Dave Connolly had a homecoming this weekend. The native of nearby Elyria, Ohio, battled his way to the final and came up just short, but he made an important move up in the NHRA Pro Stock standings in the process just as the summer tour is heating up.

Connolly began his bid for the title from the No. 7 position, and he absolutely came out swinging in the first round of eliminations. True to form, Connolly left the starting line with an intuitive .007-second reaction time and then blasted down the quarter-mile to a 6.590 at 210.08 mph to handily dispose of Greg Anderson's 6.595, 210.64.

Just as Connolly did, Gray Motorsports teammate Shane Gray also won his first-round match, and the two squared off for the first time since the 2012 Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte. Gray got the nod two years ago, but this time it was Connolly who advanced as he turned a starting line advantage into a win, clocking a .016-second reaction time and winning with a 6.607 to Gray's quicker 6.597.

The semifinals with Allen Johnson turned into quite a spectacle as Connolly had to work the throttle pedal of the Charter Communications Camaro when both drivers fell into tire shake. Connolly got his Camaro to grab hold of the track and recorded a 6.83 to 11.306 win over AJ and in doing so scored his second trip to the final round in four races. Just two weeks ago, Connolly beat Jonathan Gray in the final round in Epping, N.H.

Connolly lost lane choice to low qualifier Erica Enders-Stevens for the final, but he hadn't lost hope. Unfortunately, a win for Connolly this weekend wasn't in the cards.

"I was hoping a little of that luck we had in the semis would have stayed on our side, but it didn't pan out like we hoped today," said Connolly. "We made some good adjustments to the car and we made a race out of that final, at least. We have a great team, though, and we're getting better all the time. I feel very good about this weekend for the team as a whole – Shane was the No. 2 qualifier, Jonathan stayed in the Top 10 in the points, and we got to another final with the Charter Communications car. We're definitely on the right path."

In what had to be the upset of the Pro Stock class, Chris McGaha (far lane) beat Vincent Nobile in the quarterfinals. Looks like McGaha’s bringing back crew chief Brian “Lump” Self was a good idea.