FAST CLIMBER
Teenager Trench quickly moving up drag racing ranks
The biggest moment in Tori Trench’s drag racing career took place a couple of weeks back at Route 66 Raceway.
The Alsip teenager earned her license to drive a Super Pro car and went 173 mph.
That’s quite a jump from the 85 mph she’s used to reaching in her Junior Modified car.
“I have never felt anything like it before,” Trench said. “The adrenaline was such a new experience. Once I took my first pass I said, ‘I’m doing this.’”
Fear? Are you kidding? “Nope,” Trench said with a smile. “My parents were scared more than I was. I was ready, like, ‘Let’s go.’ ”
And that will be her attitude going forward.
In 2019, Trench will forgo her final year of eligibility in the Junior Drag Racing League Modified division at Route 66 Raceway to start her career in the Super Pro class.
She’ll be joining her older brother, T.J., who is in his second season in the Super Pros.
“I’m really excited for that,” Trench said. “I’m going to race with all of the older people and have more competition.
“I started out as the youngest one in the junior (class), and I worked my way up to being the oldest. Now I’m ready to start back at the bottom and prove what I’m capable of.”
Meanwhile, she’s closing out her career as a junior in high style in her Sub Trailer Hitch/Half Scale dragster.
Trench, 16, is third in the Modified division points at Route 66, with one event remaining. That takes place Saturday, as part of the eighth annual Route 66 Classic — a cool event honoring the early
days of drag racing.
Trench is also the leader in the Junior Modified standings at the US 41 Motorplex in Morocco, Ind. That series still has a handful of events remaining.
If she holds on for the title, Trench will qualify to compete in October in the IHRA World Championships in Memphis.
Trench is starting her junior year of high school at Shepard. She has played girls basketball and was also a cheerleader.
But racing has always been No. 1. “My dad (Todd) started when I was really little,” Trench said. “I remember he had a 1966 Chevy Nova. I would sit in the stands with my aunt and watch him race.”
Todd Trench has been a Super Pro champion at Route 66. In 2006 he won the NMCA Super Bowl event. He received the $2,000 first prize on that day, but cherishes more proudly the post-race champagne bottle he keeps on display in a cabinet at their home.
The family drag racing tree’s first branch was Louie Trench, Tori’s grandfather. He raced, and in later years painted cars for NHRA drivers, including John Force.
He still does the paint jobs for his grandchildren.
Todd Trench says that he and his wife, Sandy, didn’t put any pressure on the kids to race. It turns out they didn’t have to. When it came down to a financial choice, T.J. chose drag racing over hockey. T.J. has won two track titles in the Junior Modified class at Route 66.
When Tori turned 8, she jumped right into a Junior Sportsman car, which tops out at speeds approaching 60 mph. In her second season in the Junior Sportsman class, Trench advanced to four finals in five events, won three of them and captured the track title.
She has consistently been a top-five driver in the Junior Modified division at Route 66.
Her 173-mph run in a Super Pro machine didn’t surprise dad.
“It was scary, but I knew she could do it,” Todd Trench said. “If I didn’t think she was ready, I wouldn’t have put her in that situation.
“I didn’t think we would finish the license process all in one day. She had to do six runs, and they all kind of went right after each other. When we knocked them out, I was like, ‘Well, this is really happening now.’ ”
Big brother can attest to her competitive spirit.
“Tori goes out there, gets down (the line) and does what she does best,” T.J. Trench said. “She has come a long way. It’s neat having her follow in my steps. I’m really proud of her.”