{"id":9988,"date":"2014-12-16T11:32:35","date_gmt":"2014-12-16T19:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=9988"},"modified":"2014-12-16T11:32:35","modified_gmt":"2014-12-16T19:32:35","slug":"connolly-connects-with-top-fuel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/connolly-connects-with-top-fuel\/","title":{"rendered":"Connolly Connects with Top Fuel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"14DaveConnollyAdvicePHOTO\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dave Connolly\u2019s reputation on the track is that he can race a quarter-mile in just about anything with four wheels. Starting next year, \u00a0he\u2019ll get his chance to try it with the quickest and fastest hot rods on the planet.<\/p>\n

Connolly starts the 2015 season \u00a0behind the wheel of Bob Vandergriff Racing\u2019s C&J Energy Top Fuel car along with new BVR teammate, Larry Dixon.<\/p>\n

The 26-time Pro Stock winner had three victories in 2014, finishing third in the year end standings.\u00a0 He was lethal in his reaction times against any opponent at the starting line. \u00a0That approach to racing perfection got the attention of Bob Vandergriff, who started thinking about Connelly as his replacement in that top seat.<\/p>\n

The sun was setting on another qualifying day for Connolly in Sonoma, and he had no idea when he walked into his hotel that evening that his life was about to change.\u00a0\u201cWe had gotten through with qualifying on Saturday and I was walking through the hotel lobby and Bob was sitting there,\u201d said Connolly.\u00a0 \u201cHe asked me to give him a minute and he asked me if I’d ever thought about fuel racing. \u00a0I told him I never really had any interest driving a Funny Car cause I didn\u2019t want that bomb in my face.\u00a0 Then I told him I wouldn\u2019t mind driving a dragster and one thing led to another and he told me he had things in the works and he\u2019s changing the direction of his team, obviously with him getting out of the seat.<\/p>\n

\"14DaveConnollyandVandergriffPHOTO\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe exchanged numbers and a week later we\u2019re in Seattle. After the race we sat down and talked for a little while.\u00a0 He told me of his plans and I toldhim \u00a0where I was with the Grays (team owner, Johnny, and teammates, Shane, and Jonathan).\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to do anything without speaking with Shane and all the guys at Gray Motorsports and I wouldn\u2019t do anything without their blessings because they have been very good to me.\u00a0 That\u2019s how the conversation kind of ended and I told him I was definitely interested.\u00a0 It sounded like he had some great things going on down the pipeline with C&J and with everyone involved.\u00a0 I got back home on Monday and talked with Shane and he said \u2018Dude, you\u2019re crazy not to take it, it\u2019s a great opportunity\u2019 which in the back of my mind, I kind of always felt that way.\u00a0 Not too many people get opportunities like that.\u00a0 I was very fortunate that he thought that much of me and I called him back telling him I was definitely interested and whatever the next steps needed to be from this point on.\u00a0 That\u2019s kind of how it all shook down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Announcing his BVR alliance with two races remaining in the 2014 season set Connolly\u2019s wheels into high gear and after the Las Vegas race, he started learning the ways of Top Fuel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what to expect to be honest,\u201d smiled Connolly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe were strapping in and obviously, the corners are a little tighter and I just knew it was time to go.\u00a0 The nerves kind of went away as soon as the car fired up.<\/p>\n

