<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/Connolly_381088.jpg" alt="Connolly_381088" align="right"borders="0"/>
NORWALK, Ohio, June 26, 2007 - Having grown up a little more than 30 miles from Norwalk, Ohio, in the western Cleveland suburb of Elyria, Chevy Pro Stock driver is certainly looking forward to this weekend's inaugural Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at newly renovated Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park here in Norwalk. Although his residence has been Florida for most of his young professional racing career, returning to his roots is not lost on the talented 24-year-old driver of the Torco Racing Fuels Chevy Cobalt. He joins fellow "Buckeyes" and Pro Stock competitors Ron Krisher from Warren and teammate Jeg Coughlin from Delaware in ushering in a new stop on the 23-race NHRA POWERade circuit.
"Home races are always kind of interesting," Connolly said. "You have friends, family, and a lot of kids from high school that I haven't seen in a long time will stop by. It's kind of exciting because you always want to perform well at your home track. It's basically where I grew up racing, and where my career started, you might say. It's still been six, seven years since I've been back there so it's been a long time since I've been at that track. Norwalk's always been a beautiful facility, the (track owners) Baders always do a great job there in preparing the place and we just hope everything goes well for us. Everyone from Grandma, to high school friends, there will definitely be a little extra pressure. I feel pretty confident on what we've established so far this year and we'll go out there and be all right."
Connolly already has three consecutive top-five finishes in Pro Stock points in his young career, and this year he's paired with Cagnazzi Racing to form a formidable duo with two-time NHRA Pro Stock champ Jeg Coughlin. Connolly has driven his Chevy to a win at St. Louis where he beat teammate Coughlin and a runner-up finish at Topeka, placing him third in points as he looks forward to the continuing Countdown to the Championship.
"This is the best time I've ever been a part of," Connolly said. "The Torco Racing Fuels Chevy Cobalt is performing better than anything I've ever raced, and to have the backing of Evan Knoll as an owner and a sponsor, he's down to earth and he has all the confidence in the world in all of his drivers. He got us hooked up with Victor (Cagnazzi) and after a few years, he's put together one of the best programs out here. Everything is in-house and I think that's what brings consistency to the table, week in and week out. It seems like after we go out and perform well we then have a nice shop to go back to and work in and test things. We've tested a lot more this year than we have in the past, and even though the rest of the class has stepped up, I like to think our Torco Racing Fuels Chevrolet has gone right along with them. It's still tough, we still have a lot of work to do, but the team that we've put together is second to none.
"The way the format is this year, it's definitely working in our favor. I can't say I was for it in the beginning, but I'm for it now. It's going to be a bloodbath during those last three or four races before the cut. We're going to have to perform well to stay in the top eight and then that final four cut is going to be the tough one. We'll have to have everything performing flawlessly, all of our motors and the car, and it's going to be a long haul, but we have the backing, the team and the right people in line to get it done. I love the team Evan and Victor have put together and I'm proud to be a part of it."
Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals
Norwalk Pre-Race Stats & Facts
. Greg Anderson's Pro Stock win last weekend over Jeg Coughlin at Englishtown made him a perfect six for six in final-round appearances this season. His class-leading sixth win was the 49th of his career, tying him for sixth on the all-time wins list with drag racing legend Don "The Snake" Prudhomme. He is now three wins shy of tying Joe Amato for a spot in the top five for all-time wins.
. Driving his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO, Anderson's win at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park at Englishtown was Pontiac's 178th all time in the NHRA Pro Stock category.
. Of the first ten races contested to date in the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Anderson or his teammate, Jason Line, have placed a Summit Racing Pontiac in the final round at nine of the 10 events. As mentioned, Anderson is a perfect six for six, and Line has one win in three final round appearances - that's seven wins and two runners-up in 10 races for the KB Racing teammates.
. In April, Anderson won two Summit-sponsored events - the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at Las Vegas and the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta. The three-time NHRA Pro Stock champ looks to make it three for three this season at his sponsor's race by winning the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals this weekend at Norwalk.
. At Englishtown, Anderson also claimed his fifth consecutive No. 1 qualifier and a class-leading seventh for the season.
. Jeg Coughlin in his Jegs.com Chevy Cobalt made his second consecutive final-round appearance last weekend at Englishtown before bowing out to Anderson. Three weeks earlier at Chicago on June 10, the two-time NHRA Pro Stock champ defeated Jason Line for his first win of the season and he sits second in the points standings.
. Coughlin's win at Chicago was the 137th all time for Chevrolet in the Pro Stock category. Chevrolet has a commanding lead in the race for the 2007 NHRA Manufacturer's Cup and currently has 15 NHRA Manufacturer's Cup championships (1966-69, 1973-81, 1983, 2002) to its credit, the most by any manufacturer in the history of the sport.
