Denver: Dave Connolly preview

Connolly Pleased  with Torco Racing Chevy's
Performance; Seeks Repeat Victory at  Denver

Multiple races seem to suit Dave Connolly.

He's done quite well in the past three NHRA POWERade Series races at Englishtown, N.J., Norwalk, Ohio, and Bristol, Tenn., in successive weeks with a win (Norwalk), semifinal (Bristol) and quarterfinal finishes. Now the driver of Evan Knoll's Torco Racing Fuels Pro Stock Chevy Cobalt is preparing for another three in a row, beginning at Denver.

Connolly actually has  been running very well all season.  He has two
victories in three final  rounds and has his sights set on adding another win in the
Mopar Mile-High  Nationals, Friday through Sunday, at Bandimere Speedway.

Connolly,  who has a firm hold on third place (851 points), also has done
well at several  altitude tracks on the circuit.  He is defending champ at
Bandimere  Speedway and was runner-up in 2005.

"I don't know what it is about altitude tracks like Denver, Brainerd (Minn.) and Las Vegas, but I always seem to run well at those tracks," Connolly said.

His first Pro  Stock win came at Brainerd (2004) and he won there again last
year.  He won  at Las Vegas 1 in 2005 and was runner-up a year later.

"The car  really reacts differently in Denver" due to the altitude, said
Connolly. "I'm  real busy in the first half of the track and everything seems to
slow down in  the second part . . . almost like slow motion."

Crew chief Tommy  Utt is in charge of making combination changes that will
get the Cobalt down the  track quicker in atmospheric conditions that definitely
hinder going  fast.

"I don't mind leaving that up to Tommy," continued Connolly. "We weren't able to test at Bandimere before the race, but I know other drivers have. I' m confident Tommy will have the car ready and do his normal deal and we'll see how everything goes."

-credit: dc/jls