Torrence captured his 9th Wally of the 2021 season after entering the final for the 72nd time in his career. Torrence also recaptured the points lead and now has a 36 point lead over Brittany Force.
“The final was crazy. Normally, your crew chief or someone pulls you into beams or leans over to give you the signal to roll in and pre-stage,” Torrence said. “I was waiting and Mike’s top bulb is on. I was in the process of bumping in and his top bulb went out. I don’t think he meant to do it but it was a distraction. I looked up and the lights were on. I knew I was dead late. I was gaining on him at half-track and I saw he was close to the centerline. I finally saw my win light. Some days it’s better to be lucky than good."
“Thankfully, I don’t do what I did in the final too often,” said Torrence. “We have continuity. My guys have been together, every one of them since 2013, and the way we work together just makes you better every year.”
RPM Round By Round:
Round 1 - Shawn Langdon is the foe for the first round and holds a slight advantage against Torrence in previous meetings with a 6-5 record. Langdon had a great light but simply wasn't strong enough to defeat Torrence who ran 3.669 at 329.42 MPH. This was the 400th round win for Torrence.
Round 2 - In the second round, Torrence would face Antron Brown who has a phenomenal 33-18 advantage when they line up against each other. Torrence has more losses to Brown than to any other competitor. While Brown had the starting line advantage, he was soon battling smoking tires and Torrence gets the easy win with a run of 3.709 at 331.36 MPH.
Round 3 - Torrence was matched up with Josh Hart in the semi's and Hart has a 1-0 advantage in their previous match up. Hart looked good at the start but began to smoke the tires shortly after. Torrence was first to the stripe with a run of 3.767 at 325.61 MPH and will be entering his 10th final of 2021.
Round 4 - Torrence lined up against Mike Salinas in the final who he holds a 10-3 advantage in their previous match ups. A strange start for Torrence as he had an extremely slow launch with a .142 RT while Salinas initially looked strong. Midway down the track, Salinas moved out of the groove and was forced to lift to keep his car in his lane. Torrence not only caught up but made the pass with a run of 3.736 at 328.78 MPH.
See the full recap by Kevin McKenna:
Photo by NHRA