CONNOLLY TOPS SEATTLE PRO STOCK QUALIFYING FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR
Sun, 2008-07-20 09:00
Dave Connolly drove the Charter Communications/Lifelock Chevy Cobalt to
a Pro Stock track-record and career-best elapsed time of 6.573 seconds
at 209.49 mph, and captured the race day pole for the 21st annual
Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals.
"What a difference a weekend makes, from last week to this one," Connolly said. "Our performance is a lot better and our team morale is at a high right now. For GM and Chevrolet, we got to keep this Cobalt in the No. 1 spot, and we'll see what tomorrow brings."
It marks the second straight year that the 25-year-old Charlotte, N.C., has captured the No. 1 qualifying position at Pacific Raceways and his seventh career race day pole. Dave Connolly drove the Charter Communications/Lifelock Chevy Cobalt to a Pro Stock track-record and career-best elapsed time of 6.573 seconds at 209.49 mph, and captured the race day pole for the 21st annual Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals.
"What a difference a weekend makes, from last week to this one," Connolly said. "Our performance is a lot better and our team morale is at a high right now. For GM and Chevrolet, we got to keep this Cobalt in the No. 1 spot, and we'll see what tomorrow brings."
It marks the second straight year that the 25-year-old Charlotte, N.C., has captured the No. 1 qualifying position at Pacific Raceways and his seventh career race day pole.
"This morning I was hoping to stay in the No. 1 spot, and we managed to do that even though Greg (Anderson) and some other cars made some pretty nice runs," Connolly said. "Basically this was about race day setup. It looks like the weather might be a little warm for us tomorrow, so for us to go out there, and make a nice run down the track, I think we were second in that final session to Allen Johnson, that points us in the right direction. We'll make some adjustments and see what Tommy Utt can do on a hot track - he's usually pretty tough. Hopefully it's a beautiful sunny day and we can go four rounds."
Connolly missed the first five races of the season and then suffered a round-one loss at his first contest back on the circuit at Atlanta. He has still managed to climb the POWERade points ladder all the way up to 11th place in the standings with only five races remaining before the final 10 positions for the Countdown to One are determined following the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis.
"We're trying to get into the top 10 of the Countdown and every point is critical to us," Connolly said. "There are only five races before they make the first cut to 10 and we're hoping to be a part of that. For us to be able to pick up the No. 1 spot, and those extra eight points, that means a lot to us. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Sunday is the most important day out here, each round counts for 20 points and we we're playing catch-up right now. We have our work cut out for us, but with the way things are going this weekend, we just hope to keep making good runs like we have since we hit the ground here."
CLINCHED - Tim Wilkerson (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) became the first in the respective categories to clinch a top ten berth. Headed into this event, Tony Schumacher was the only driver to clinch a berth.
"What a difference a weekend makes, from last week to this one," Connolly said. "Our performance is a lot better and our team morale is at a high right now. For GM and Chevrolet, we got to keep this Cobalt in the No. 1 spot, and we'll see what tomorrow brings."
It marks the second straight year that the 25-year-old Charlotte, N.C., has captured the No. 1 qualifying position at Pacific Raceways and his seventh career race day pole. Dave Connolly drove the Charter Communications/Lifelock Chevy Cobalt to a Pro Stock track-record and career-best elapsed time of 6.573 seconds at 209.49 mph, and captured the race day pole for the 21st annual Schuck's Auto Supply NHRA Nationals.
"What a difference a weekend makes, from last week to this one," Connolly said. "Our performance is a lot better and our team morale is at a high right now. For GM and Chevrolet, we got to keep this Cobalt in the No. 1 spot, and we'll see what tomorrow brings."
It marks the second straight year that the 25-year-old Charlotte, N.C., has captured the No. 1 qualifying position at Pacific Raceways and his seventh career race day pole.
"This morning I was hoping to stay in the No. 1 spot, and we managed to do that even though Greg (Anderson) and some other cars made some pretty nice runs," Connolly said. "Basically this was about race day setup. It looks like the weather might be a little warm for us tomorrow, so for us to go out there, and make a nice run down the track, I think we were second in that final session to Allen Johnson, that points us in the right direction. We'll make some adjustments and see what Tommy Utt can do on a hot track - he's usually pretty tough. Hopefully it's a beautiful sunny day and we can go four rounds."
Connolly missed the first five races of the season and then suffered a round-one loss at his first contest back on the circuit at Atlanta. He has still managed to climb the POWERade points ladder all the way up to 11th place in the standings with only five races remaining before the final 10 positions for the Countdown to One are determined following the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis.
"We're trying to get into the top 10 of the Countdown and every point is critical to us," Connolly said. "There are only five races before they make the first cut to 10 and we're hoping to be a part of that. For us to be able to pick up the No. 1 spot, and those extra eight points, that means a lot to us. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Sunday is the most important day out here, each round counts for 20 points and we we're playing catch-up right now. We have our work cut out for us, but with the way things are going this weekend, we just hope to keep making good runs like we have since we hit the ground here."
CLINCHED - Tim Wilkerson (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) became the first in the respective categories to clinch a top ten berth. Headed into this event, Tony Schumacher was the only driver to clinch a berth.
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