\"14DaveConnollyCockpitFirstDayPHOTO\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, the first time you hit the throttle on that thing, we were like a .834 60-feet, so by far the quickest 60 I\u2019ve ever been.\u00a0 It was pretty neat. The crew did a good job and we made two runs in Vegas, a 300 foot and then a 500 foot.\u00a0 The further you go down the track the more impressive those cars get.\u00a0 That\u2019s the crazy part for me.\u00a0 Anything I\u2019ve ever driven in the past, the G-meter goes up and then kind of falls off and you sustain a constant speed from that point on.\u00a0 These Top Fuel cars, they have so much power that they continue to sit you back in the seat all the way down the racetrack.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe G-Force is different at the initial hit of the tire.\u00a0 What\u2019s crazy is when that clutch starts coming in on a Top Fuel car it starts pulling 4Gs and at one point on the track it pulls 6Gs probably around 600 feet down the track.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing that you can do to prepare you for that.\u00a0 There are no simulators.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing in the world that accelerates as hard as a Top Fuel dragster. I really enjoy it, though.\u00a0 We just got through testing in West Palm Beach Sunday and Monday and the learning curve is full steam ahead.\u00a0 Oh, I know I\u2019ve got a lot to learn in a very short period of time.\u00a0 All the guys on the crew are very optimistic about everything and very patient with me and we\u2019re taking it one step at a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything is coming together and starting to gel \u2013 the procedures, the warm ups, all that is getting easier.\u00a0 I just want to be ready when we roll up at Pomona and feel comfortable blasting 3.7 runs down the track at 330 mph or so. \u00a0When we first started this Top Fuel deal, I didn\u2019t know if I would like it or not, but actually, I\u2019m loving it.\u00a0 These cars are incredible and have a new respect for the driver that runs in one of these things.\u201d<\/p>\n

The learning curve for Connolly is definitely rocketing upward. His recent off-season test at Palm Beach International Raceway was a good time to bond with his Brownsburg, Indiana-based crew and crew chief, Kurt Elliott who helps define the different set of ideas in search of performance in a Top Fuel car.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s so different with the fuel cars is that they can add or take away compression and tuners can sling their horsepower around, hundreds of horsepower at a time.\u00a0 That way they can compensate for the bad weather. \u00a0I\u2019m used to a Pro Stock car where if the weather gets worse, you going to go slower and that\u2019s not necessarily the case in these cars.\u00a0 I know in time it will come easier and it has in just the couple of sessions we\u2019ve made.\u00a0\u00a0 You can prepare for it and it\u2019s just a matter of time in the seat. Bob has invested a lot of time and money to get me my Top Fuel license.\u00a0 So, I\u2019m going acclimate myself as best and as quickly as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going back to test at PBIR for the PRO Winter Warm-up on January 16-17 will be proof of \u00a0what\u2019s he\u2019s learned and how accepting he will be in his first side-by-side runs.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy then we should have some of the new parts and pieces to run then,” says Connolly. \u00a0“We\u2019ll start testing the Tuesday and Wednesday and probably take Thursday off to regroup to get all the parts ready and then start back up for Friday and Saturday with more testing as well.\u00a0 We should be able to get in around 15 to 20 runs in under my belt before Pomona.<\/p>\n

\"14DaveConnollyFullShotPHOTO\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to doing a good job behind the wheel.\u00a0 There\u2019s a lot to say as far as the Christmas Tree and the starting line.\u00a0 It\u2019s got three ambers and you react to them.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m hoping that\u2019s going to be the smallest part of the equation.\u00a0 Just getting A to B is going to be a different task all by itself.\u00a0 I just want to get to a point where I\u2019m not the weak link on the team and hold up my end behind the wheel.<\/p>\n

Kurt Elliott is a great crew chief and I feel we\u2019ll have a strong running car.\u00a0 If we can go out there and eventually find ourselves in the winner\u2019s circle that would be huge our first year out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dave Connolly\u2019s reputation is one of a man who can race a quarter-mile in just about anything with four wheels. Starting next year he\u2019ll get his chance to prove it in the fastest hot rods on the planet.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":9989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3465,16,3399],"tags":[1689,1690,907,4801,73,425],"class_list":["post-9988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drag-racing","category-pro-stock","category-nhra","tag-biography","tag-bob-vandergriff-racing","tag-dave-connolly","tag-pro-stock","tag-top-fuel","tag-top-fuel-dragster"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/14DaveConnollyAdvicePHOTO-feature.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-2B6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9988"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10264,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9988\/revisions\/10264"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}