Racing from the No. 9 starting position, which placed him in one of the least favored lanes at zMax Dragway, four-time Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence won his opening quad Sunday but couldn’t sustain the momentum, exiting a round too early in the 15th American Rebel Light Beer Four-Wide Nationals.
The most successful driver in the history of four-wide racing, the just-turned-42-year-old Texan defied the odds by winning his opening quad from lane 1, beating Tony Stewart and Doug Kalitta by coaxing his CAPCO Contractors Toyota to a time of 3.747 seconds at 335.65 miles per hour.
Unfortunately, the 55-time tour winner was unable to sustain that momentum and lost in the second quad.
“It was a hot racetrack, really challenging,” Torrence said. “Because we qualified ninth, we had to take whatever lane was left after Doug and Tony picked theirs, but these CAPCO boys made a great read and gave me a good hot rod. We had a car today that could’ve won. But that’s drag racing.”
For Torrence, the result was disappointing not just because he failed to add to his four-wide resume, which includes six wins, four of them at zMax, but also because he was unable to win the NHRA’s 1,000th Top Fuel trophy which would have made a nice bookend for the hardware he earned in 2021 as Top Fuel champion in the NHRA’s 1,000th race.
The former Top Alcohol Dragster world champ will now turn his attention to the next item on his competitive bucket list, which is extending the longest active winning streak in Top Fuel. The only driver ever to have swept the events in the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship (2018), Torrence has won at least one tour event in each of the last 10 seasons.
This story was originally published on April 28, 2025. 
