Steve Torrence had been the dominant driver on the CAPCO Contractor's Top Fuel team having made it to the final round at nine consecutive NHRA events this year. Moreover, as the point's leader, Steve took home the Wally at eight of those national events. However, his dad put an end to that streak on Sunday with a semifinal round elimination of the sport's most dominant Top Fuel driver. For least a few a weeks, the elder Torrence has earned bragging rights, as it was the first time he had beaten Steve in eight head-to-head meetings.
Due to his busy schedule, Billy Torrence was competing in only his 40th career Top Fuel race and is not scheduled to compete at the NHRA's next stop in Seattle. The 61-year old Torrence runs a limited schedule on the circuit and spends the majority of his time running CAPCO Contractors, a very successful pipeline business based out of Kilgore, TX. Billy also eliminated rookie sensation Austin Prock and Steve Faria enroute to the final against Clay Millican. Millican has reached the final at consecutive races and defeated three-time world champion Antron Brown and 2017 world champion Brittany Force.
Robert Hight claimed his fifth win of the season and the 50th victory of his Funny Car career, which moved him to third on the list of all-time Funny Car wins. With track temperatures soaring on Sunday, Hight was the top qualifier for the 32nd annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals. As the current points leader, Hight padded his lead with a 3.973-second run at 325.45 mph to Matt Hagan's 4.030 ET at 316.60 mph. It was Hight's second straight win at Sonoma in his Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS, as the point's leader clinched a spot in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.
The next race on the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour is the Magic Dry Organic Absorbent NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle, WA. Nitro qualifying is set to begin on Friday, August 2nd.
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