DAVE CONNOLLY – NEVER TAKING DRAG RACING FOR GRANTED
Dave Connolly sat at his kitchen table on a particularly cool January
morning, looking forward to the coming season. The talented Pro Stock
driver was pondering the upcoming season over a bowl of Fruit Loops and
planning a trip to team owner Victor Cagnazzi’s shop to prepare for
another run at an elusive world championship. Then his phone rang and every vision of topping 2007’s five-win streak came to a crashing halt.
On the other end of the phone, Cagnazzi informed Connolly unless sponsorship could be procured in the 11th hour, he wouldn’t be racing at the season-opener the next month in Pomona, Ca. Sponsor Evan Knoll’s Torco Race Fuels had pulled every race team sponsorship they had including his.
All of a sudden, the Fruit Loops didn’t have the same appeal they’d presented minutes earlier.
Against all odds Pro Stock superstar will race for the 2008 NHRA Pro Stock Championship
Dave Connolly sat at his kitchen table on a particularly cool January morning, looking forward to the coming season. The
Then his phone rang and every vision of topping 2007’s five-win streak came to a crashing halt.
On the other end of the phone, Cagnazzi informed Connolly unless sponsorship could be procured in the 11th hour, he wouldn’t be racing at the season-opener the next month in Pomona, Ca. Sponsor Evan Knoll’s Torco Race Fuels had pulled every race team sponsorship they had including his.
All of a sudden, the Fruit Loops didn’t have the same appeal they’d presented minutes earlier.
Connolly, 25, from Elyria, Ohio, looks back to that day of infamy as a character builder. Driving a Pro Stocker for Connolly now commands a different attitude.
This wasn’t the first time that Connolly had lost his team, but this time was different. There was a measure of finality this time. Two years earlier Knoll had purchased a Pro Stock team from the Carrier Brothers when previous owner Mike Dzurilla decided to park the championship-contending team.
The difference between then and this time was that Connolly never missed a race in the transition. Lots of people made sure of that.
There’s a reason behind everything. Obviously more and more of the Torco saga is coming out now but you can’t lose sight of the fact Evan Knoll was great to me, if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have been able to drive for the last two seasons.
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This time there was no one to save him.
Connolly admitted he learned quickly that driving a Pro Stocker was a privilege and not a right. At least in his case that’s how he saw it.
“For the first time in my life since going Pro Stock, I really didn’t know if I’d get another opportunity to drive again,” Connolly added.
No teams called. No one really called.
Outside of the score of well-wishers seeking to keep the robotic driver upbeat about his dismal situation, Connolly had no reason to be optimistic about his chances.
Connolly had two choices, sit around his home and sulk, or maintain a positive attitude. He chose the latter and returned to bracket racing.
“I did everything I could do to get my mind off of it,” Connolly said of the loss of his ride. “I went back sportsman racing, did a lot of divisional stuff to keep myself busy. It just wasn’t the same because I love these Pro Stock cars, I’m kind of a door-car guy and this has always been my dream and this is the class of choice for me and fortunately what I’ve been able to do for the past five years.”
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Racing, even in sportsman competition, kept Connolly in the mindset of a champion. The experience enabled Connolly to clear his mind of the constant pressures professional drag racing generates.
Just ask Connolly, he’s a better person for the experience.
“It’s a real eye opener, not that I’ve ever taken this job for granted, but it really makes you appreciate when you get back out here and especially just working with the team we have at Cagnazzi,” said Connolly. “There are so many deals out here where the team chemistry just isn’t there and you see some of the drivers out here aren’t having fun. Even when things are going bad out here I remember that a bad day at the races is better than a good day sitting at the house.”
Every race I’ve gone out there this year I’ve raced like it’s my last race. I found out many times in my short career that it could be my last time and you never know what’s going to happen.
That mindset inspired Connolly to leave home and head to Cagnazzi’s shop in case something came together at the last moment. He wasn’t close to giving up.
