Red Line-equipped drivers J.R. Todd and Steve Torrence lit up The Strip in Vegas and came home victorious at the 19th Annual Denso Spark Plug Four-Wide Nationals. Torrence became the first Top Fuel driver to win four-wide races at two different tracks, while Todd’s win was his first on the four-wide platform.
In the final round, Torrence faced top qualifier Tony Schumacher, three-time world champion Antron Brown and Red Line-equipped driver Doug Kalitta in an epic four-way showdown. Torrence tore down The Strip with a 3.771-second pass at 326.23 mph to claim his 18th career win, and second win this season. Torrence now sits atop the championship standings and continues to chase his first Top Fuel world championship.
"I knew my team was confident coming into today, but going into a final round against Antron Brown, Tony Schumacher and Doug Kalitta up against you makes it a tough round," Torrence said.
J.R. Todd faced a similarly stacked final round in his Red Line-equipped Camry Funny Car. Up against Jack Beckman, Courtney Force and Tommy Johnson Jr., Todd ran a 4.041 at 317.05 mph to bring home the Wally trophy.
"We brought out a new car in Gainesville and struggled during Friday’s qualifying this weekend, but I got my confidence up in the fourth round of qualifying and then definitely carried over into today," Todd said.
The 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season continues at Royal Purple Raceway in Houston, Texas April 20-22.