Richmond: Dave Connolly Saturday rain notes

Rain Postpones Torco Racing Fuels Nationals for One Week
Delay Will Help Connolly Get New Car Ready for Richmond Race

RICHMOND, Va., October 7, 2006 -- When Dave Connolly began the weekend, he thought he would be driving his old SKULL Gear Chevy Cobalt instead of his new 2006 Cobalt. An electrical problem discovered during testing Wednesday forced the team to bring its older chassis.

But two days of stormy weather forced postponement of the Torco Racing Fuels Nationals until October 12-15 at Virginia Motorsports Park. The team plans to fix the new Cobalt's problem and test before bringing it to Richmond for Friday's qualifying. This is the second time in three races that inclement weather forced a competitive delay. The Toyo Tires Nationals at Reading, Pa., was delayed for two weeks.

None of the cars gathered for NHRA's first race at VMP since 2000 had an opportunity to test the new racing surface. Rain began falling early Friday morning and continued until Saturday afternoon, turning track parking areas into quagmires.

NHRA officials said this week's race schedule would be followed next week. Pro qualifying times are at 3 and 6 p.m. Friday and noon and 3 p.m. Saturday. Sunday's eliminations begin at 11 a.m.

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This is the second time in three races that inclement weather forced a competitive delay. The Toyo Tires Nationals at Reading, Pa., was delayed for two weeks.

None of the cars gathered for NHRA's first race at VMP since 2000 had an opportunity to test the new racing surface. Rain began falling early Friday morning and continued until Saturday afternoon, turning track parking areas into quagmires.

NHRA officials said this week's race schedule would be followed next week. Pro qualifying times are at 3 and 6 p.m. Friday and noon and 3 p.m. Saturday. Sunday's eliminations begin at 11 a.m.

-credit: dcr