Commerce: Dave Connolly final summary

Dave Connolly Advances to Semifinals; Maintains Hold on Third Place

COMMERCE, Ga., April 29, 2007 -- Bravo! Brands Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BRVO): A disgusted Dave Connolly wasn't happy with his first-round performance in Sunday's Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

And that's putting it mildly. Connolly, who qualified the Torco Racing Fuels/Slammers Ultimate Milk Chevy Cobalt fifth (6.655 seconds), was upset by Kurt Johnson and upset at himself for letting it happen. Simply put, Johnson used a quicker reaction time .017-second to .069 to reach the finish line first -- 6.710 seconds at 206.35 mph to Connolly's 6.664 at 206.91 mph. The winning margin was sixth-thousandths of a second.

"From the driving side, I had the fastest car I've ever had and was driving my worst," Connolly said. "I let the team and myself down. I can tell you that I will be working hard on the practice 'tree to get ready for our race next week at St. Louis (May 4-6)."

The weekend's conclusion did mirror Connolly's up-and-down qualifying effort. He had an engine problem and wasn't in the top 16 after Friday's two runs. He wound up making just one competitive lap, the 6.655-second result being fifth quickest.

Connolly also planned to confer with his crew chief, Tommy Utt, and his Jeg Coughlin, his Slammers Ultimate Milk teammate who also was upset by a slower elapsed time. "The car and the setup do figure in the equation, too, he added.

Connolly isfourth in POWERade Series points with 363, eight behind Coughlin.

-credit: jls/dc