When your idol is no longer an idol

[sammyg2]

I doubt very many here watched the NHRA finals at Pomona this past weekend (motorized bowling) but there was lots of drama. Some of it was staged, some real. A young man by the name of Cameron was running his top fuel dragster and even though he didn't make it into the playoffs, he was up against Steve Torrence. Cameron runs a small budget self-funded car and can't afford to make many races but he's a so cal boy and this is his home race. His team is made up of volunteers, not pros like in steevie's pit. He's also a really nice kid. I know him and I doubt he's ever had an enemy. Torrence on the other hand has unlimited money from daddy's biddness. Whatever little steevie wants he gets. And yesterday all that money was gonna buy little steevie another championship, two in a row. So they both line up at the starting line. Evidently Cameron took a little too long, and then deep-staged a little. Everything he did was legal, but steevie took exception. Cameron is too small-time to do that to someone as big and important as steevie. So steevie wins the race, and down at the other end Cameron shakes hands with his idol, the guy he's looked up to and wanted to be just like. And little stevie punks out. He sucker punches Cameron with an open-hand shove to the face. Total low-class punk move. On the way back to the pits, Cameron got a standing O and stevie got the middle finger and boos from thousands of fans. I'll probably see if I can help Cameron at the winternationals assuming he raises the $$$$. And after all the new friends he made, steevie better keep an eye on his valve stems But in torrence's defense, he's still not as low-rent as Cruz Pedregon.

[JackDidley]

Never have liked Torrence. I would have liked to see Kalita find 4 more points to get the championship. Not an Enders fan either.

[sammyg2]

Afterwards, Torrence apologized.
but the word I got was he was ordered to apologize to Cameron and NHRA and all the fans by the NHRA officials, or they'd disqualify him and he would not win the championship.
I heard him apologize to everyone, except Cameron.
He's a real badass, all 5'7", 150 lbs. of him.
He must have looked long and hard to find someone small enough to pick on.

NHRA TOP FUEL CHAMPION STEVE TORRENCE DELIVERS BLOW TO THE FACE OF RIVAL, APOLOGIZES
Tempers flare during the NHRA Mello Yello Series season finale at Pomona


NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Top Fuel champion Steve Torrence was roundly booed by the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona crowd Sunday after he gave first-round opponent Cameron Ferre a vicious open-hand shove to the face during the NHRA Finals eliminations. He apologized publicly after his round 2 victory.

Torrence defeated the rookie but took offense at the way Ferre staged his dragster at the beginning of their run on the 1,000-foot Southern California course. When the two drivers got out of their cars at the end of the racetrack, Torrence told Ferre, “You act like a *****, you get treated like one” and delivered a shove to Ferre’s face that snapped Ferre’s head backward violently.

Following his second-round victory over closest challenger Brittany Force, Torrence said, “I had to get my head out of my butt. I apologize to each and every fan out there, everybody who has supported me. I got to go find Cameron and apologize to him. Tensions are high, and there's a lot of crap going on. I've been in his shoes where you go up there to win and you might not have the best car but you do everything you can on the starting line. With everything going on -- and racing for the kid at home who lost his life -- there's no excuse to act that way. I apologize. I'm grateful for the team, and it kind of just soils the day. I'm sorry to every one of you guys."

Fans booed Torrence as he traveled down the return road back to the pits to prepare for his most critical round of the season, the championship-defining one against closest challenger Brittany Force.

Immediately following the incident, Ferre said, “Everybody, there you go. NHRA, hope you’re happy with your potential NHRA Mello Yello champion that has to come out and try to punch somebody who’s trying to chase the dream. I used to be a big fan of his. I just lost all respect for him. Just because I went in deep [into the staging beams], you’ve got to come out here and punch me?

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by JackDidley

Never have liked Torrence. I would have liked to see Kalita find 4 more points to get the championship. Not an Enders fan either.

Kalitta is a class act. I was hoping he'd win but budgets are budgets, and Connie watches the $$$$ close. They don't throw away good parts after every run like some other teams.

I didn't like Erica very much as first, but after I got to know her a little and talked to people who really know her, she ain't so bad.
Not my first pick to win but I don't root against her unless she's across from Anderson.
There are some really, really good people in drag racing. Then there's Laughlin and cruz and Torrence.


Big shake up coming in the off season.
Alexis is back in funny car with lots and lots of dads money, she bought he team back and took Langdon's crew chiefs. Doubling their salaries will do that.
She's cool but I don't think much of her rehab I mean husband.

Langon is going back to dragsters and taking over for Crampton who was let go.
I really hope they can afford to get Alan Johnson away from scrappers, Johnson is the best in the business buy he and Connie butt heads.
Alan butts heads with others too, like Don Schumacher and john Force.
He likes to spend team money and use the team's race cars to do R&D on tech that he develops, and then later sells to the other teams. And the team owners he works for don't like that. Go figure.
He really screwed them all up last year with his six plate clutch.
Everyone had to cough up the $$$ to buy the tech, but Johnson was the only one who could make it work consistently on hot tracks after NHRA stopped using so much traction compound.
A lot of teams went back to the five plate clutch by the end of the season.