. With his class-leading six wins this season in six final-round appearances, Pontiac's Greg Anderson leads the POWERade Pro Stock standings with 954 points. On the strength of his win at Chicago and three runners-up, Team Chevy's Jeg Coughlin sits in second place with 753 points, his Chevy teammate Dave Connolly is in third place with 660 points and Pontiac's Jason Line is in fourth place with 628 points. ACDelco Chevy Cobalt driver Kurt Johnson is in sixth place with 484 points, Pontiac's Warren Johnson is ninth with 444 points and Pontiac's Mike Edwards is tenth with 421 points. Only seven races remain until the Countdown to Eight which will be determined following the Reading (Pa.) national event on Aug. 19.
. Team Chevy Top Fuel and Funny Car team owner Don Prudhomme had quite a race weekend at Englishtown, sweeping both class wins with Team Chevy's Larry Dixon's win in Top Fuel and Tommy Johnson Jr.'s win in Funny Car in the Skoal Racing Chevy Impala SS. It was the fourth time Prudhomme had doubled-up with national-event wins as a team owner.
. Johnson's defeat of Tony Pedregon in an all-Chevy final round at Englishtown was his first of the season and ninth of his career, seven in a Funny Car and two in a Top Fuel dragster. The win places him in the elite eight in Funny Car points as he vaulted four positions to eighth in points, just 15 points in arrears of seventh-place Ashley Force. Pedregon also has a win this season and joins Johnson in the top eight in fourth place in the drivers standings.
. Dixon's back-to-back wins at Chicago and Englishtown places the driver of the SkyTel Top Fuel dragster second in points, just 35 points behind points leader Rod Fuller.
. Team Chevy's Dixon moved past Kenny Bernstein into 2nd all time in Top Fuel victories with his two consecutive wins and now has 40 Top Fuel victories for his career. Joe Amato is the class leader with 52 career wins.
Qualifying coverage of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals will be telecast on ESPN2 on Saturday, June 30, beginning at 10 p.m. Eastern. NHRA Race Day will kick off eliminator coverage on July 1 starting at 11 a.m. Eastern on ESPN2, and a three-hour telecast of final eliminations will start at 8 p.m. Eastern.
For additional information please visit the GM racing media site by clicking here .
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 280,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2006, nearly 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at GM | General Motors: Corporate Website: Company, Cars and Customers.
Connolly Heads Home Confident for Inaugural Norwalk Race
Ohio Native Welcomes New Stop on NHRA POWERade circuit
NORWALK, Ohio, June 26, 2007 - Having grown up a little more than 30 miles from Norwalk, Ohio, in the western Cleveland suburb of Elyria, Chevy Pro Stock driver is certainly looking forward to this weekend's inaugural Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at newly renovated Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park here in Norwalk. Although his residence has been Florida for most of his young professional racing career, returning to his roots is not lost on the talented 24-year-old driver of the Torco Racing Fuels Chevy Cobalt. He joins fellow "Buckeyes" and Pro Stock competitors Ron Krisher from Warren and teammate Jeg Coughlin from Delaware in ushering in a new stop on the 23-race NHRA POWERade circuit.
"Home races are always kind of interesting," Connolly said. "You have friends, family, and a lot of kids from high school that I haven't seen in a long time will stop by. It's kind of exciting because you always want to perform well at your home track. It's basically where I grew up racing, and where my career started, you might say. It's still been six, seven years since I've been back there so it's been a long time since I've been at that track. Norwalk's always been a beautiful facility, the (track owners) Baders always do a great job there in preparing the place and we just hope everything goes well for us. Everyone from Grandma, to high school friends, there will definitely be a little extra pressure. I feel pretty confident on what we've established so far this year and we'll go out there and be all right."
Connolly already has three consecutive top-five finishes in Pro Stock points in his young career, and this year he's paired with Cagnazzi Racing to form a formidable duo with two-time NHRA Pro Stock champ Jeg Coughlin. Connolly has driven his Chevy to a win at St. Louis where he beat teammate Coughlin and a runner-up finish at Topeka, placing him third in points as he looks forward to the continuing Countdown to the Championship.
"This is the best time I've ever been a part of," Connolly said. "The Torco Racing Fuels Chevy Cobalt is performing better than anything I've ever raced, and to have the backing of Evan Knoll as an owner and a sponsor, he's down to earth and he has all the confidence in the world in all of his drivers. He got us hooked up with Victor (Cagnazzi) and after a few years, he's put together one of the best programs out here. Everything is in-house and I think that's what brings consistency to the table, week in and week out. It seems like after we go out and perform well we then have a nice shop to go back to and work in and test things. We've tested a lot more this year than we have in the past, and even though the rest of the class has stepped up, I like to think our Torco Racing Fuels Chevrolet has gone right along with them. It's still tough, we still have a lot of work to do, but the team that we've put together is second to none.
