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It doesn't seem to matter what class or the ET, give NHRA stand-out Dave Connolly a car and he'll soon find his way to the Winner's Circle.
NHRA Super Street Racer Dave Connolly
Connolly was working the extremes during his first two events of 2011. He entered both the ultra-quick Top Dragster class, where he was posting ET's in the 6 second range and the highly competitive Super Street 10.90 index class at both the Bradenton and Gainesville NHRA Division 2 events. Until earlier this year, that wasn't possible before NHRA changed the rules to once again allow drivers to enter both Super Street and another class during the same event.
Taking full advantage of the rule change and showing his true love of competing in door car classes, Connolly teamed up with his cousin to put together a very cool 1981 Chevy Malibu for the 10.90 Super Street index class.
"I really think NHRA made the right call with the Super Street class," said Connolly. "That class is just as tough as any other class and it's really where I have the most fun [in a door car]. I mean the dragster is out there going six seconds and in Super Street I'm only going almost eleven seconds, but I'm still having more fun."
Connolly also has a brand new 2011 American Dragster that he debuted during the Bradenton event.
"We have a couple of new cars this year," said Connolly. "The dragster has been giving us some new car fits and the new Malibu is great. From day one when I first saw it, there was just that extra comfort level with it."
One would think after competing as a professional racer in NHRA Pro Stock, Connolly wouldn't be interested in a much slower ET class, such as Super Street.
"Super Street is a little bit different because you have such a variety of cars," Connolly pointed out. "You might have a guy that goes 95 MPH and then you might have a guy that goes 150 MPH. There's definitely a big span of mile-per-hour difference at the finish line, which makes it more interesting and sometimes a little more challenging. Not only that, but you are trying to get a three-thousand pound car to hit the tree consistently."
"It's not as easy as everyone would think," he continued. "It's certainly not an intermediate class, which is what it has been labeled as in the past. There are a lot of very tough racers in that class."
Connolly didn't have much luck come his way in Top Dragster during the Gainesville Raceway Division race, but he more than made up for it in Super Street.
"There were a lot of really good guys I came up against on my way to the final," explained Connolly. "[Joseph] Skala in the semi-finals is one. You know he's last year's Division 2 Champ and he was on his game all day and he just had a little mishap there during our round and gave me a bunch of room. That was definitely a key race."
The majority of all the runs Connolly and the other drivers had made over the course of the event were during the brighter daylight hours, not so for the final rounds and Connolly was going to be facing a very tough Steve Mikus for the Wally.
"The sun had gone down and it was nighttime by the time we ran the final," he said. "I had actually set up a little tight for my light, at a .004 and fortunately it didn't go red on me."
"You have got to set up that tight when you run Mikus," he added. "We have always had really good races. I knew I was going to have to be good on the tree and really close to the dial."
Connolly was almost too close, but he not only saved his best reaction time of eliminations for the final he also gave Mikus absolutely no room to get in at the stripe, posting a .002 light and a perfect 10.900 ET.
"None of this would be possible without all the great folks who help put these cars together," he said. "Not only my cousin for putting this car together, but the guys at K&N for their help and awesome products that I use on every car have I raced with. You don't win races without using the absolute best and we always protect our engines with K&N filters."
After several successes at Gainesville, it is starting to become quite a special track for the champion racer.
"That's two years in a row that we went to Gainesville with somebody else's car and found ourselves in the Winner's Circle," he smiled. "There's just something about that track."
At the present, Connolly plans to chase points in both Top Dragster and Super Street in NHRA Division 2, with a possibility of some Super Comp and Super Gas competition later in the year, where he will claim Division 3, only if he's not already back behind the wheel in NHRA Pro Stock.
It took more than a year for Derek Lacey to break through with a win in Legends Cars. He spent his rookie season in 2010 racing at The Orange Show in San Bernardino and could do no better than a runner-up finish.
Derek Lacey spent his rookie season racing at The Orange Show in San Bernardino
In his first race of 2011, Lacey won a Legends Cars race at Willow Spring International Raceway in Rosamond, Calif., the first of his brief Legends Cars career.
