Billy Torrence set the Lucas Oil Raceway speed record at 333.33 mph with his 3.655-second run that elevated him to the tentative No. 2 starting spot Saturday.
While fulltime Top Fuel racers are scrapping to make the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship 10-car field, part-timer Billy Torrence is on the verge of barging his way in – and he wasn’t necessarily trying to do that.
The elder of the two Capco Dragster drivers is making only his 10th appearance of the season at this weekend’s Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.
But in the first nine, he earned victories at Phoenix and Sonoma and was runner-up to his trophy-hogging son Steve Torrence at Topeka. He came into Indianapolis just 41 points out of the top 10, threatening class anchor Terry McMillen.
Billy Torrence isn’t stressed out in the least about his chances, at least on the surface.
“We’re having fun just being out here,” the Kilgore, Texas, businessman-racer said. “We didn’t intend to try to make the Countdown, anyway. It’s just a bonus. We’re having a good time, and the car’s running well. It’s all fun.”
It certainly was fun for him Saturday afternoon when he set the Lucas Oil Raceway speed record at 333.33 mph with his 3.655-second run that elevated him to the tentative No. 2 starting spot.
Torrence sits one-thousandth of a second ahead of his son overnight. The class is will have two more qualifying runs scheduled for tomorrow to set the field for the Labor Day classic.
It’s all a pleasant diversion from his intense job as owner of Capco Contractors back in East Texas. Billy Torrence founded the oil and gas pipeline construction and maintenance business.
It would be especially pleasant this weekend if he could join his son on the list of U.S. Nationals winners.
“It would surprise nobody if he won,” Clay Millican said.
His competitors understand his unique and fortunate circumstance.
“Look at Billy Torrence,” Mike Salinas said. “He’s two rounds away from being in the Countdown and missed eight races. Now, that’s the person that everybody should be watching because Billy Torrence – my prediction – will get in the Countdown, he will be No. 9 or 10 in this field, and he will run for the championship with his kid. I think it’s going to be pretty awesome. What it is is a testament to what they do and how they do it, and it’s putting everybody on notice that we’ve got to have our crap together. I just want to be like Billy: come in part time, race, have a great time, beat everybody, and go home and work and have fun.
“It’s a really big deal, because it’s changing the structure of how everybody looks at this stuff,” the Scrapppers Racing owner-driver said. “So if you have your stuff together and your car runs like their cars do . . . You and I both know it’s amazing how great their cars run. They’ve worked a lot of years to get it that way, and it’s working perfect right now. So as long as it works for them, that’s perfect.”
Millican said, “Billy’s in a position that very few people are. He can do it however he wants to do it. And obviously he’s part of the best-running [operation] in Top Fuel. I don’t really fault him for that. He has a huge business.”
He said he doesn’t envy Billy Torrence’s position, exactly. Millican wants to race. He said, “I would still do all the races. I’d rather be Stevie: come in and out. Daddy’s got to run the business. Stevie works his tail off in the business, I know that. But I mean Billy, he’s an amazing guy. That’s a guy. He and [wife] Kay, they made their money, and I appreciate that. He was an oilfield worker and started this business. Miss Kay cleaned houses. It’s an impressive story. It is definitely the American Dream story.”
If Billy Torrence makes the playoffs and throws a scare into reigning-champion Steve Torrence, that would be a legendary story, too.
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