Top Fuel’s top qualifier and runner-up Steve Torrence meant no disrespect to 51-time winner Doug Kalitta.
Torrence’s remarks about Kalitta’s playoff surge had everything to do with the NHRA Countdown to the Championship format he never has been fond of—and one he once again called “a crock of shit” Saturday at the Texas Motorplex during the NHRA Texas FallNationals weekend.
“The guy’s won 10 rounds all year, and he’s just been hot in the Countdown. Doug’s a great driver and a great guy. I like him. When you say ‘deserve’ to win a championship . . . you don’t ‘deserve’ to win anything—you earn it,” Torrence said.
“I think that this point system is a crock of shit, and this is prime example. You got a guy who was not in contention with anything, and now he’s leading the points. He definitely can go out and he can earn a championship, do the best that they do through the Countdown, and be the champion. But it puts a little blight on your record when you had such a terrible first three-quarters of the season and finish off strong,” he said.
In his Friday night provisional No. 1 qualifier interview, Torrence said, “We’ve been the most consistent car across the board. We only won one race, but I don’t think we fell any lower than second or third throughout the year.
“Justin (Ashley) kicked everybody’s butt, but they were super-high or super-low. Doug has done well in only the last three or four races. I don’t think the guy won 10 rounds all year, then showed up in the Countdown and everybody thinks he’s the baddest man on the planet. They’ve done well. They’ve just only done well when it counted.
“So that’s the problem I’ve always had with the Countdown. It’s not indicative of who had the best car all year and who did the best all year. It’s just the last six (races).”
Contributing Editor
Susan Wade has lived in the Seattle area for 40 years, but motorsports is in the Indianapolis native’s DNA. She has emerged as one of the leading drag-racing writers with nearly 30 seasons at the racetrack, focusing on the human-interest angle. She was the first non-NASCAR recipient of the prestigious Russ Catlin Award and has covered the sport for the Chicago Tribune, Newark Star-Ledger, and Seattle Times. She has contributed to Autoweek as a freelance writer since 2016.
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