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Steve Torrence and Brittany Force locked in duel for 2019 Top Fuel title

Steve Torrence can win his second-straight Top Fuel title at the Auto Club NHRA Finals if he holds off Brittany Force and a handful of competitors on Sunday.
13 Nov 2019
Jacob Sundstrom, NHRA National Dragster Associate Editor
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Steve Torrence and Brittany Force

Steve Torrence can win his second-straight Top Fuel title at the Auto Club NHRA Finals if he holds off Brittany Force and a handful of competitors on Sunday. He leads Force by 16 points and can extend his lead to 39 points (a full round) if the Capco Contractors team kills it in qualifying.

Force, on the other hand, is the only professional competitor who can execute a lead change during qualifying. Her Advance Auto Parts team can slip past Torrence by as many as 13 points and then need only to outduel him on race day to earn its second title in three years. Doug Kalitta is still very much in the mix, while Billy Torrence has an outside shot of pulling off a huge upset on race day.

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Here are the scenarios for Top Fuel:

Steve Torrence

Needs 176 points to outright clinch the title. He can win his second-straight title by reaching the final, even if he loses, if he gains 15 more qualifying points than Force. Torrence will automatically win the title if he wins the race.

If he gains 15 more qualifying points than Force, he needs to match her round-for-round to win the 2019 Top Fuel title. If he loses 17 qualifying points to Force, he must go one round further than her to earn his second-straight championship.

Brittany Force

If she earns 17 more points than Torrence during qualifying, she needs to match him round for round to win her second Top Fuel championship in three years.

If she loses 13 or fewer points to Torrence during qualifying, she has to go one round further than the Texan to win the 2019 Top Fuel title.

If she loses more than 13 points to Torrence during qualifying, she has to go two rounds further than Torrence.

Doug Kalitta

Trails Torrence by 55 points and can not make up a round during qualifying.

If he loses no more than four points to Torrence during qualifying, he must go two rounds further than the Texan to win his first Top Fuel title.

If he loses more than four points to Torrence during qualifying, he must go three rounds further than the 2018 Top Fuel champion to become the 2019 title holder.

Billy Torrence

Trails his son by 86 points and can not make up a round during qualifying.

If he loses no more than three points to Steve during qualifying, he must go three rounds further than the Texan to win his first Top Fuel title.

If he loses more than four points to Steve during qualifying, he must win the race while Steve loses in the first round.

Leah Pritchett, Austin Prock, Mike Salinas

These three racers will be eliminated from title contention if Steve Torrence qualifies for the 2019 Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona.