Defending World Champion Torrence Takes Fifth Straight Top Fuel Win

The National Hot Rod Association has long been a family affair. Nowadays in the top divisions of the sport, it is not uncommon to see a father and a son, or a father and a daughter, tripping the lights in head-to-head final round competition. At the 31st annual Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals presented by Minities in Topeka, Steve Torrence raced to his fifth consecutive Top Fuel victory after defeating his father, Billy Torrence, in Sunday's final round.

The Capco Contractors team watched the track come to them at Heartland Motorsports Park, as the warm temperatures and a near perfect layer of rubber made it a tuner's track. The defending Top Fuel world champion was up to the challenge and posted qualifying times as the weekend's number one qualifier with a 3.75-second ET at 326.16 mph for a squeaker of win over his father's 3.768 ET at 326.00 mph. Steve Torrence defeated Terry Totten and Antron Brown entering the final round. Billy Torrence defeated Lex Joon, Richie Crampton and Austin Prock for his shot at the Wally.

In Funny Car, AAA Auto Club driver Robert Hight claimed his fourth event win of the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series, which tied Don "the Snake" Prudhomme with forty-nine career class victories. The John Force Racing teammate continued to assert his dominance over the his teammates, John and Courtney Force, as well as the rest of the Funny Car field. At this year's Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals presented by Minties, Hight drove his Auto Club Camaro to a 3.895 ET at 330.88 mph to defeat Fast Jack Beckman. Beckman grabbed the holeshot, but fell behind before the finish line with a 3.969-second pass in his Infinite Hero Dodge.

The 2019 Mello Yello Drag Racing series heads east to NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals June 14-16 at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tennessee.