CONNOLLY GUNNING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP CHASE; PROVISIONAL NO. 1 BODES WELL IN SEATTLE
Sat, 2008-07-19 12:28
Dave Connolly led the Pro Stock field during the first day at Pacific Raceways.
The 25-year-old Connolly, a resident of Charlotte, N.C., drove his Chevy Cobalt to a track-record and
career-best elapsed time of 6.573 seconds at 209.49 mph to take the
provisional pole with two rounds of qualifying remaining on Saturday.
"Last year we ended up winning this race after the rain delay and wound up setting the track record in the finals," Connolly said. "We came out today, reset the record in Q1 and then reset it again in Q2. Seattle has been excellent to us and we're on a chase to make the top 10 and hopefully that Countdown to One. We missed the first five races of the season, so we have our work cut out for us. Dave Connolly led the Pro Stock field during the first day at Pacific Raceways.
The 25-year-old Connolly, a resident of Charlotte, N.C., drove his Chevy Cobalt to a track-record and
career-best elapsed time of 6.573 seconds at 209.49 mph to take the
provisional pole with two rounds of qualifying remaining on Saturday.
"Last year we ended up winning this race after the rain delay and wound up setting the track record in the finals," Connolly said. "We came out today, reset the record in Q1 and then reset it again in Q2. Seattle has been excellent to us and we're on a chase to make the top 10 and hopefully that Countdown to One. We missed the first five races of the season, so we have our work cut out for us.
"Last weekend, we let a good opportunity slip away from us at Denver. We struggled from the time we got there, but we came here, looked over everything and got it right for the first pass. Tommy Utt is doing an excellent job making good calls and today we hit the track running. It's a complete 180 from last weekend. Even though our Charter Communications Chevrolet is a great car, we still have two sessions left to try and hold onto that No. 1 spot. We'll see what happens
"That first run, I short shifted it a little bit, which was really the only thing we adjusted for during the night session. These cars are separated by only thousandths of a second and every little driver error tends to show up."
Connolly is the defending Pro Stock champion at the Schuck's Auto Supply Nationals and he was also the No. 1 qualifier at this event a year ago. He was the No. 1 qualifier in June at the NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka, Kan., and currently has six career No. 1 qualifying awards.
"The Charter Communications Chevy Cobalt was under control and gettin' it, so I knew it was going to be a good run," Connolly said. "I was only hoping that it would be good enough to take out Jason's (Line) 6.58 in front of us, and fortunately for us, it was."
Dave Connolly is hard at work making up for lost time.
"Last year we ended up winning this race after the rain delay and wound up setting the track record in the finals," Connolly said. "We came out today, reset the record in Q1 and then reset it again in Q2. Seattle has been excellent to us and we're on a chase to make the top 10 and hopefully that Countdown to One. We missed the first five races of the season, so we have our work cut out for us. Dave Connolly led the Pro Stock field during the first day at Pacific Raceways.
Dave Connolly is hard at work making up for lost time.
"Last year we ended up winning this race after the rain delay and wound up setting the track record in the finals," Connolly said. "We came out today, reset the record in Q1 and then reset it again in Q2. Seattle has been excellent to us and we're on a chase to make the top 10 and hopefully that Countdown to One. We missed the first five races of the season, so we have our work cut out for us.
"Last weekend, we let a good opportunity slip away from us at Denver. We struggled from the time we got there, but we came here, looked over everything and got it right for the first pass. Tommy Utt is doing an excellent job making good calls and today we hit the track running. It's a complete 180 from last weekend. Even though our Charter Communications Chevrolet is a great car, we still have two sessions left to try and hold onto that No. 1 spot. We'll see what happens
"That first run, I short shifted it a little bit, which was really the only thing we adjusted for during the night session. These cars are separated by only thousandths of a second and every little driver error tends to show up."
Connolly is the defending Pro Stock champion at the Schuck's Auto Supply Nationals and he was also the No. 1 qualifier at this event a year ago. He was the No. 1 qualifier in June at the NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka, Kan., and currently has six career No. 1 qualifying awards.
"The Charter Communications Chevy Cobalt was under control and gettin' it, so I knew it was going to be a good run," Connolly said. "I was only hoping that it would be good enough to take out Jason's (Line) 6.58 in front of us, and fortunately for us, it was."
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