The Elyria, Ohio, native returns to nearby Norwalk for NHRA’s inaugural Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, a renovated and renamed Norwalk Raceway Park, Friday through Sunday.
Just in case anyone isn’t familiar with what Connolly has done since emerging as one of NHRA’s raising Pro Stock standouts, here is a brief summary:
—Three successive top five finishes (3-5-3)—10 Pro Stock victories—2 Sportsman victories—25 Final rounds (22 Pro Stock, 3 Sportsman)—A reputation as one of the quickest drivers leaving the starting line
That’s a pretty impressive resume for a 24-year-old. Dave’s dad Ray races and Dave grew up in the sport. Ray, a Sportsman driver, and Dave have shared the winner’s podium together twice, a rare honor that occurred last month in St. Louis and 2004 in Chicago.
Dave Connolly, 24, will be driving the Evan Knoll-owned Torco Racing Fuels/Seelye Wright Automotive Group Chevy Cobalt. He has one win (St. Louis) and one runner-up (Topeka) this year and is third in POWERade Series points with 660.
“It’s exciting. Everyone from Grandma to high school friends that I haven’ t seen in a long time will be stopping by, ” said Connolly. “You always want to perform well at your hometown track. It’s been six or seven years since I’ve been to Norwalk. It has always been a beautiful track”
Performing well in front of all the friends and family carries a bit of extra pressure, but not much more than Connolly feels at each race. Pro Stock competition is as close as it always has been, with one or two-thousandths of seconds customarily deciding outcomes.
This is the 11th of 17 races featured in NHRA’s Countdown to Eight. The top eight drivers after No. 17 continue on a championship path. Points are readjusted and four races later the number of contenders drops to four. They will battle it out over the final two races.
Dave Connolly won’t have much time to visit after the race. He and the team are at the beginning of an unprecedented six straight races with the next event scheduled in Bristol, Tenn., beginning July 6. The remaining three are at Denver, where he’s defending champion, Seattle and Sonoma, Calif.
Evan Knoll, founder of Knoll Gas-Torco Racing Fuels and a major sponsor of motorsports, has dedicated himself to bringing high quality racing fuel to every aspect of motorsports. When Evan is not spending time with his daughters you will find him following one of his many-sponsored race teams. Evan is a loyal family man and an avid drag racing fan.
The company also offers commercial and racing oils and lubes; SKULL Shine, a complete line of car care products; SKULL Gear, a complete line of apparel, traction compound, and racing-related accessories.
The Seelye Wright name carries every American manufacturer from General Motors to Ford to Mopar. They also have a prosperous Kia dealership and plan to add the Hyundai brand soon. Seelye Wright has been in business for over 25 years. Knoll became a partner in the thriving business in 2006.
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