Point leader Steve Torrence didn't have a stellar weekend in Denver.

Not only did he lose to Blake Alexander in the second round of the Dodge Mile High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway, he was forced to race without crew chief Richard Hogan for the first time in more than four years.

Racing without crew chief Richard Hogan in his pit for the first time in more than four years, point leader Steve Torrence fell to Blake Alexander Sunday in the second round of the 39th annual Dodge Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.

Hogan was confined to his hotel room at Denver after reacting adversely to the heat and thin air at Bandimere’s 5,800-foot altitude.

“He was a little under the weather,” Torrence said of the man who has directed him to a category-best 13 wins over the last two seasons. “We were sending data back to him at the hotel but Bob Lagana was making the decisions here at the track and I’ve got all the faith in the world in him and this Capco team. We ran good, but in that second round, they just ran better. No excuses.”

Mark it up as just a bad weekend, but regardless Torrence heads into this weekend's NHRA Sonoma Nationals with a hefty 133-point lead.

“We’ll just put this one behind us and get ready to defend our championship at Sonoma,” said the former Top Alcohol Dragster world champion (2005) who is trying to become the first to win NHRA championships in both the Alcohol and Fuel categories.

“With a big lead like we’ve got you might think that losing focus would be a problem,” he said, “but not for us. After getting burned last year, we know better than anyone that nothing’s for sure. You just have to keep bringing it every race. That’s our mindset.”