MORRISON — Cancer and heart-attack survivor Steve Torrence has become a big winner in his bonus days of being alive — perhaps because he triumphantly ignores the inherent risks of driving a top-fuel dragster at 330 mph.
Andy Cross, The Denver Post
NHRA Top Fuel driver Steve Torrence has a laugh with other drivers during a rain delay for first round of qualifying for the 38th annual Mopar Mile High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway July 21, 2017.
“I don’t want to be mediocre. I want to be the best at whatever it is,” the victorious Torrence said Sunday at Bandimere Speedway. “And I think maybe going through some of that motivates me.”
Torrence, the defending NHRA top fuel champion, appeared in his ninth consecutive final Sunday at Bandimere and won for the eighth time during that stretch.
He’s lucky and good.
“We get in these race cars knowing there’s an opportunity to not come back. But you do what you enjoy to do. This is my job,” Torrence said. “Yeah, I’ve had cancer. I’ve had a heart attack. It may change my mentality of how I approach day-to-day life but … It maybe motivates me a little more, try to live more. I don’t want to park myself in that casket and have somebody say, ‘I bet ‘ol Steve would have done this.’ ”
Torrence, 36, survived Hodgkin’s disease in at age 17 and a heart attack — caused by his cancer treatment — at 33. Since his second near-death experience in 2016, the healthy and fit Texan has been on a train of success.
In 2018, Torrence was virtually unbeatable, winning a career-high 11 races and becoming the first driver to win all six of the Countdown to the Championship races. He won just one of the first five races this year but has dominated the last nine races, becoming just the second nitro driver to appear in nine straight finals. Tony Schumacher holds the record of 11, set in 2008.
Schumacher, who is temporarily sidelined from the sport and working for Fox in covering the series, said Torrence’s dominance might stem from forcing his peers to make mistakes like he did in ’08.
“When I was in it like that, and you’re in the middle of it, you just try to stay calm, and I can hear (Torrence) trying to stay calm,” Schumacher said.
Kelsey Brunner, The Denver Post
Deric Kramer performs a burnout before the second qualifying round of the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado on Friday, July 19, 2019.
Kelsey Brunner, The Denver Post
Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Karen Stoffer watches the racers in front of her compete as she waits for her second qualifying race during the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado on Friday, July 19, 2019.
Kelsey Brunner, The Denver Post
Deric Kramer and his crew prepare for the second qualifying race during the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado on Friday, July 19, 2019.
Kelsey Brunner, The Denver Post
Deric Kramer zips up his racing suit before competing in his second qualifying race during the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado on Friday, July 19, 2019.
Kelsey Brunner, The Denver Post
Deric Kramer, center, sits in his Pro Stock car as his crew watches the races ahead of him during the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado on Friday, July 19, 2019.
Kelsey Brunner, The Denver Post
Deric Kramer poses for a portrait next to his Pro Stock Camero in between qualifying rounds during the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado on Friday, July 19, 2019.
Kelsey Brunner, The Denver Post
Pro Stock driver Deric Kramer cools off in his trailer in between qualifying rounds during the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado on Friday, July 19, 2019. Kramer lives in Parker and finished in 9th position at the end of the first day of nationals.
Kelsey Brunner, The Denver Post
Deric Kramer watches the Pro Stock racers ahead of him run their second qualifying race during the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado on Friday, July 19, 2019.
Kelsey Brunner, The Denver Post
Crew members plug their ears during one of the final Top Fuel races of the evening at the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado on Friday, July 19, 2019.
Kelsey Brunner, The Denver Post
Top Fuel driver Leah Pritchett waits in her car for the start of her second qualifying race during the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado on Friday, July 19, 2019.
Kelsey Brunner, The Denver Post
Tami Bandimere, left, hugs Natalie Jahnke after Steve Torrence, Jahnke's boyfriend, broke the track speed record during the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado on Friday, July 19, 2019. Torrence is the provisional number one qualifier and raced 330.31 mph during his second qualifying race.
Kelsey Brunner, The Denver Post
Spectators watch the first qualifying races during the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado on Friday, July 19, 2019.
Kelsey Brunner, The Denver Post
Funny Car driver Shawn Langdon competes in the second qualifying race during the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado on Friday, July 19, 2019.
Kelsey Brunner, The Denver Post
Linley Humbert, 6, sits on the shoulders of her father, Chris Humbert, while watching the qualifying rounds of the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado on Friday, July 19, 2019.
Kelsey Brunner, The Denver Post
Brittany Force gets assistance from her crew exiting her Top Fuel racing car during the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado on Friday, July 19, 2019.
Torrence qualified No. 1 for the 40th Mile-High Nationals late Saturday night and, after receiving a first-round bye Sunday, he defeated Richie Crampton, Brittany Force and Clay Millican. Torrence edged Millican in a double-lane tire-smoking run, with both cars failing to reach a top speed of 300 mph. Torrence won in a relatively slow 4.044 seconds (270.21 mph).
Torrence’s 35th career win tied him with “Big Daddy” Don Garlits for eighth-most all time.
“He is the legend of the sport and pioneered it so much,” Torrence said of Garlits. “It’s just humbling.”
The other winners Sunday were Tommy Johnson Jr. (funny car), Greg Anderson (pro stock) and Andrew Hines (pro stock motorcycle). Johnson won his first race at Bandimere since making his debut at the track in 1984. He previously lost in final appearances in funny car (2017), top fuel (1991), top-alcohol dragster (1987) and super gas (1984).
“It only took 35 years,” Johnson said of his win Sunday. “It took persistence!”
