Scelzi fouls out in Texas, falls to second in points

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2005 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 21 of 23
O'REILLY NHRA FALL NATIONALS
Texas Motorplex
Dallas, Texas
Race Dates: Oct. 7-9, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438;
jstropus@earthlink.net

SCELZI FOULS OUT IN TEXAS, FALLS TO SECOND IN POINTS

DALLAS (Oct. 9, 2005) - It was a bad day in the Don Schumacher Racing corral
today, as Gary Scelzi relinquished his NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Funny Car points lead to John Force after fouling out in the first round.

The tension could be sliced with a butter knife as both Scelzi and his
teammate Ron Capps were existing on adrenaline and little else to get
through the day, as the battle for the Funny Car championship comes down to
the wire, with just two events left after today's O'Reilly NHRA Fall
Nationals at the Texas Motorplex.

Scelzi was matched against Phil Burkart Jr. in the opener and had only Capps
of all the title contenders to deal with on his side of the ladder.

It was a warm day filled with excitement. Perhaps too much, as Scelzi
red-lighted with a -.023 reaction time, handing the win to his opponent, who
posted a 4.865/313.80 pass for the victory.

The three-time Top Fuel champion who is seeking his first Funny Car crown
fell to second in points and is now 36 points behind the 13-time champion,
who won today.

"It's as tough as it gets right now," said Scelzi. "My foot moved and my
brain didn't. I still had a hold of the brake and I just made a mental
mistake. I'm not famous for that, obviously, but it happened and it happened
at the absolute wrong time.

"It's just going to make it that much harder the rest of the season, but
we're not giving up, obviously. It's just going to make it harder than it's
already been.

"So, we're going to load up, go to Vegas, run the wheels off this thing and
it's going to be 'Everybody, stand back.'

"I only had one red light in my whole professional career. It was in 1998 in
Englishtown against Cory McClenathan (in Top Fuel.)

"That's one kick in the @#$%," he added.

Next up is the ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip in Las Vegas on Oct.
21-23.

FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1. John Force, 1396
2. Gary Scelzi, 1360
3. Ron Capps, 1339
4. Robert Hight, 1291
5. Eric Medlen, 1263
6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 1167
7. Whit Bazemore, 1129
8. Del Worsham, 1103
9. Tony Pedregon, 1089
10. Cruz Pedregon, 941

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