Drag Illustrated Issue 178, September / October 2022 | Page 99

SINCE LAUNCHING HIS OWN TOP
FUEL OPERATION A DECADE AGO , TORRENCE HAS BEEN BACKED BY A GROUP OF CREW MEMBERS KNOWN
AS THE “ CAPCO BOYS .” THE MULTI- TALENTED GROUP PREFERS NOT
TO USE TITLES , AS ALMOST ALL OF THE VETERAN TEAMMATES ARE
FAMILIAR WITH EVERY ELEMENT OF A TOP FUEL DRAGSTER .
Hard work has been a constant in Steve ’ s life since an early age . He ’ s told the stories of his parents , Billy and Kay , and their humble beginnings . Before he started Capco , Billy was a welder in the Texas oil and gas business . At times , he and Kay lived out of hotel rooms and the 1980 Chevy truck he bought as a cab and chassis and built into a full-service welding truck . Over the next 15 years , he worked his way up the ladder before starting his own business .
Billy brought Steve into the business “ before it was legal ,” showing him the ropes and making him earn the opportunity to go racing , first in sportsman classes like Super Comp and Top Alcohol Dragster before making his Top Fuel debut in 2006 . Steve sure wasn ’ t a fan of the routine when he was a teenager spending his summer breaks in the Texas heat , but his perspective has changed as he ’ s grown up and become a father himself .
“ You don ’ t even realize until you look back later in life and you ’ re like , man , I ’ m really thankful that my dad made me get my ass out of bed at 5 o ’ clock in the morning and go to work ,” Torrence says . “ You look at some of your friends that you grew up with and you ’ re like , ‘ What are you doing ? Why do you sleep until 9 in the morning ? That ’ s why you can ’ t get anything done .’
September / October 2022
“ I ’ m just so appreciative and thankful for everything ,” Torrence continues . “ My dad was hard . At the time , I hated it . Now , especially being a parent , you value some of the stuff you thought of as cruel when you were a kid . Like damn , that sucked , but I appreciate you doing it .”
Torrence ’ s typical workday has changed quite a bit as he ’ s taken on a new role that comes with winning the last four NHRA Top Fuel world championships : ambassador for the sport . He ’ s become one of the faces of NHRA Camping World Series drag racing , earning an ESPY nomination this year . Last year , he helped Texas Governor Greg Abbott promote a new bill that provided funding for the Texas Motorplex and other entertainment venues in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdown . There are also all the interviews that come along with those opportunities and the on-track success . He ’ s already on his third interview of the day , and it ’ s just a regular old Wednesday afternoon .
“ It ’ s an honor ,” Torrence says of the ambassador role . “ It ’ s a privilege that you get , and it takes you a little bit of time to realize that . Man , I ’ m just a pipeliner that drives a race car on the weekends . I would be just fine getting out of the race car , getting in the tow vehicle , and not interviewing ,
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