot with her 3.667 run at 329.50 in her Papa John’s dragster from Friday and Torrence is in third.

Hagan leads the Funny Car field heading into day three of qualifying with his track record run of 3.799 at 338.77 in the Mopar Express Lanes Dodge Charger R/T during Friday’s opening qualifying run.

“I think everyone was surprised we didn’t improve,” Hagan said. “Last night was really killer, tonight was pretty killer. You lay the runs over each other and they’re identical. It’s just wild. You’re up there splitting hairs to make these cars run. It’s a real fine line. A little here and a little there makes such a difference. We got us a hot rod though, man. It’s running good, knock on wood, with three good runs in a row. It builds confidence.”

National record holder Robert Hight and his Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro is currently second with teammates Courtney Force following in third and John Force in fourth.

In Pro Stock Anderson ran a 6.561 pass at 210.11 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro in the third qualifying round to take over the No. 1 spot from rookie Tanner Gray.

“I’m a little bit surprised,” Anderson said. “The weather conditions are great out there but not nearly what they were yesterday. Quite honestly, the class as a whole kind of missed yesterday. We knew even though the weather conditions were off today if we made a better quality run we could get close and have a chance. It took a very high-quality run. We made a beautiful run and I didn’t leave much on the table.”

Gray is in the second position with his 6.566 pass at 209.88 in his Gray Motorsports / Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro from Friday evening and Drew Skillman, who has three wins this season, is in third with a 6.570 at 209.33 in his Ray Skillman Chevrolet Camaro.

Krawiec raced to the top of the Pro Stock Motorcycle category with a 6.822 pass at 196.62 on his Screamin’ Eagle / Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson during his third qualifying run to bump teammate Andrew Hines to the second spot.

“Our bikes are performing well,” said Krawiec, who won the event in 2014. “We’ve made a lot of different chassis changes as the season has gone forward. It’s been a little bit of a challenge, a little bit of a struggle, but we’ve finally felt that we’ve turned the corner. That’s a tribute to our crew. It takes a lot of effort out here. It’s not one person, I just happen to be the individual on the motorcycle.”

Hines’ 6.825 pass at 194.74 from Friday night keeps him above Matt Smith who ran a 6.840 at 196.02 in the third session and is in the current No. 3 spot.

The third and final day of qualifying at the 63rd Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals begins Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Catch the action live at noon and 5 p.m. on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).

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BROWNSBURG, Ind. — Saturday’s final results from the sixth annual Top Fuel NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootout at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

Traxxas Top Fuel Shootout — Steve Torrence, 3.673 seconds, 329.50 mph def. Tony Schumacher, 3.680 seconds, 330.31 mph.

BROWNSBURG, Ind. — Final round-by-round results from the sixth annual Top Fuel NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootout at the 63rd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

TOP FUEL SHOOTOUT:

ROUND ONE — Tony Schumacher, 3.747, 324.51 def. Brittany Force, 3.747, 329.50; Doug Kalitta, 3.730, 329.26 def. Leah Pritchett, 3.782, 312.13; Steve Torrence, 3.725, 329.10 def. Clay Millican, 3.734, 321.58; Terry McMillen, 3.774, 318.69 def. Antron Brown, 3.808, 312.42;
SEMIFINALS — Schumacher, 3.727, 329.34 def. McMillen, 3.766, 322.04; Torrence, 3.711, 329.83 def. Kalitta, 3.746, 327.59;
FINAL — Torrence, 3.673, 329.50 def. Schumacher, 3.680, 330.31.

 

BROWNSBURG, Ind. — Saturday’s results after the first three of five rounds of qualifying for the 63rd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway Park at Indianapolis, 18th of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Sunday for Monday’s final eliminations.

Top Fuel — 1. Clay Millican, 3.663 seconds, 329.10 mph; 2. Leah Pritchett, 3.667, 329.50; 3. Steve Torrence, 3.673, 329.50; 4. Tony Schumacher, 3.680, 330.31; 5. Doug Kalitta, 3.682, 329.58; 6. Antron Brown, 3.689, 329.91; 7. Bob Vandergriff, 3.719, 325.30; 8. Brittany Force, 3.734, 329.50; 9. Shawn Langdon, 3.748, 289.82; 10. Scott Palmer, 3.754, 328.54; 11. Richie Crampton, 3.756, 329.91; 12. Terry McMillen, 3.770, 321.81; 13. Ashley Sanford, 3.775, 322.04; 14. Wayne Newby, 3.795, 321.88; 15. Kebin Kinsley, 3.808, 319.29; 16. Ike Maier, 3.861, 311.27. Not Qualified: 17. Kyle Wurtzel, 3.970, 292.33; 18. Pat Dakin, 4.054, 256.50.

Funny Car — 1. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.799, 338.77; 2. Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.807, 336.23; 3. Courtney Force, Camaro, 3.837, 334.90; 4. John Force, Camaro, 3.849, 336.74; 5. Jack Beckman, Charger, 3.859, 333.16; 6. J.R. Todd, Toyota Camry, 3.865, 332.34; 7. Jonnie Lindberg, Camry, 3.865, 329.83; 8. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 3.881, 332.02; 9. Ron Capps, Charger, 3.883, 329.67; 10. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.906, 330.23; 11. Brian Stewart, Mustang, 3.924, 296.44; 12. Del Worsham, Camry, 3.999, 319.45; 13. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 4.015, 281.89; 14. Jim Campbell, Charger, 4.060, 317.94; 15. Justin Schriefer, Charger, 4.137, 305.15; 16. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Solara, 4.172, 292.27. Not Qualified: 17. Bob Bode, 4.983, 158.26; 18. Tommy Johnson Jr., 9.922, 84.08.

Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.561, 210.31; 2. Tanner Gray, Camaro, 6.566, 209.88; 3. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.570, 210.18; 4. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.572, 210.34; 5. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.576, 210.01; 6. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.577, 209.95; 7. Johnny Gray, Camaro, 6.596, 210.11; 8. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.598, 209.62; 9. Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 6.601, 209.43; 10. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.604, 209.10; 11. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.607, 208.78; 12. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.610, 209.65; 13. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.615, 209.46; 14. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.625, 209.20; 15. Deric Kramer, Dart, 6.628, 207.21; 16. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.661, 208.68. Not Qualified: 17. Shane Tucker, 6.668, 206.89; 18. John Gaydosh Jr, 6.681, 207.24; 19. Alan Prusiensky, 6.724, 206.20; 20. Larry Morgan, 6.772, 206.07.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.822, 196.70; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.825, 196.02; 3. Matt Smith, Victory, 6.840, 196.02; 4. Scotty Pollacheck, Suzuki, 6.862, 194.55; 5. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.871, 194.88; 6. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.871, 194.72; 7. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.876, 195.96; 8. Chip Ellis, Victory, 6.892, 193.82; 9. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.897, 192.82; 10. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.927, 193.93; 11. Mike Berry, Buell, 6.936, 190.30; 12. Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.940, 191.81; 13. Cory Reed, Victory, 6.941, 189.02; 14. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.964, 192.60; 15. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.996, 190.75; 16. Angelle Sampey, Victory, 7.019, 183.59. Not Qualified: 17. Ryan Oehler, 7.026, 189.12; 18. Mark Paquette, 7.061, 187.31; 19. Lance Bonham, 7.347, 181.50; 20. Odolph Daniels, 7.444, 174.68; 21. Wendell Daniels, 7.605, 171.29; 22. Andie Rawlings, 8.039, 168.37.