Connolly Pleased with Torco Racing Chevy’s Performance; Seeks Repeat Victory at Denver
Multiple races seem to suit Dave Connolly.
He’s done quite well in the past three NHRA POWERade Series races at Englishtown, N.J., Norwalk, Ohio, and Bristol, Tenn., in successive weeks with a win (Norwalk), semifinal (Bristol) and quarterfinal finishes. Now the driver of Evan Knoll’s Torco Racing Fuels Pro Stock Chevy Cobalt is preparing for another three in a row, beginning at Denver.
Connolly actually has been running very well all season. He has two victories in three final rounds and has his sights set on adding another win in the Mopar Mile-High Nationals, Friday through Sunday, at Bandimere Speedway.
Connolly, who has a firm hold on third place (851 points), also has done well at several altitude tracks on the circuit. He is defending champ at Bandimere Speedway and was runner-up in 2005.
“I don’t know what it is about altitude tracks like Denver, Brainerd (Minn. ) and Las Vegas, but I always seem to run well at those tracks, ” Connolly said.
His first Pro Stock win came at Brainerd (2004) and he won there again last year. He won at Las Vegas 1 in 2005 and was runner-up a year later.
“The car really reacts differently in Denver” due to the altitude, said Connolly. “I’m real busy in the first half of the track and everything seems to slow down in the second part . .. almost like slow motion. ”
Crew chief Tommy Utt is in charge of making combination changes that will get the Cobalt down the track quicker in atmospheric conditions that definitely hinder going fast.
“I don’t mind leaving that up to Tommy, ” continued Connolly. “We weren’t able to test at Bandimere before the race, but I know other drivers have. I’ m confident Tommy will have the car ready and do his normal deal and we’ll see how everything goes. ”
This is the 12th of 17 Countdown to Eight events that send the top eight drivers into the second portion of the NHRA’s new championship format. The field is trimmed to four after the next four races, leaving the remaining four drivers to vie for the title in back-to-back races at Las Vegas and Pomona.
Races at Seattle and Sonoma complete the NHRA’s traditional Western Swing and the unusual six straight races.
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