“ HONESTLY , THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

THAT IS STILL THE SAME THING THAT OUR DAD TAUGHT US , IS BASIC MECHANICS AND PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL , AND KNOWING WHEN YOU CAN PUT A TEAM

TOGETHER THAT ALL HAVE THAT SAME

UNDERSTANDING AND VALUE OF THAT IS WHEN

YOU CAN SUCCEED .”

Richard Hogan and Bobby call the shots on Steve Torrence ’ s dragster , which has scooped up wins at an otherworldly pace . Dom is a key member , too , working closely with the entire two-team car , including Billy Torrence ’ s dragster .

Both Laganas and the man known as “ Hoagie ” spearhead the operation of a team that has stayed largely intact for nearly a decade . The culture , the intuition , the mix of old-school and technology , all play a part in Torrence sweeping three straight world titles and possibly a fourth this season .

He ’ s closing in on 50 Top Fuel wins , a mark for the Texan that seemed unheard of just a handful of years ago .

Years after toiling just to make it to a race , the Laganas are now at the top of the sport , while Hogan , who has worked for greats like Dale Armstrong , Kenny Bernstein , and Don Garlits but is as soft-spoken as they come , has made a legendary name for himself while steering clear of the spotlight .

Hogan calls this stop the last place he ’ ll ever work , and it ’ s a dream scenario for all involved .

“ The guys just take care of everything . I don ’ t have to worry about much ,” Hogan says . “ We ’ ve all worked together for so long now . Everybody ’ s happy here . I don ’ t micromanage anything . When you get to a position where it works like this , you just go along with it .”

Both the Laganas have battled back from near devastating adversity , with Bobby enduring a horrific crash in the family ’ s Top Fuel dragster and Dom battling back from a near-tragic

THE EXPERTISE OF THE CAPCO TEAM HAS HELPED MAKE TORRENCE A CONSISTENT AND DOMINANT FORCE IN TOP FUEL .

September / October 2021 DragIllustrated . com | Drag Illustrated | 73