Denver: Dave Connolly final summary

Quick Reactions Help Connolly to Runner-up Finish at Denver

DENVER - Dave Connolly used quick reaction times to post upset round wins en route to send the Skull Gear Chevrolet Cobalt into the Mopar Mile-High Nationals Pro Stock Sunday at Bandimere Speedway, and he really didn't mind settling for second place.

After a come-from-behind win over Mike Thomas in the first round, Connolly's quicker starting-line reaction times paved the way for unexpected wins over Greg Anderson and Kurt Johnson. It was Kurt's father, Warren, who was the winner in the final round.

"We've struggled on this mountain (the track is more than 5,280 feet above sea level) every time we've been here, including testing, but this runner-up was good," said Connolly. "We have nothing to complain about. It was just our day to be runner-up."

Connolly qualified ninth and managed to catch Thomas with a time of 7.197 seconds at 192.38 mph to 7.232 at 192.11 mph. The winning margin was four-thousandths of a second.

Connolly, rated as one of the category's best (starting line) leavers, had an unusually slow .078 reaction against Thomas, but he more than made up for that against Anderson, the two-time defending POWERade Series champion.

Although Anderson had the quickest run, 7.188 at 192.71, Connolly reached the finish line first with a time of 7.213 at 191.43. The difference was a .007 reaction to a .041.

Another quick leave, this time .010 to .033, led to the decision over Kurt Johnson, 7.199 at 191.67 to 7.184 at 192.14.

In the finals, Connolly came up one-thousandths of a second short of a perfect .000 reaction time and fouled out. Warren Johnson prevailed with a 7.131 at 193.16.

"Everything went our way today until the final," added Connolly. "I had the breaks. Kurt made a bad run and Greg made a bad run. We were just kind of squeaking by."