FEATURE- From the Tower by Bob Frey

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Wed, 16 Feb 2011, 12:32 PM

Can't Tell the Players Without a Program

By Bob Frey
Photo copyright 2011 Bob Johnson Photography

Gabriel, Val Sr. and Val Jr. at Sonoma in 2009.

There's an old saying that "you can't tell the players without a program." That refers to the times you go to a sporting event and there are so many people, especially new people, that it's sometimes hard to tell them apart. In the "old days," that is, the days before sports teams put the names on the back of their uniforms, it really was hard to tell who was who, and you really did need a program to sort them out. At the drag races it's almost the same way, especially in the Lucas Oil classes. Granted, everyone knows when John Force comes to the line, or Mike Edwards or Tony Schumacher, but things might get a little tougher when it's one of the Harley-Davidson riders, Andrew Hines or Eddie Krawiec, and this year it will be hard to tell the Arana's apart, Senior from Junior. Now imagine what it's like trying to identify all of the racers in the Lucas Oil ranks, especially when some of them have the same name. We had two guys by the name of Jim Hughes win at the same event. There have been a lot of racers named "Johnson" win races and a whole lot of "Smiths." And while the name "Torres" may not be quite as common as Smith or Johnson, the way the Torres family members are running you may soon need a program to figure out which one is in the winner's circle.

Dave McClelland interviews Val Torres Sr.
at the 2010 SoCal Pro Gas awards banquet.
As we head into the 2011 season there will be three immediate members of the Torres family in action. That will include Val Sr., Val Jr., and Gabriel Torres, and from what we have seen lately they are all threats to win races, both on the divisional and national level. The truth of the matter is that two of them, Sr. and Jr. have both already won national events while all three have visited the winner's circle on the divisional level. And over the past couple of years, both Val Sr. and Val Jr. have made a couple of runs at the national championship. "I had a good year last year and finished third," Val Sr. said. "And before that my best finish was sixth place back in 2007." In addition to his good year on the NHRA tour, Val also won the highly competitive Southern California Pro Gas Association title. Jr., meanwhile, has a couple of top ten finishes to his credit, too, including a fourth place in 2009 and a third place a year earlier. Gabriel, the younger of the two brothers at twenty-five years old, made the top ten in 2009 in Super Comp and came within striking distance of a shot at a berth on the All Star team last year. "He missed it by one point," Val Sr. said. Had he made it that would have completed the trifecta for the family since both Sr. and Jr. have already been on the Jegs All Star team for Division 7. And, as it stands right now, dad is leading the way in the battle for the 2011 team while Jr. is right behind him. "We have two races to go before the team is decided," Sr. said. "I'm in the lead but Travis Balough and Rick Beckstrom are right behind me and then Jr. is only one point behind them."

Val Sr. vs. Val Jr. at
Arizonia Nationals in Sonoma (July 2010).
It only seems natural that dad should pass down his love of drag racing to his sons, since he got the fever from his brothers at an early age. "I used to watch them race when I was just a little kid and I really enjoyed it." He enjoyed it so much that in 1985 he decided to go racing himself. "I got a '77 Vega that I ran in Super Gas and I had that car until about 2003. Then I went to a '34 roadster before getting the car I have now." That car, a Chevrolet Corvette, has been his main ride for the past few years. As you can imagine, with three family members racing it's imperative that they keep a good eye on their equipment. "I think that if you want to be competitive in these classes you really need to have the right car, engine and parts," dad said. And with that in mind they have called on David Beckley to build their engines and Val says that he does a great job. "He's done all of our cars for a while and they perform very well. We use Hughes transmissions and converters, Stinnett carburetors and Hoosier tires." Not to make it sound like a commercial or anything, but based on the success they have had lately, I'd say that's a pretty good combination of parts.

Gabriel vs. Val Jr.
at Lucas Oil Super Comp Association race
in Fontana
Since most racers these days bring at least two cars with them to the track you can imagine what it's like when the Torres family heads to the track. "It's a lot of work," Val said. "We used to bring five cars to the track and getting them into one trailer was a real job." Now they have "down-sized" and normally only bring four, like they will to the Winternationals in two weeks. "The way it looks I'll be running Super Gas and Super Comp, Jr. will race in Super Stock and Super Gas and Gabe will run Super Comp." That Super Stocker is a 1968 Dodge Charger that is owned by Lynsi Martinez of In-N-Out Burger fame, and it's one of the few "class cars" that the family has ever run. "Jr. and Lynsi have been going out for a while and she had this really nice Dodge so they decided to run it in Super Stock." And while the car hasn't been in the winner's circle yet, based on the Torres family history, it will be soon. Plus, with Jr. coaching Lynsi, she, too, can be expected to pick up a "Wally" before very long.

Val Sr.
When the Torres family isn't at the track they are still together working at the family business. "I have a contracting business that I've had for over thirty years now," Sr. said. "The boys work with me so it's not hard for them to ask the boss for time off to go to the races." And most of the time that they're at the track, mom, Rita, is there too. "She gets to about seventy-five percent of the races. Like I said, it's nice to be able to see the boys all the time and know that they're doing something they enjoy." From what we've seen in the past few years they have been enjoying it a lot. Sr. won his second Division 7 title in Super Gas in 2010 and that goes along with his 2007 championship. Jr., meanwhile, has a 2009 title to his credit. "We take a lot of pride in what we do and it's nice just to see a Torres name in the winner's circle, as a Division champion or an All Star." And while Val Sr., Val Jr. and Gabe approach the 2011 season with great optimism, there is another member of the Torres family waiting in the wings. "I have a granddaughter," Val Sr. said. "Madelyn is nine years old and she's Jr.'s oldest daughter and she's already racing a Jr. Dragster. It's a lot of fun for all of us."

Val Jr.
While dad admits to watching his first drag races on the street, he coached the boys to take the right approach, and that is, begin in the Jr. Dragster program. "They both raced there for a while and both made it to a few final rounds. Jr. even won a few and it was a good learning experience for both of them." So was watching their father for all those years, and, apparently, the boys are good learners, after all, you don't win as much as they do without a good foundation. "We like to do it right, we take a lot of pride in our equipment, and with the more races we go to, the better we get. Experience really is the best teacher," Val said. Now, if only we had a good program to tell which Torres family member was in which car. Or, we could just take the easy way out and look for a car with the number one on it!! "We haven't won a national championship yet, but we're working on it." With division titles and All Star appearances already on their resume, the only thing that's left is a Lucas Oil national crown, and from what we've seen in the past few years, that can't be far away for one or more members of the Torres family.

Gabriel