After doubling up in the winner's circle with his dad Ray Connolly at the
recently completed O'Reilly Midwest Nationals in St. Louis, that little dose of
success has breathed fresh air and new life into Dave Connolly's campaign to
capture his first NHRA POWERade Pro Stock championship. With three consecutive
top-five points finishes already in tow, and with what may be the best car and
race-team combination he's ever competed with, the Torco Racing Fuels Chevy
Cobalt driver is feeling bullish about his title chances in
2007.
"Without question, I couldn't ask for a better team or group to be
associated with," said Connolly. "Victor (Cagnazzi) has put together all the
right people toward creating a successful program, locating it in Mooresville
(N.C.) in the heart of NASCAR and building a beautiful new shop and now we're
ready to make a run at the championship. Evan Knoll is about the best team owner
a driver could have and Torco Racing Fuels is about the best sponsor a team
could have. Even when we got beat in Las Vegas, Evan said to me, 'I'm not going
to tell you how to drive. You know what to do.' He's very loyal to his drivers
and his teams.
"Tommy Utt, our crew chief, and John Utt, our clutch guy,
do a great job. Tommy's like a second dad to me and John's like a second
brother, and we've all worked together from just about day one. John was with me
when I made my first Pro Stock pass in Chicago in 2003, and other than a small
timeframe, Tommy's also been right there with us. We can talk openly with each
other because the whole team chemistry is there. Our engine program has done
extremely well. We're consistently No. 3 and 4 on the backhalf and with a little
time, we're going to be right up in front. I also have a great teammate to work
with in Jeggie (Coughlin). We were friends long before we were teammates and
none of that has changed. We were both in a slump after Atlanta, but he also
drove extremely well in St. Louis."
