TITLE: Recognizing Steve Torrence for winning a 2018 Mello Yello National Hot Rod Association championship.

SUMMARY: Recognizing Steve Torrence for winning a 2018 Mello Yello National Hot Rod Association championship.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, Steve Torrence of Kilgore reached the pinnacle of drag racing success when he won the Mello Yello National Hot Rod Association top fuel world championship on October 28, 2018; and WHEREAS, The title victory was the highlight of an exceptional season in which Mr. Torrence won 11 races and made NHRA history as the only driver in any discipline to sweep the Countdown to Championship playoffs; he also became the first competitor ever to win NHRA series titles in both the top fuel and top alcohol dragster divisions, having claimed the latter title in 2005; and WHEREAS, Over the course of his career, Mr. Torrence has racked up more than 25 NHRA tour victories, including 19 races over the past two years; in fact, he entered the 2019 campaign having won 12 straight final round matches; most remarkably, he has achieved all of this after overcoming cancer in the early 2000s and recovering from a heart attack in 2016; and WHEREAS, Mr. Torrence is a graduate of Kilgore College and works for Capco Contractors, a family business founded by his father; an East Texas native, he continues to call Kilgore home, flying to race locations around the country each weekend during the season; and WHEREAS, Demonstrating a combination of exceptional talent and fierce determination, Steve Torrence has become a premier figure in the sport of drag racing, and his success is a source of great pride to his many fans in the Lone Star State and beyond; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 86th Legislature, hereby congratulate Steve Torrence on winning the 2018 Mello Yello National Hot Rod Association top fuel world championship and extend to him sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this Resolution be prepared for Mr. Torrence as an expression of high regard by the Texas Senate. Hughes President of the Senate I hereby certify that the above Resolution was adopted by the Senate on March 20, 2019.