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.
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