JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — Steve Torrence topped Top Fuel qualifying Friday night in the JEGS Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.
Torrence set track records with a run of 3.677 seconds at 333.58 mph in the final run of the night. Though he has a class-leading three wins this season, the Top Fuel points leader has yet to have a No. 1 qualifier.
"I was really surprised by that last run, but these conditions allowed for us to make a hero run and get low E.T. for the day," Torrence said. "Notoriously I have not had great success at Route 66 Raceway, but last year we got the monkey off our backs here and we have a lot of confidence that we can keep making steps in the right direction this weekend."
Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also preliminary No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories.
Hagan had a 3.917 at 326.79, Anderson ran a 6.546 at 211.03, and Hines had a 6.862 at 193.90.
