Memphis: Dave Connolly final summary

Connolly Misses First-round Win by One-thousandth of Second at Memphis

Last Sunday, Dave Connolly bit the bear. One week later the bear bit back, by one-thousandth of a second.

Dave Connolly hoped to continue cutting away at the Pro Stock points difference between himself, second place Greg Anderson and leader Jason Line but didn 't get the opportunity following a close first-round setback Sunday at miserably hot (temperatures in the 101-degree range) Memphis Motorsports Park.

Connolly, meeting veteran Warren Johnson in the first round for the third time in the last four races, was atypically slow off the starting line and it cost him at the finish line.

"I simply didn't drive like I wanted to win that round," the dejected driver of the SKULL Gear Chevy Cobalt said. "It was nobody's fault but mine. We ran good and we had a good car . . ."

Despite Sunday's outcome, Connolly remains one of the quickest leavers in the Pro Stock category.

By the numbers, Connolly had the better elapsed time, 6.788 seconds, to Johnson's 6.814 seconds, but Johnson's .024-second reaction to Connolly's .051 provided the miniscule winning margin.

Connolly has worked his way from 12th to third in POWERade Series points and has 1074 points with six races remaining. Anderson and Line won their first-round races before thunderstorms stopped competition. Action had not resumed as of 8 p.m. central time.

Connolly and the SKULL Gear Chevy Cobalt resume the POWERade Series competition at the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Sept. 1-4, at Indianapolis.

-credit: dcr