A wink and a nod.

That is all it took for young Steve Torrence to make it known to Top Fuel’s winningest driver that there is a new top dog in town. And this dog is looking to make his presence felt.

“It is pretty cool to be running against (Tony) Schumacher and showing him how it is done,” Torrence said with a smile. “Tony and I always enjoy running each other, but I did talk a little crap at the other end. It was unsaid, it was smirk, but he knew what it meant. I left first and I got there first. That’s all that matters.”

In the latest chapter in the friendly rivalry between Torrence and Schumacher - two drivers separated by a chasm of 10 years experience, eight championships and 74 wins - Torrence raced to the number one spot at the 56th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals Saturday at Auto Club Raceway, the sixth of his career.

Torrence placed the Capco Contractors dragster squarely in first place on the Top Fuel charts with a 3.703-second run at 328.06 mph in the fourth and final session, the eighth quickest pass in Top Fuel history.

“We didn’t hold anything back. I am coming in here with a one, two punch in Richard (Hogan) and Alan (Johnson) and I told AJ ‘lets go for it. The record is 70 flat, let’s get it,’” Torrence said. “We were already qualified at the top of the pack, the car was running well and the conditions were the best we have seen, so why not go for it? Alan told me if I hadn’t rolled it in deep, I might have run a 69.”

Torrence was third quickest in qualifying on Friday before topping both sessions on Saturday with two excellent passes.

Just behind Torrence in second is Doug Kalitta who qualified with a 3.713 at 324.51, while Schumacher - quickest on Friday - qualified third with a 3.722 at 323.66. Richie Crampton and Clay Millican round out the top five.

“We are a small team. We are a family-run team, a family business supported team, and I do feel like we have something to prove,” Torrence said. “I don’t know if it is a chip on our shoulder necessarily, but we are a small team and we are right in the middle of things and we have got some good ammunition with us. I hope we have the big guns ready for this year.”

Part of that feeling of invincibility early in the year is the headline-grabbing acquisition of Alan Johnson late last year to work with crew chief Richard Hogan in trying to turn the Capco dragster into a true championship contender. And so far Johnson, an 11-time championship winning tuner with five different drivers, has made quite an impact on Torrence and the entire team.

“Bringing Alan into the mix brings a lot of credibility to us. It has taken our car to the next level,” Torrence said. “He has been a huge asset to me in helping me get through some things and become more confident as a driver. Alan Johnson is one of the best in the business, if not the best guy out here. When you have multiple championships with multiple drivers, you can go talk a lot of crap now because you have the big guy behind you.”

Torrence will open Sunday’s journey to the finals with a round one matchup with Steve Faria as the Texas native looks to start the year off right.

“When you can come into Pomona with a good racecar and run well through qualifying it is very important. If you drop the ball early in the season, it is hard to catch up,” Torrence said. “So a quick start is very important to us. I am hoping this translates into a good performance tomorrow and we can keep this momentum going.

“I am confident that we can go out there on a hot racetrack and navigate down through there and still be quick. We have a really good hot rod right now and I just need to do my job, be consistent on the tree and hopefully we can walk away from here with one of those gold men.”