Dave Connolly has proven himself as an NHRA driver in Pro Stock and Top Fuel and as a crew chief for the Gray Motorsports Pro Stock car team, specifically Tanner Gray.

Gray has had an outstanding rookie season, winning four races and becoming a viable contender to win a world championship.

Connolly had plenty on his plate last weekend as Johnny, Shane and Tanner Grayall raced the Pro Stock class at the U.S. Nationals.

“For me, obviously, Indy has always been a prestigious race and to have all three generations is just special,” Connolly said. “Granted it’s a lot of work. Trying to keep everything straight between running three cars but we were up for the challenge. I think it was a lot of fun. I know Johnny’s really enjoyed it. Even going testing at Zmax Monday and Tuesday, Johnny had a lot of fun driving the car again. That’s what it’s all about. He’s spent a lot of money, time, blood, sweat and tears into this sport so he’s in a position in his life to where he can do this with his family and go out there and have fun. I think it’s great.”

Connolly drove a Pro Stock car for Gray Motorsports in 2014, finishing third in the points chase on the strength of three wins. He joined the Gray Motorsports Pro Stock team again as a crew chief for driver Shane at the Southern Nationals in May of 2016 in Atlanta.

“What I love about the class is you never stop learning,” Connolly said. “It’s an ongoing science project with these cars. You can be zero to hero pretty fast. I’m not going to dwell too much on some of the success we’ve had recently, we’re going to just keep digging. The ultimate goal is the championship. I think Tanner has what it takes. It takes everyone. It takes a lot of the right personnel and Gray Motorsports finally has that. It just takes a lot of years to finally have the group of people that they have established right now, from the engine shop to everything. It’s a well-oiled machine. So, for now we’re just going to keep digging and that’s all we can do is just take it one pass at a time.”

As a driver, Connolly has won 26 NHRA national events. He also ran Bob Vandergriff Jr.’s Top Fuel dragster for 28 races.

Connolly finished 10th in the Top Fuel point standings in 2015, highlighted by his three runner-up finishes at Sonoma, Calif., Indianapolis and St. Louis. He also made it to two semifinal rounds last season and two in 2016 before the team disbanded.

Although Connolly is an ultra-talented driver, he’s not in any hurry to be in the cockpit again.

“You know, I don’t have my senior citizen card or anything like that,” Connolly said. “I was holding a steering wheel from the time I was 15 so I’ve got 18 or 19 years behind the wheel. I’ve got my fix in and I was very fortunate to get to race with the folks that I have and there’s no regrets there. I guess it’s because I spent so much more time on the crew chief role, but it’s more gratifying to go out there and watch the kid (Tanner) do good.”