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.
Quote:
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?
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