PR-RUSK- Torrence wins third straight in Rusk

Conway Racing
media relations

For Immediate Release
June 14, 2005
Contact: Will Hanna/ Pro Race Communications
Email: Will.Hanna@InsideTopAlcohol.com

Torrence wins third straight in Rusk

RUSK, Texas - The hottest driver and team in Top Alcohol Dragster, Steve Torrence and Conway Racing, kept the heat turned up on the competition by taking their third straight win in as many weeks in winning this past weekend's NHRA Division 4 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Cherokee County Motorsports Park in Rusk, Texas. Torrence 'ran the table' in Tom Conway's A/Fuel Dragster, qualifying No. 1, running low elapsed time of every round and taking the win over Lee Callaway in the final.

The 22 year-old student from Kilgore, Texas, wheeled the Conway Racing A/Fuel Dragster to the No. 1 position in Friday's first qualifying attempt with a 5.513 second elapsed time at 255.58 mph. The team damaged a rear end on that run, and elected to sit out the remaining two qualifying sessions, but never missed a beat all weekend. In round one, Torrence dispatched Carl Magee with a low e.t. of the meet 5.477 at 257.87 mph to set the stage for a dual with current national points leader Ashley Force. Torrence and Conway proved too hot to handle as they defeated Force with a 5.555 at 255.05 mph. The round did not come without some shutdown area drama. After his victory, the parachutes did not deploy. Torrence did his best to stop the dragster without the aid of the parachutes, going about halfway into the sand trap at the end of the track.

In a great showing of drag racing's camaraderie, several teams came to Conway Racing's aid to help clean the massive buildup of sand throughout the car for the final. The team had the car ready with time to spare for their matchup with former Division 4 Champ Lee Callaway, the lone blown alcohol dragster in the field. Torrence extended his round win streak to ten straight rounds in defeating Callaway with a 5.511 at 256.94 mph. Remarkably, since making his competition debut a month ago behind the wheel of the Conway Racing A/Fueler, the duo has produced a win-loss record of 12-1. The car has also made the final round of every event it has been entered at, including the season opening win the late Shelly Howard made in the car in Houston.

"This win was all Tom Conway," said Torrence. "He's the man. The way the car is running, it would be pretty hard not to win as a driver. I'm just blessed to have the opportunity to drive this car. I just hope nobody pinches me, this is like a great dream. Not only to win all these races, but we live about 45 minutes from here, so this is our home track. I just hope it keeps on going."

"The crew - Shane Conway, Keith Zimmer and Cody Draper did a great job, giving me a good car to drive all weekend," Torrence added. "I'd also like to thank all the people that came and helped clean the car after we went in the sand trap, there was sand everywhere."

The win moved Torrence to second in Division 4 standings and sixth nationally. The team hopes to keep moving up the charts at their next event, the Division 3 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Route 66 Raceway just outside of Chicago, July 15-17.

"We have to make up a few races since we started in the middle of the season, so we're going to go to Chicago next month," said Torrence. "Hopefully we can make another strong showing for our associate sponsors Valvoline, NGK Spark Plugs, St. Moritz Machine, Broken Arrow Powder Coating and Tulsa Sheetmetal."

To find out more about Conway Racing's fine marketing partners, visit the following sites:

Valvoline.com - Champions like Tom Conway rely on Valvoline to reach the winner's circle. Racers who know choose Valvoline.

NGKSparkPlugs.com - Choose the spark plugs that power Conway Racing to victory, NGK Spark Plugs.

Conway Racing would also like to thank St. Moritz Machine, Broken Arrow Powder Coating and Tulsa Sheetmetal.