|
Dave Connolly Loses Early, Finishes Third |
Dave Connolly Finishes Third
In 2007 Pro Stock Title Race
It definitely wasn’t the way Dave Connolly thought his 2007 NHRA POWERade
Series season would end . . . in the first round, on a foul start in the Auto
Club Finals at Pomona, Calif.
But it did Sunday, and a disappointed Connolly accepted full blame for his
minus-13 thousandths of a second red light loss to Mike Edwards. “It shouldn’
t have been red,” said Connolly. “It is my fault. I totally messed up. I
was just trying to get up. I really didn’t want to leave anything on the
table (at the starting line) because you can’t. Edwards is so competitive.”
Edwards won with a 6.703-second elapsed time at 206.10 mph.
“It has been a good season altogether. We’ve accomplished a lot,” continued
Connolly, driver of Evan Knoll’s Torco Racing Fuels Chevy Cobalt for Victor
Cagnazzi Racing. “It just wasn’t meant to be, or things would’ve been a
little different.”
When the sun set at Pomona, Connolly was third in points (3126) for the
third time in his four-year Pro Stock career. It was, however, his finest season
in terms of victories. He became the fourth driver in his category to win
five straight races – joining Ronnie Sox, Bob Glidden and Greg Anderson. And
he had eight wins in nine final rounds. Included were triumphs at his home
track in Norwalk, Ohio, and the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis. He also was the
No. 1 qualifier three times, including Sunday.
“We had a great season,” Connolly said. “I want to thank Evan and Victor
Cagnazzi and all the people at the shop. It won’t be long before we start
working on the 2008 season.”
Jeg Coughlin, also running out of Cagnazzi Racing, won the championship and
Greg Anderson was second with 3173 points.
It all begins again at Pomona on Feb. 7-10. |
