CLEVELAND — Dave Connolly won the inaugural Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals event in Norwalk last season, and is one of the favorites to win it again this weekend.
“I’ve probably made more laps down this track than any other Pro Stock racer on the circuit,” Connolly said.
Connolly grew up in Elyria and began racing cars at Norwalk’s drag strip before he was able to legally drive a car on the road. His father, Ray, also a drag racer from Elyria, helped fuel a competitive passion in him, and now the pair zip down tracks all over the country at speeds of 200-plus mph.
“It’s like a drug; it’s addictive,” said Dave, who is in his fifth season of Pro Stock racing. “Once you get out there and race, it’s hard to give it up. And that’s not something I plan on doing any time soon.”
Connolly nearly didn’t have a choice earlier this year when Torco Race Fuels, his longtime sponsor, dropped him and all its other NHRA teams just a month before the start of the season.
“It was an unexpected and definitely unwanted extended vacation,” Connolly said. “But I guess these kinds of things happen in the drag racing world, and sometimes you can come back even stronger.”
Which is what Connolly has done since Charter Communications picked up his sponsorship in April. The 25-year-old has roared back through the ranks and currently sits 11th in the standings — just one position from securing a spot in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
“We go out there and just take it one round at a time,” Connolly said. “We’re trying to just collect points and get into the top 10 spots.”
Connolly said that his crew — the same team that powered him to a third-place finish in points last season — has his new Chevy Cobalt nearly performing at the same level as the one he drove for Torco. Connolly captured the Thunder Valley Pro Stock championship in Bristol, Tenn., on May 18, and finished as runner-up at the Midwest Nationals in St. Louis on May 4 and last week at the SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J.
“We gave up five races at the beginning of the year and, to come back from that, it could be pretty remarkable,” Connolly said. “I’m just thankful to be out there racing again, but if we can get in the countdown, they’ll reset the points and that’ll still give us a chance to win the big trophy at the end — that’s our ultimate goal.
“We came so close last year. We finished third and were leading in the points going into the last two races of the year. We kind of let it slip through our fingers.”
The fact that the points were reset going into those final two races left a bitter taste in Connolly’s mouth. He said he wasn’t a fan of the new playoff format, but he has since changed his opinion.
 “I guess I kind of have a double standard when it comes to the countdown system,” he said. “I never really agreed with it before because I believe that a championship is season-long. You can give out event trophies to the event winner, but you shouldn’t decide a season-long championship on just a couple races.
“I guess it was karma, or call it what you will, but it definitely bit us in the butt at the end of last year. This year with the format, it’s working in our advantage.”
It’s just one of the reasons this weekend’s event is such a big deal for Connolly and his team. Another is the fact that he finally gets to see his family and friends.
“I have such a hectic schedule that I’m pretty limited to this race and the holidays when it comes to coming home and seeing everybody,” Connolly said. “It’s also nice for all of them, because watching an NHRA race in person is so much more exciting that seeing it on TV.”
Connolly said he drove straight to Elyria after Englishtown’s race last Sunday, and has been amazed at how much has changed since his last visit — especially with the construction at Elyria High School, from which he  graduated in 2001.
“I come back and all of a sudden all these houses are torn down right next to the school, they have the fencing up, and they’re ready to build a new high school,” Connolly said. “There’s new video stores up around town, and even Route 57, which is right by my house, they have that all tore up. It just seems like there’s always something different every time I come back.”
He’s just hoping that doesn’t include the Pro Stock result at Norwalk on Sunday.
Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com. 

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