Connolly, Torco Chevy Pro Stock Team Focus
On Round Wins That Lead to Championship
At 24, he’s the youngest Pro Stock driver still in contention for the 2007
NHRA POWERade Series championship. He also happens to be the current point
leader and the one with a two-race win streak.
It’s all been a bit overwhelming for Dave Connolly, but the Elyria, Ohio,
native is nonetheless primed for what he hopes will be a solid run to the
championship. There’s no question he got off to a good start in the first of four
Countdown to Four races when he simply outran the rest of the field to
capture the U.S. Nationals on a hot Labor Day in Indianapolis.
How good was it? Well, he defeated the series pacesetter, Greg Anderson, in
the title round, by eight-thousandths of a second.
Connolly would not hold a 14-point advantage over Anderson were it not for
the new Countdown format that reset points for the top eight drivers prior to
the Indy event. At the time, Connolly was 174 behind Anderson, but the
shuffle in points left him only 10 behind his rival – 2070-2060. And his victory
in Evan Knoll’s Torco Racing Fuels Chevy Cobalt provided the slim margin that
now separates Nos. 1 and 2.
“It was a big win just to get four rounds under our belt,” said Connolly. “
We only have four races before we make that second cut to stay in the top
four cars just to make sure you have a shot at the championship. These are
just four grueling races before you make the final cut. None of them are going
to be easy.”
The second of that quartet of events – the O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals –
unfolds at Memphis Motorsports Park, Sept. 14-16. The surviving four drivers
duel for the title at Las Vegas (Oct. 28) and Pomona (Nov. 4).
“It’s kind of nice to have everyone else chasing us,” added Connolly, “but
we won’t approach the next three races any differently. We just try to win
as many rounds as possible. We could have an early exit at Memphis and then
we’d be caught behind the 8-ball again.
“It was nice to get that one win out of the way. It was the U.S. Nationals .
. . that was pretty incredible. But it is just one step. If you look at the
big picture, it’s no different than winning at Memphis, Dallas or Richmond
(Va., sites of the next three races).”
Although young in years, Connolly is long in drag racing experience. Born
into a racing family – his dad, Ray, is a multi-national event winning
Sportsman racer – Dave began attending races early and began racing as soon as he
was old enough. He has two Sportsman national event victories – at Chicago in
2002 and Seattle in 2004, where he also was runner-up in Pro Stock. He
finished in the top five (third, fifth, third) in his first three professional
seasons.
Dave and his dad have shared the winner’s circle several times, Chicago2 in
2004 and St. Louis this year, with Ray Connolly winning in Super Comp both
times.
While developing into one of Pro Stock’s finest young drivers, Connolly has
become one of the most proficient, and feared, at the starting line. His
quick reflexes resulted in numerous hole-shot round wins. Overall, he has won 14
races in 26 final rounds in his first 100 events, but it wasn’t until this
year, his second with Victor Cagnazzi’s team, that he became a legitimate
title contender.
“It’s been kind of incredible,” said Connolly. “Last year we struggled a
bit at the beginning of the season. After we made a crew change, we went on
to pick up four wins with the crew we have now. We have continuously gotten
stronger. With the same team, we’ve come out and won five races so far, which
is our best in a season, and we still have five more races to go. And we are
leading the points, thanks to the new playoff system, but we’ve come
together as team – everybody Victor has put together. It’s awesome.
“The performance level of the whole team has improved and I don’t see it
falling down. I’m just happy that I am a part of it. I’m a small ingredient
in the whole recipe.
“I can’t thank (crew chief) Tommy Utt enough for getting the car up and
down the track like he has. And even though we outran everybody at Indy, we are
still going testing on Tuesday before the Memphis race. There is still room
for improvement and we want to stay ahead of everyone. In Pro Stock, if you
sit still too long you’ll be looking ahead at somebody. You have to keep
plugging away. The guys in our engine shop definitely are and our on-track
performance has really excelled.
“We enjoyed the week-and-a-half since the U.S. Nationals, and now we have to
put that out of our mind and get focused on Memphis.”
Connolly will be doubly-focused this weekend. He’ll be at the controls of
his Super Comp dragster, too, using the experiences to fine-tune his already
potent reaction times.
“I plan on racing as much as I can to stay sharp for the rest of the year,”
he said. “I’m racing Super Comp at Memphis and Richmond (Va., Oct. 7). I
want to get as much seat time as possible to stay ahead of everybody.”
# # #
Television Schedule:
Saturday, Sept. 15, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD qualifying highlights, 10
p.m.-midnight, ET
Sunday, Sept. 16, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD eliminations, 7-10 p.m., ET
# # #
For more information on Torco Racing Fuels, SKULL Shine Car Care Products
and SKULL Gear apparel, please visit: www.torcoracefuels.com or www.torcoracefuels.com. |