As satisfying as it was to win at Willow Springs, Lacey said he is still hungry for a win at The Orange Show.
"One of my goals every year is to finish every race. You can't win unless you finish," said Lacey, a 28-year-old from Santa Ana, Calif. "That's one of my goals every year. I would like to get a win at a different track, either Orange Show or Irwindale. I would like to get one win there."
Lacey is undecided about where he wants to race full time in 2011. He would like to return to The Orange Show and take a shot at winning the Legends Cars championship. But there is a chance The Orange Show might not run any races.
Lacey won his first Legends Cars race at Willow Spring International Raceway in 2010
He is also considering racing at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. The fields at Irwindale are much larger than The Orange Show. The level of competition at Irwindale is a little higher than The Orange Show too.
"There's a lot more cars at Irwindale," Lacey said. "We've been going back and forth whether we want to go Orange Show or Irwindale. It will be one of those two full time."
He also wants to race a Willow Springs on a part-time basis. Willow Springs has been the site of a couple milestone wins for Lacey. In addition to winning his first main event race at Willow Springs, Lacey won a trophy dash at Willow Springs last year.
He won the first Legends Cars race of his career on Jan. 15. He started fourth and had to work his way through the field. He made the pass for the lead on the last corner of the last lap.
"I got him by about two feet at the finish line," Lacey said. "That was pretty cool."
It will be a while before Lacey can get his car out for another race. It will either be at Irwindale on April 2 or The Orange Show on April 9.
While Lacey might not have much experience at Irwindale, if he decides to race there, his car was once owned by a seasoned veteran and champion driver. Lacey bought his car two years ago from Tom Landreth, a five-time Irwindale track champion in the Legends Cars class.
Lacey said his team is starting to feel more comfortable and confident with the race car. The win at Willow Springs, he said, is hopefully that start of better things to come.
"I sure hope so," Lacey said. "We know a lot more about the car now. We know how to set it up a lot better. The Legends car has been real hard to drive, but we're finally figuring it out. I think we're in a lot better position to start the season this year than we were last year. My driving has definitely improved and we hope to get more wins this year. We're confident going into this year that we can do better than we did last year."
One of the improvements in the car is the use of K&N oil and air filters. K&N provides product support for Lacey's race team.
"That helped us out a lot," Lacey said. "The car was fast and never had any problems on any level."
With his first career win in the books, Lacey wants to continue to put his car in victory lane.
"It felt really good to get the first feature out of the way," Lacey said. "I won a trophy dash, but it's nice to get the first main event win out of the way. Hopefully we can continue that when start at either Irwindale or Orange Show."
And this is the borrowed car she finished the year with.
At first glance Stephanie Herbage looks just like any 18-year-old, full-time college student, holding down two part-time jobs, yet still managing to squeeze in quality time with chums. However, upon closer examination, this Moreno Valley, California teenager is infinitely nuanced, with more layers than a Bermuda onion.
This is the car Stephanie started the 2010 season in.
Last year Stephanie started racing American Factory Stock cars after her father, Dan and brother Matt, bought a racecar and figured it would be fun to put a girl in the in the car to beat the boys. See, they already knew about her crazy, intuitive, skills for all things with motors and wheels, and yes, even wings.
Roughly seven years ago Dan and Matt started flying RC planes at Hemet model airfield. When Stephanie asked the instructor to teach her, he explained he didn't teach kids under 12, but as a consolation he offered to take her out on a short test flight. Only minutes later he returned, looked at Dan and said "Have her here every Saturday at 8:00 A.M. - she's a natural!"
When she's not racing "Super-Steffie" is the official Perris Auto Speedway pace car driver.
Stephanie learned in four weeks, what usually takes two or more months for other new pilots. The entire family has since learned to fly as they enjoy the family time. And that's how the Herbage Family Flying Circus team name came to be.
