Dave Connolly     NHRA POWERade Drag Racing    Skull Gear Racing Pro Stock Car     Age 23

Race car drivers under 25 are often called young guns but the way they approach speed they are more like young rockets. The young rockets in NHRA learn the rules and the reality about taking speed to the highest level. Fast and quick has meaning in drag racing and reaction times are essential as well as productive. Youthful mind speed is a plus, but it still takes experience to be competitive.

It's tough road to the top but those who start young and develop fast get the chances to advance. The competition is fierce. It's win or go home every race. The sportsman structure in NHRA provides a training ground for young drivers. Most will learn there, but few will advance to pro ranks.

Dave Connolly drives a Pro Stock Car, a class that replicates a factory car, one that can be purchased and driven on the highway. Of course the frame, suspension and engine are vastly different from the street version as Pro Stock Cars are designed to exceed 200 mph on NHRA tracks.

As with all professional motorsports race cars are far more expensive than any street model. Frames are constructed of high-strength heavy gauge steel designed by engineers and fabricated by expert welders. Parts have precision components with lofty costs.

Connolly has proven he can win and his words define what it takes to move up in the NHRA.

Time: Late Season 2006
Place: Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nev.
Event: ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals

Dwight asked Dave Connolly:

Do race car drivers ever stop learning?
"No. I'm still learning. I know in my short period so far, I'm learning every day. I'm still screwing up every day. There are just so many things to this, so many weird things that happen over the years. You learn off everything. It's just a constant battle and it goes in circles. As far as R&D and learning on the car and learning driving traits, as the car changes you've got to change. You've got to change the way you drive the car too. It's a non-stop battle."

Does your team have a different mind-set when you've got good results?
"Yeah, definitely. It's funny when you're running good that's when you work the hardest. That's when you want to work the hardest, cause everything going smooth. There are times when you start running bad, it takes a good team like we got put together now that wants to go out and figure out the problem and don't get frustrated and continue to move on. I've got a new crew chief now and that's been a lot different than people I've had working in the past. It's the times when you don't run good when you need to work the hardest. Times when you are running good you can just slack off then either. You got to keep going at it."

Do you feel professional drivers handle stress and pressure better than the rest of us?
"Everybody handles it different. Growing up in the sportsman ranks, even in the pros, everybody handles pressure differently. It seems like if you can stay calm and keep a good head on your shoulders is the time when you drive the best. I think any driver will probably tell you that. When you are all stressed out and wound out they are bound to make mistakes."

What would explain to a person who is not yet an NHRA fan what it's like to drive one of these cars?
"Especially if you are a door car fan, the Pro Stock Car category is by far the best. These cars are so technical and far as the chassis design and the horse power they are producing at 500 cubic inches is just unbelievable right now. For me it's a dream come true. It's definitely a rush. You pull three G's when you leave the line yet you're still shifting five times going over 160 through the eighth mile and over 200 in the ¼ mile. It's a pretty good rush."

NASCAR has 43 cars on the track and luck plays a role. Does luck play a role in two car NHRA drag race?
"It's tough. I'd rather be lucky than good any day. It shows out here too. A lot of people think you kind of make your own luck, but you've got to have the right guy in the other lane. If he gets lucky with a 400 and cuts a perfect tree or sometimes you'll get the guy who will screw up the tree at certain times of the day. If somebody is out there making four good runs, some time along the line you've got to have a lucky run to go to the winner's circle."

You have two parts to your job. You have to drive, represent your sponsor and work with the fans. What's that like?
"That's probably the hardest. The driving part comes easier than dealing with the fans. I've always been kind of a shy kid and the media really don't like that. They like more outspoken people. I've had to work a little harder at that and try to take care of the fans. I still kind of lose it a little bit, because I'm so young and I have an older fan base and things like that. Signing autographs for kids is no problem at all. It's good to see a little kid smile, but when I have an older group of guys it kind of shows."

Additional Comments:
"Anybody who gets involved in NHRA drag racing, there's really a lot to it. It's really a rush. I'm a fan of Pro Stock cars, and if you are a factory type guy, it's good class. For most fans the Top Fuel cars and Funny cars going over 300 in the ¼ mile that's something you really got to come out and see."