St. Louis: Dave Connolly preview

Dave Connolly: St. Louis Good Place for Redemption

MADISON, Ill., May 2, 2007 --  Bravo! Brands Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BRVO):
The first round of Pro Stock  qualifying Friday afternoon near St. Louis can't
come quick enough for Dave  Connolly.

The driver of Evan Knoll's Torco Racing Fuels/Slammers Ultimate Milk Chevy Cobalt has a score to settle during the O'Reilly Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway. This isn't something against a rival competitor that can play out on television because the subject of Connolly's disgust is himself.

"I'm ready to get back in the car  and redeem myself," he said.  "I'm
really looking forward getting to St.  Louis."

Connolly -- one of his category's best when it comes to  quick starting-line
reaction times -- was, uncharacteristically, on the receiving  end of a
hole-shot in the first round Sunday at Atlanta.  In drag racing,  the timer starts
when the green light flashes and a .000-second reaction is  perfect.  Connolly's
was .069 against Kurt Johnson's  .017.

Johnson's quicker leave turned on the win light in 6.710 seconds at 206.35 mph. Connolly was in close pursuit, but his 6.664-second, 206.61-mph run came up short by six-thousandths of a second.

"It's  very disappointing," Connolly said.  "Jeg (Coughlin, his Victor
Cagnazzi  Racing/Slammers Ultimate Milk teammate) and I have two of the fastest
cars out  here and I didn't even get out of the first round.  My (reaction)
times  have been off for the last three races. Maybe there's something in the car
that  we can adjust to help the situation.  We'll definitely be working to
find a  solution.

"I'll be spending a lot of time on the practice tree before we get to St. Louis."

Connolly, 24, is in his fourth full  season of Pro Stock competition.  He's
still looking for his first  final-round appearance of the year. He has been to
the semifinals three times in  the first six events and ranks fourth in NHRA
POWERade Series points with 363,  eight behind Coughlin.

He finished third in points in 2004 and 2006 and fifth in 2005. He has nine victories in 20 finals rounds. He was a semifinalist here last year.

Pro Stock qualifying times are 4 and  6:30 p.m. Friday and 11:30 a.m. and
2:30 p.m. Saturday.  Eliminations begin  at 11 a.m. Sunday.

-credit: jls