Commerce: Dave Connolly Friday notes

Connolly Returns after Layoff: Sixth after First Day at Atlanta
New Charter Communications Chevy Cobalt Posts Best of 6.662 Seconds

Dave Connolly took the first steps toward getting back into contention for one of the 10 of NHRA's Countdown to the Championship 10 spots Friday when he returned to competition following a five-race hiatus . . . and he looked right at home in the new Charter Communications Chevy Cobalt.

Team owner Victor Cagnazzi and the crew welcomed new primary sponsor Charter Communications and associate sponsor LifeLock earlier in the day and then got down to business.

Connolly had the same crew -- led by Tommy Utt -- that he had last year and they didn't perform like they had a long, five-month layoff. He ran what he described as a bad run on his opening lap but rallied with a 6.662-second, 207.05-mph effort in the evening to climb into sixth place with two more qualifying attempts slated Saturday.

"This was definitely a good day," Connolly said. "It was nice just being out here again. We would've liked to run better Friday night, but we had to make a more conservative run to make sure we made the top 12.

"There's definitely room for improvement," he continued. "We do have a great race car and we'll be ready to go Saturday. I was smiling all day."

-credit: cr