On the track Stephanie immediately became a fan favorite at Perris Auto Speedway, earning the nickname "Super-Steffie." Even her fellow competitors can't help but like her, she's competent and earns respect. Last year she crashed her car in only the third outing. Stephanie climbed out of her crashed car and climbed right into the Perris Auto Speedway pace car, and paced the very next A-main the same night.
On Saturdays when she's not racing, she's behind the wheel of the Perris pace car, leading the Sprint Cars around the track for the main events, or at other local venues working promotional opportunities for the Speedway. She spends time with every single fan that greets her, sharing her experience, and inviting them to come out and race. Her goal is not merely to win a race and bring home a trophy, but to introduce young race fans to the track, and generate interest for future drivers. Stephanie is not just a natural behind the wheel it appears, but she's also an innate ambassador for the sport as well.
After the crash last year the new K&N sponsored racer finished the season in a borrowed car. "Luckily my boss and owner of Swedish Speed, Mark Yarbrough, offered to let her race his son's factory stock Nova that he raced the year before," said Dan her father. "This year she will be driving my 1980 Camaro that we built and fitted specifically for her. Her first race in the new car will be March 19, 2011. We are all looking forward to a new season with a new car." Yet despite the crash last year, and completing the season in an unfamiliar car, Stephanie still finished the season in sixth place overall at Perris Speedway.
Clearly genetics and environment contributed to Stephanie's gifts, and while the gene pool thing is rather hit or miss, the surroundings part of her can be easily traced. Stephanie grew up in a family that enjoys going to drag races and watching NASCAR religiously. Her real first-hand taste of speed though came at the age of five, when her uncle taught her to ride his dirt bike and less than three years later she was racing her older brother Matt around the track, and usually beating him.
Stephanie doesn't just drive her racecar either, she works with her dad and brother preparing and fixing it, and she's eagerly learning all she can about the basics of mechanics. On the track she's a fierce competitor, but when she's out of the car, she's a bright, friendly young woman with a glowing smile and sharp sense of humor adored by young fans.
Asked how far she wants to go with racing Stephanie simply says "All the way," then adds, "Possibly even to NASCAR."
Ventura says his goals for this year are to make the Summit E.T. Series Race of Champions, to finish in the top three in the Southern California Pro Gas Association, and to win a NHRA National Event.
For his first race back into the 2011 season K&N's Greg Ventura decided to race the Summit E.T. Series at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, and as he's the first to admit, he was a just bit rusty to the whole bracket racing deal at first. However, his misplaced racing mojo returned pretty quickly.
Greg Ventura admits he started off the 2011 season a tad rusty, but his instincts returned rapidly, as he won and runner-upped last weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.
"Whenever you are out of the driver's seat for the off season, you tend to forget small details," said Ventura, "that goes with driving a race car, but you quickly regain those instincts."
And indeed he did, Ventura went out in the first round on Saturday, but then went deep into the fourth round on Sunday. The following weekend the Pro Gas Series kicked off and he went to the quarter-finals on Saturday, with the Sunday race getting rained out.
There was another Summit Race on Super Bowl Sunday, but we suspect his concentration wasn't completely on that race as he went out in the first round in that one. "I drove like an absolute jackwagon," remarked Ventura. "I drove really poorly to the finish line, which is part of the rustiness."
"Then here is where it gets good," added Ventura, "I went to Fontana on Saturday and Sunday, and I won on Saturday and I runner-upped Sunday! I'm second in points for the track championship."
Ventura explains that during the off season he worked on some concentration techniques to help him with his focus, and all indications are that it appears to be taking hold.
When we last spoke with Ventura he was half way into his second year working as a Material Lifecycle Analyst for K&N. "The smartest thing I've ever done was coming to work for K&N," he declared at the time. We wondered if the job love affair was still as potent.
"Yes, I really don't call what I do for K&N work. I love what I do, and I love that I am a part of this growing company. K&N makes the best air & oil filters for your money. I run them on both of my race cars, tow vehicles, and every car I own. The benefits are endless!"
