Top Fuel racer Dave Connolly learned a long time ago when one door closes, another opens.
Connolly, who lost his full-time ride last week when Bob Vandergriff Racing abruptly closed up shop, was given a reminder on Monday.
Connolly will race this weekend at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Foods, but not in a Top Fuel dragster.
Instead, Connolly will drive a 2009 Chevy Cobalt in the Lucas Oil Sportsman Series with a Top Sportsman entry at zMax Dragway in Charlotte, N.C.
“If it has a steering wheel, the class title doesn’t matter to me,” Connolly said. “It’s a real good car that I turned into a Big Block Chevy. I was building this car to have as a bracket car toward the end of the year and with the turn of events I get to hit the ignition key on it a little bit sooner than I expected, but that’s how it goes. I have never driven this car. This was a car that was actually built for Jeg (Coughlin) I think his last year he ran with (Victor) Cagnazzi and when Erica (Enders-Stevens) had funding she raced it for a few years. I’ve worked on this car probably more than anyone. I’m very familiar with the car.”
A former Pro Stock national event winner, Connolly is no stranger to racing full-bodied cars. When Vandergriff abruptly retired, Connolly returned to his comfort zone.
“Every racer out there has dealt with difficult situations, and I’ve dealt with issues like this before pretty much from 2007 on,” Connolly said. “I completely understand Bob’s position and the choices that he has made. The guy has done a lot for me, so there are no hard feelings in regards to him at all. He gave me a great opportunity. The biggest bummer about the whole BVR shutdown is Bob has worked his whole career to have the caliber of guys he had assembled there, and I really feel like we would’ve been a contender at the end of the year. That team really started to make headway, and Leah got her win a few weeks prior (at Phoenix). There were a lot of things to look forward to, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
Connolly is racing for the moment, and keeping a keen eye on his future opportunities whether it’s racing a 300-plus mile per hour dragster or a six-second Pro Stocker.
“You just never know who you’re going to run into,” he said. “Right now my goal is to basically stay involved. Racing is what I have done the last 16 years of my life. It’s all I have known and done. I plan on staying involved whether it is tuning a car or driving a car, it doesn’t matter to me. I’ve enjoyed a lot of different aspects that racing has to offer. You never know what the future holds, and I’m just keeping all doors open at the moment. There’s definitely a few irons in the fire, and we will see if any of them spark.”
Connolly just wants to race, regardless of what kind of car he uses.
“As racers, winning in Stock Eliminator is as much fun as anything,” Connolly explained. “At this time, I’m going to explore all options. Pro Stock always and has been a huge class of interest to me and I was very fortunate to get to race in that class a long time. When folks would come up and ask me if I missed Pro Stock, I would tell them absolutely. I miss tuning on them and working on them. Top Fuel, there’s no denying it’s a totally different adrenaline rush, and that’s a blast. I’m just going to live in the present and do what I have to do to get back out there.”