Connolly has taken gambles on the starting line before and won, but fortunately for him he gained a holeshot in another arena.
The car he’d garnered so much success with in 2007 was now driven by Ron Krisher, who had joined the Cagnazzi operation as an engine lease customer. That car, Connolly described, “Was the best car I ever drove.”
Connolly promised himself if the opportunity did present itself, he was going to have a car ready to go.
The phone call hadn’t arrived, but one thing was sure, Connolly would be ready for it, unlike the one that came while he was eating breakfast months earlier.
“Victor had a car sitting there that just needed to be put together,” Connolly recalled. “We didn’t even had the slightest chance of getting back out there, but I went to North Carolina probably three weeks before Atlanta. We worked every day many late hours up until midnight trying to get that thing ready to go.”
The deal with Charter Communications was inked a week before the NHRA Summit Southern Nationals in Atlanta, Ga. Five races in the hole, Connolly had a massive deficit to overcome.
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Not that big of a deal if you’re Dave Connolly.
“It’s funny because people are like what’d you think you had to do to make the Countdown and everything else,” Connolly explained. “To be honest, I was so happy to be out there racing I could care less if I went out there and made the countdown or not.
“It’s a lesson to be learned, it’s in the past. Every race I’ve gone out there this year I’ve raced like it’s my last race. I found out many times in my short career that it could be my last time and you never know what’s going to happen. We just go out there and appreciate the time we’ve got. We drive like it’s the last pass around the track. I think my driving has really come around this year. I’m at peace with myself more, the small things don’t bother me and I guess it all comes with age and just maturing as a driver.”
That’s why Connolly managed to work his way into the top ten of NHRA Pro Stock points in only ten races. He averaged a semi-final finish in those events and by the season’s end had ascended as high as sixth.
Such a feat, some might believe, would overshadow his five consecutive race win feat that swept the second phase of the three-part 2007 Countdown to the Championship. Not hardly according to Connolly.
“That’s something I won’t forget until I win six in a row,” Connolly said. “There are only a few drivers with Lee Shepherd, Ronnie Sox and Bob Glidden that have been able to pull that off. Championship or no championship, pulling that off still ranks pretty high on my list of accomplishments.”
Pulling off his first championship would be the centerpiece of his storied career.
Connolly’s story tells the positives and negatives of the NHRA’s championship format which was introduced in 2007. He won five races and lost the championship.
“To miss five races, it would definitely be amazing to go out there and win the championship would be a feat. It’s all due to the new Countdown format or we’d never have a shot at winning the championship. I’ve always said I’m not a big fan of it, a season long championship should be decided season long but we’re not going to give it back. You haven’t seen Jeg Coughlin give his trophy back because he didn’t like the countdown or whatever the case was last year.
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“If we can go out there we’re going to give it our best shot and see what happens and hopefully we can walk away with the trophy and the championship. The crew, [crew chief] Tommy [Utt] and the rest of the guys they deserve a championship and hopefully I’m sitting in the driver’s seat and can be the one who gives it to them.”
Connolly reflects back to that day, standing in the kitchen and throughout the ordeal, he admits anger never entered the equation. After all, he reminds, driving is a privilege, not a right.
“I can’t say that I was angry,” Connolly admitted. “There’s a reason behind everything. Obviously more and more of the Torco saga is coming out now but you can’t lose sight of the fact Evan Knoll was great to me, if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have been able to drive for the last two seasons.
“I’m not going to be the one to sit there and have a petty cry and everything else. They’ve been good to me; they were the ones who kept me out here. It was great they gave me the top notch equipment to work with, they put us in the Winner’s Circle about 10 or 11 times, I think I’ve gotten most of my wins in Pro Stock with Torco on the side of the car. I take it for what it is and I appreciate the time spent. Hopefully everything works out for them in the future.
“But then we were fortunate to sign with the team at Charter Communications, they were our savior this year. I’m so excited about the opportunity they’ve given us.”
This opportunity is something he’s not taking for granted.
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