When questioned about his race goals for the 2011 season Ventura says, "Yes, I have a couple of goals for the 2011 season. I would like to make the Summit E.T. Series Race of Champions, I would like to finish in the top three in the Southern California Pro Gas Association, and I would like to win a NHRA National Event."
Brenda supplies another crowd pleasing launch in their 1969 Camaro
Plant City, Florida resident Brenda Grubbs has shown, over her drag race driving career, that she is quite a force to be reckoned with and exhibiting no signs of that changing with the new season. With numerous accolades as a driver in both NHRA and IHRA, Brenda is quick to point out that it's not just her actions that have and continue to make it all possible.
Champions on and off the track, Stock powerhouse couple Bill & Brenda Grubbs
"This is a team," she said. "When my husband Bill and I started this, he was the one who pushed me to get into racing. At the time, I did not want to. Because unless the wife is involved, she either doesn't go [to the events] or she goes and sits and I really had no interest in that. He just kept after me and after me to get a car and I said, well what if I drive? He said OK and I thought to myself, yeah how long is that going to last."
More than a decade later, in the same 1969 Camaro they started with, it's still going strong.
2011 will find Brenda and Bill once again chasing points in Stock across NHRA Division 2 and a good handful of NHRA National events.
"We are primarily running NHRA events this year and filling in with IHRA where we can," said the award winning Account Manager for General Mills. "We started off the season with the IHRA event in West Palm [Florida] and couldn't make it to Immokalee because my husband is a Delta pilot and cannot take off more than two weekends a month. So we really have to pick and choose what races we go to. And believe it or not, since Immokalee was on Super Bowl weekend, we couldn't go because Super Bowl weekend is the most requested off of the year for Delta pilots."
"Plus with us starting off at West Palm, then by not being in Immokalee that gave us a weekend off before the back to back events in Bradenton and Gainesville," she added.
With Bill tuning the car and Brenda driving, they took their 1969 C/SA Camaro right to the number one qualifying spot at their season opener, where Brenda made it to six cars in Stock Eliminator during the IHRA Palm Beach Nitro Jam.
They were back into action for their first scheduled NHRA Division 2 event at Bradenton Motorsports Park, where Brenda quickly put their entry right at the top of the heap, only to be knocked down a few notches during the final qualifying session.
Again the team put together another strong showing with quite a few round wins before narrowly missing a bye into the final, when Brenda found herself on the wrong side of a double breakout in the quarterfinals.
While Brenda and Bill continue to compete with their Camaro in Stock Eliminator, they are pretty excited about the new project car they are putting together at home.
"It's also a 1969 Camaro and it will be a 427," smiled Brenda. "It will more than likely run in SS/DA. We did buy it as a roller, but Bill wants to make some significant updates and he's very big into safety, so there are a lot of safety related updates that we are going to make. We are hoping that we will debut the car this time next year. There is no pressure to get it done, but with the way my husband is, I'm sure it will be ready by then."
Once the new edition to the Grubbs stable is complete, Brenda will drive both cars.
Just like the 1969 Camaro that Brenda and Bill have won numerous championships with, the new 1969 Super Stock Camaro will be fully equipped with K&N Engineering products.
"We only use high quality products," she noted. "We have been using both the K&N air filter and oil filter on our car and will being doing so as well for the new car."
The month of March will be a very busy one for the husband and wide duo with three scheduled NHRA events starting with a NHRA Division event in Valdosta, Georgia before moving on to the GatorNationals in Gainesville, Florida and wrapping up the month at the NHRA Cajun SportsNationals in Belle Rose, Louisiana.
Brenda looks forward to another season on the trail right alongside her husband Bill, doing what they love to do together.
"It's so awesome to have a passion that we both share," she pointed out. "It's not like so many other couples where the husband is out golfing on the weekend and the wife goes shopping or whatever. This is something that we share and we share it off the track, too. I mean we are always talking about it, thinking, planning and so forth. We have a great collaboration when it comes to who handles what for the team."
