NHRA Winternationals at Pomona, Calif.

Torrence, Capps and Anderson start season with wins

Results compiled by Kay Burk
Photos by Ron Lewis and Tim Marshall

Ron Capps raced to his first Funny Car victory in nearly a year Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also were winners at the season-opening event.

The final rounds saw some very close racing with only the electronic eye able to see who got to the finish line first.

TOP FUEL

(Ron Lewis photo)

On a track on which he had little previous success, Texan Steve Torrence produced a complete highlight reel Sunday on the way to an emotional Valentine’s Day victory.

In the final, the 32-year-old cancer survivor got his Capco Contractors Top Fuel dragster to the finish line .004 of a second ahead of Doug Kalitta’s Mac Tools dragster to claim his sixth pro victory -- but this one was extra special because it propelled him into the Mello Yello point lead for the very first time.

In its first race, the newly-crafted Capco dragster performed almost flawlessly, averaging 3.757 seconds on eight trips down the 1,000-foot course including a career best 3.703 that delivered Torrence’s sixth No. 1 start. This was his first Top Fuel victory from the front of the field.