"The way the format is this year, it's definitely working in our favor. I can't say I was for it in the beginning, but I'm for it now. It's going to be a bloodbath during those last three or four races before the cut. We're going to have to perform well to stay in the top eight and then that final four cut is going to be the tough one. We'll have to have everything performing flawlessly, all of our motors and the car, and it's going to be a long haul, but we have the backing, the team and the right people in line to get it done. I love the team Evan and Victor have put together and I'm proud to be a part of it."
Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals
Norwalk Pre-Race Stats & Facts
. Greg Anderson's Pro Stock win last weekend over Jeg Coughlin at Englishtown made him a perfect six for six in final-round appearances this season. His class-leading sixth win was the 49th of his career, tying him for sixth on the all-time wins list with drag racing legend Don "The Snake" Prudhomme. He is now three wins shy of tying Joe Amato for a spot in the top five for all-time wins.
. Driving his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO, Anderson's win at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park at Englishtown was Pontiac's 178th all time in the NHRA Pro Stock category.
. Of the first ten races contested to date in the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Anderson or his teammate, Jason Line, have placed a Summit Racing Pontiac in the final round at nine of the 10 events. As mentioned, Anderson is a perfect six for six, and Line has one win in three final round appearances - that's seven wins and two runners-up in 10 races for the KB Racing teammates.
. In April, Anderson won two Summit-sponsored events - the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at Las Vegas and the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta. The three-time NHRA Pro Stock champ looks to make it three for three this season at his sponsor's race by winning the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals this weekend at Norwalk.
. At Englishtown, Anderson also claimed his fifth consecutive No. 1 qualifier and a class-leading seventh for the season.
. Jeg Coughlin in his Jegs.com Chevy Cobalt made his second consecutive final-round appearance last weekend at Englishtown before bowing out to Anderson. Three weeks earlier at Chicago on June 10, the two-time NHRA Pro Stock champ defeated Jason Line for his first win of the season and he sits second in the points standings.
. Coughlin's win at Chicago was the 137th all time for Chevrolet in the Pro Stock category. Chevrolet has a commanding lead in the race for the 2007 NHRA Manufacturer's Cup and currently has 15 NHRA Manufacturer's Cup championships (1966-69, 1973-81, 1983, 2002) to its credit, the most by any manufacturer in the history of the sport.
. With his class-leading six wins this season in six final-round appearances, Pontiac's Greg Anderson leads the POWERade Pro Stock standings with 954 points. On the strength of his win at Chicago and three runners-up, Team Chevy's Jeg Coughlin sits in second place with 753 points, his Chevy teammate Dave Connolly is in third place with 660 points and Pontiac's Jason Line is in fourth place with 628 points. ACDelco Chevy Cobalt driver Kurt Johnson is in sixth place with 484 points, Pontiac's Warren Johnson is ninth with 444 points and Pontiac's Mike Edwards is tenth with 421 points. Only seven races remain until the Countdown to Eight which will be determined following the Reading (Pa.) national event on Aug. 19.
. Team Chevy Top Fuel and Funny Car team owner Don Prudhomme had quite a race weekend at Englishtown, sweeping both class wins with Team Chevy's Larry Dixon's win in Top Fuel and Tommy Johnson Jr.'s win in Funny Car in the Skoal Racing Chevy Impala SS. It was the fourth time Prudhomme had doubled-up with national-event wins as a team owner.
. Johnson's defeat of Tony Pedregon in an all-Chevy final round at Englishtown was his first of the season and ninth of his career, seven in a Funny Car and two in a Top Fuel dragster. The win places him in the elite eight in Funny Car points as he vaulted four positions to eighth in points, just 15 points in arrears of seventh-place Ashley Force. Pedregon also has a win this season and joins Johnson in the top eight in fourth place in the drivers standings.
. Dixon's back-to-back wins at Chicago and Englishtown places the driver of the SkyTel Top Fuel dragster second in points, just 35 points behind points leader Rod Fuller.
. Team Chevy's Dixon moved past Kenny Bernstein into 2nd all time in Top Fuel victories with his two consecutive wins and now has 40 Top Fuel victories for his career. Joe Amato is the class leader with 52 career wins.
Qualifying coverage of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals will be telecast on ESPN2 on Saturday, June 30, beginning at 10 p.m. Eastern. NHRA Race Day will kick off eliminator coverage on July 1 starting at 11 a.m. Eastern on ESPN2, and a three-hour telecast of final eliminations will start at 8 p.m. Eastern.
For additional information please visit the GM racing media site by clicking here .
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 280,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2006, nearly 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at GM | General Motors: Corporate Website: Company, Cars and Customers.
