Dave Connolly prepares to move from tuning to driving his KB Titan Pro Stock this weekend at New England Dragway, where he won in 2014. (Photo: Al Saucier | The Podium Finish)
EPPING, N.H. – They say a Jack of all trades is master of none, but Dave Connolly is proving that might not be the case. The long time Pro Stock tuner and driver has excelled in every role he has been tasked with and this weekend in Epping, he gets to multi-task, as he steps back into the driver’s seat.
“I was sitting there at my desk (this week) and looked above my desk and the Epping 2014 winner’s circle picture was there,” Connolly said. “That definitely brought back some memories. Last time here we were undefeated, so I don’t know if that’s possible or not, but we’re going to do our best to make it happen.”
Connolly is substituting for KB Titan teammate Eric Latino, as Latino recovers from knee surgery. He was thrown right into the fire during Saturday qualifying, as Latino had qualified for the Mission Foods 2 Fast 2 Tasty Challenge. In the first round of the challenge, he quickly dispatched of teammate Dallas Glenn, who has been nearly unbeatable in 2025. Although he was edged out by Matt Hartford in the final round of the challenge, Connolly showed that he has not missed a beat in his return to the driver’s seat.
“After the last run (on Friday), I kind of muffed the burnout, so I wouldn’t say my confidence is all that high,” Connolly said. “The cars are definitely different than they were in 2014 from the engine standpoint, and drivability. There’s definitely some changes that take a little bit of getting used to.”
Despite some jitters in the second round of Friday qualifying, Connolly enters race day in the top half of the Pro Stock bracket as the No. 7 qualifier.
Dave Connolly climbed back into a Pro Stock for the first time since 2024 in Epping this weekend.
Connolly Goes from Under the Hood to Behind the Wheel
Connolly won the second annual New England Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire, but he had not been behind the wheel of a Pro Stock since 2019 until last year’s PRO Superstar Shootout race, where he made it to the final round. He hopes for a similar performance today at New England Dragway.
“To come out here and go down through there and hit the chutes, it’s like, ‘Man these things are still a lot of fun to drive,’” Connolly said. “I miss it, for sure. But the good thing is, I’ve been very fortunate to work around really talented people and be involved in Pro Stock. It’s always been a class of passion for me.”
Because of that passion, Connolly did not disappear from the sport when he stopped driving. Instead, he moved over to tune for Tanner Gray. Gray won the Road to the Future Award with Connolly as his crew chief, then went on to become the youngest Pro Stock champion in NHRA history. But when Gray moved on to pursue a career in NASCAR, Connolly became a free agent, and when the KB Titan team came knocking, he saw an opportunity.
“I’m very fortunate to work around a bunch of talented, hardworking guys,” Connolly said. “Greg (Anderson) has won 100-plus races for a reason. My whole career I raced against these guys and got on the wrong side of a lot of races with them. In 2019 after Tanner (Gray) stepped out of the seat I joined forces with them.”
Since then, Connolly and KB Titan have been synonymous with success. Led by Greg Anderson and Dallas Glenn, the team has been a consistent title threat, and in 2025, KB powered cars hold three of the top four spots in the Pro Stock standings with defending champion Anderson at the top, Glenn second and Matt Hartford, who is not an official teammate but does use KB power, sitting fourth.
Connolly, along with Nate VanWassenhove and Rob Downing, are a big part of the reason for Anderson and Glenn’s stranglehold on the class.
“Between myself, Rob and Nate we (tune) all five or six cars, depending on if Matt Latino runs as well,” Connolly said. “Nothing’s really changed this weekend, other than instead of setting the wheelie bars on the starting line, I get to jump in the seat and let the clutch out. I like it. I enjoy these things. It was a little over a year since I stepped into one, and before that it was an eight-year absence.”
Connolly said he knows how difficult it is to get on a run of success like this, but he wants to enjoy the ride while his team is firing on all cylinders.
“Right now, yes, I think we have the upper hand, but anybody who has been in the sport of drag racing for this long, you know everything goes in circles,” he said. “So you try to keep your emotions in check and enjoy it while it lasts. But there’s a lot of talented drivers (with Elite Motorsports) and they’re coming for us.”
Dave Connolly studies the track ahead of his qualifying run this weekend at the NHRA New England Nationals. (Photo: Al Saucier | The Podium Finish)
Connolly Enjoying the Moment in Pro Stock Return
The transition back to the driver’s seat has been a smooth one for Connolly this weekend, but he said he never takes off his tuner hat, and he is just as hard on himself – if not harder – than he is on other drivers. Friday night’s snafu in qualifying was an example.
“It’s good to get in there (as a tuner) and get a feel for what the drivers are going through,” he said. “It’s no different. I’ll yell at myself as much as I’d yell at somebody else. I know what it takes to make a good lap and I didn’t do it there.”
After beating Connolly in the 2 Fast 2 Tasty Challenge, Hartford had high praise for Connolly.
“He’s one of the best drivers who has ever run in Pro Stock,” Hartford said. “I had some redemption coming. I lost to him in the PRO race down in Bradenton a couple years ago, so I really wanted to beat him.”
Connolly said he plans to do what he has always done this weekend in Epping – enjoy the ride while he is on it.
“Whether I get to drive beyond this doesn’t matter,” he said. “I was fortunate to be able to drive for a lot of years, and to steal the opportunity to do it this weekend is a blessing.”