I figure NHRA has two, maybe three more good years before it all starts to fall apart.

PS some of the drama that happened yesterday, i was told about last week. Gotta spice things up to keep people interested. Especially in the pro stock ranks.
Not far from monster trucks and professional wrestling.

[Sooner or later]

I watched it all. Love the drags.

The only thing that might be considered staged was the Funny Car finals where Robert Hight did an 1/8th mile burnout. Parked it in the middle of the track and got out. The only way he could lose the season championship was to cross the center line or hit the wall. Be doing that he couldn't be dq'd and guaranteed the championship without even making a run. He claimed after the monster burnout (to give the fans a show) it wouldn't go into reverse.

The statement may have been bs but it would have been his and not NHRA doings.

[URY914]

You guys yellowbullet members? There's nine pages of posts in a thread about it.

[unclebilly]

He should have been disqualified. That's unsportsmanship at its finest.

Even in Karting, that is grounds for a DQ from the event and likely more.

I hope he loses his sponsorship over it.

[Baz]

[Baz]

Originally Posted by URY914

You guys yellowbullet members? There's nine pages of posts in a thread about it.

https://www.yellowbullet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2606079

[Baz]

https://www.nhra.com/news/2019/steve-torrence-cameron-ferre-get-heated-after-first-round-top-fuel-battle

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by Baz

https://www.yellowbullet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2606079

Funny stuff over at YB.

[chapo]

He is a major ass. I used to love going to Pomona. Pro stock was my favorite, WJ, Glidden, Reher and Morrison, always hated the Dodge boys (proven later to be cheaters). Watched Dale Pulde in the War Eagle Pontiac FC, loved the In and Out FC, Pisano, etc. All of that is gone and cant even watch it on TV. It all looks the same, no matter the class. Even remember when the heavy metal band Ratt sponsored a car for he hell of it, no more fun all business now. We know what NHRA stands for nowadays...

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

He should have been disqualified. That's unsportsmanship at its finest.

Even in Karting, that is grounds for a DQ from the event and likely more.

I hope he loses his sponsorship over it.

Well, "Even in Karting" is amusing. I can tell you that emotions run real high in kart sprint races and the temptation to go off and possibly throw a hand is always a factor. Lots of plain ol' worker bee families out there with not much experience in higher levels of racing that supposedly have a little sophistication.

But you are correct, do what Torrence did and you are out for the day and maybe the season. So, we'll see what NHRA does for the start of the 2020 season as it appears that they are letting the points and championship stand for 2019.

[madcorgi]

What a low rent move by Torrence. Sheesh.

We have a guy up here, Ron Smith, who has been running a Top Fuel car in the Northwest Nationals as long as I can remember. He's got an old car, an old trailer, an all-volunteer crew, and this is the only race he does each year. I've never seen him make it past the first round. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever seen him make a full pass under power, come to think of it. But he's there each year, and I admire his unbreakable will. he and his friends are out there because they love it.

[speeder]

I haven't followed drag racing for a few decades, so basically it's all chicks now? And small, effeminate guys? Weird.

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by speeder

I haven't followed drag racing for a few decades, so basically it's all chicks now? And small, effeminate guys? Weird.

Easy to tell you haven't followed drag racing for a few decades.

[sammyg2]

From the CAPCO website,
all hat no class

[JackDidley]

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by madcorgi

What a low rent move by Torrence. Sheesh.

We have a guy up here, Ron Smith, who has been running a Top Fuel car in the Northwest Nationals as long as I can remember. He's got an old car, an old trailer, an all-volunteer crew, and this is the only race he does each year. I've never seen him make it past the first round. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever seen him make a full pass under power, come to think of it. But he's there each year, and I admire his unbreakable will. he and his friends are out there because they love it.

Zackly, and that's what real drag racing is all about. It's not the guys who have multi-million $$$ sponsors or million dollar semi-trainer rigs. It's the guys who do it because they love it.
They spend their own money and time trying to compete with the giant teams. They can't afford to make all the races, and they know it's impossible but they do their best anyway.
That's why I like to root for them, and guys like Gary Densham.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by speeder

I haven't followed drag racing for a few decades, so basically it's all chicks now? And small, effeminate guys? Weird.

I wonder why you call them effeminate? Is that that same you would call a Moto GP rider? A race horse jockey? Some F1 guys are pretty small like Hamilton. He's not the most burly, manly guy I can think of off hand. But he's one tough hombre to do 2 hours in a F1 car. Like many others in many sports and other walks of life.