Dave Connolly has already won quite a few Pro Stock races at the young age of 24. This U.S. Nationals win has to rank up there as one of the most memorable, however. Not only is it the ‘grandaddy of all drag races’, but Connolly started the day with a win over Jason Line, then wrapped it up with a narrow victory over Greg Anderson in the finals. It was the second consecutive year that Connolly and Anderson met in the final round at the U.S. Nationals. This year, it was Connolly’s turn.

At one point in time last year, it was reported that Evan Knoll was considering withdrawing funding from any car in the NHRA Pro Stock category. According to the report, Knoll was tired of racing for third place behind KB Racing’s one-two punch.

It’s amazing how things can change.

In 2007, Anderson has remained the Pro Stock car to beat, but Connolly and his Victor Cagnazzi teammate Jeg Coughlin have been nipping uncomfortably close to Anderson’s heels all season long. With the win over Anderson, Connolly also moves into the points lead in the Countdown to the Championship.

“I felt real confident about the whole situation going into the finals,” Connolly said. “We had the best car all day long starting with that 6.64 in the first round, and we had lance choice which was huge today. It’s nice to say that we are the car that knocked Greg off that streak he had going. It’s also nice that we go up by one round over Greg with the Countdown to the Championship, and he is finally the one chasing us.”

Connolly was confident, but at the same time he was well aware of the circumstances and the situation he was in. “It was the first round of the Countdown, so that’s pressure. It was another KB Racing car, so that’s more pressure. It’s the U.S. Nationals on top of all that, so that’s even more pressure,” said Connolly. Handling the pressure is quickly become his trademark. “I knew we had them in performance, so I just didn’t want to screw up. I needed a .20 or .30 light, and we would be OK.”

On top of the U.S. Nationals win, Connolly and the Torco Race Fuels team are coming off a win at Reading last weekend.

“This is the first time we have ever won back-to-back races,” Connolly added. “I guess it’s something about those races that go on for a week. Maybe it makes you hungry sitting around waiting for the race to happen.”

The fact that he took out both KB Racing cars on his way to the finals wasn’t lost on him either. “I don’t think anyone will argue that that team has ruled Pro Stock for the past four years,” said Connolly. “This is a testament to the team Victor Cagnazzi has put together from the ground up, from the chassis to the engines to finding sponsors.”

Connolly knew he was doing something special when he started to pull away from Anderson in the back half of the track. If you’ve ever watched an NHRA broadcast, you know that just does not happen.

“We were actually outrunning those guys in the back half, which is amazing,” said the Elyria, OH native. “It shook the tires a little bit and moved to the left, so it had me on my toes. Being the finals at the U.S. Nationals, I was looking over to see where he was and I knew it was close, but I thought we had him by a foot.”