The 2025 season of NHRA’s Mission Foods Drag Racing Series is drawing to a close, and as the Countdown to the Championship clock ticks down, the battle for the series title is at full roar. Adding fuel to the fire, the Pro Stock field at the upcoming Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals — already rife with stout competition — will include a driver that’s been more familiar behind the scenes in recent years. Championship crew chief Dave Connolly, a 26-time Pro Stock winner from behind the wheel, will slide into the seat of a KB Titan Racing Chevrolet Camaro to join the quarter-mile throwdown for the last two events of the season.
“The guys have trusted me with the wheel, and we’re going to go out there, have some fun, and see what we can do with it,” said Connolly, who will be in the car formerly driven by Cody Coughlin. The KB Titan Racing Pro Stock Chevrolet Camaro has qualified in the top half at 11 events so far this year, including a No. 1 qualifying position at the New England Nationals and a pair of starts from the No. 2 spot. The Jerry Haas-built entry — one of the newest in the KB Titan fleet — reached the final round at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, the first of six races in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship.
“We’ve tested the wheels off of this car,” continued Connolly. “This will give us the opportunity to continue to implement some of the things we’ve been working on all season to make the car even better. No matter how much testing you do, you just never know how it’s going to work in national event conditions, so I’m looking forward to seeing how we do.”
In addition to driving a 500 cubic inch-powered Pro Stocker to victory for some of the most reputable teams in the class, Connolly’s vast experience and success on the drag strip includes racing and winning big money bracket races, notching a trio of Top Fuel final-round performances as a driver, and earning trophies at national and divisional Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series events in Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, and Top Dragster.
The lifelong racer eventually became an established crew chief and was tapped to lead young Tanner Gray to the 2017 Rookie of the Year title and a remarkably well-fought 2018 world title. Connolly joined the KB Titan Racing (then KB Racing) stable of crew chiefs in 2019 and found a home alongside Rob Downing and Nate VanWassenhove, and as a team, they made the calls that won championships with Greg Anderson driving the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet in 2021 and 2024.
A businessman who owns Competitive Suspension alongside partner and Million Dollar Drag Race promoter Jennifer Folk, Connolly has never fully forfeited the driving gloves. He most recently raced at the New England Nationals in June, when KB Titan Racing’s Eric Latino, driver of the GESi Chevrolet Camaro, was recovering from knee surgery. Starting from the No. 7 position, Connolly made one of the quickest runs of the first round to put veteran Greg Stanfield on the trailer, then cut an experienced .018-second light (reaction time) next to Anderson, who made the quickest run of the round to advance.
“As a whole, we’ve had a great year at KB Titan and won a lot of races,” said Connolly. “It looks like it’s going to be between Greg Anderson or Dallas Glenn for the championship, but there are still a lot of people shuffling for positions and a lot of KB Titan cars in the mix. We’ll see if we can knock out some Elite cars along the way and mix it up with these guys.”
Entering the Nevada Nationals, the KB Titan Racing team occupies many of the top spots. Glenn leads the Pro Stock points by 60 marks over Anderson, with KBT-powered Matt Hartford No. 3 and KB Titan drivers Cory Reed and Latino fifth and sixth, respectively. Coughlin is No. 8, with longtime KB Titan engine customer Deric Kramer just three points out of the prestigious top 10.
Connolly is proud of the success of the team he’s become such an integral part of, and he’s eager to contribute to future its success, even as he chases win lights that will be etched on his own scorecard at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and two weeks later at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona.
“I don’t get to drive a Pro Stock car much anymore — my last full season in a Pro Stock car was 2014 — but I was very fortunate to work with a lot of great people, and I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to race full time,” said Connolly. “Anytime I get to drive now, it’s usually a lot more relaxed and more of a fun atmosphere. We’re going to have a good time with it, no matter the outcome. As easy it is for me to say that, though, I’m a very competitive person. I want to win.”
The Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals will take place Oct. 30-Nov. 2 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with the season-ending In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals scheduled for Nov. 13-16 at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
This story was originally published on October 24, 2025.
The post Championship Crew Chief Dave Connolly Back Behind The Wheel for NHRA Nevada Nationals first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
