E'town NHRA Friday notes from Schumacher Racing
DON SCHUMACHER RACING NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series K&N Filters NHRA SuperNationals - Round 8 of 23 Old Bridge Township Raceway Park - Englishtown, N.J. Friday, May 16, 2003 SCELZI TO DRIVE MATCO TOOLS-BODIED DODGE STRATUS FUNNY CAR IN E'TOWN Gary Scelzi will trade his Oakley Time Bomb body on his Dodge Stratus Funny Car for a Matco Tools body here at the K&N Filters NHRA SuperNationals. His Schumacher Racing entry will resemble Whit Bazemore's usual Matco Tools Dodge, while Bazemore will run a special silver-painted Matco Tools Distributor Special. At the next race in Topeka, Kans., Scelzi will return to his usual mount, while Bazemore will sport another new body, the Matco Tools Fast and Furious Dodge Stratus. "I talked to (Oakley's) Jim Jannard to make the Gary Scelzi Oakley car into a Matco Tools car for this race because we are running what was originally going to be the Matco Tools SuperNationals," said team owner Don Schumacher. "I felt it was appropriate and Jim agreed with me to try to give Matco Tools as much coverage as we could with the two cars and he agreed to let me change Scelzi's car over at this race to the Matco Tools Oakley Dodge. It will be back to being the Oakley Dodge at the Topeka, Kans., race next week." GARY SCELZI OPENS GARY SCELZI'S WILD THING EXTREME WEAR IN FRESNO Gary Scelzi opened Gary Scelzi's Wild Thing Extreme Wear "boutique" in his hometown of Fresno, Calif., last Saturday, which sells Oakley apparel and eyewear, as well as Scelzi race-car memorabilia, including die-casts, rods and pistons from his Oakley Dodge Funny Car. "It's something new and unique that I wanted to try," said Scelzi. "I have a couple of partners in it (Mike Noble and Scelzi's accountant, Gail Garbadian) and the first weekend it was open went very well. It's in Noble's Truck Accessory Company that sells customized truck parts and accessories. We've got a whole corner of the store." DON SCHUMACHER SPEAKS AT SARDI'S Schumacher Racing team owner Don Schumacher spoke in front of approximately 100 members of the Madison Avenue Sports Car Driving and Chowder Society last Tuesday at a luncheon at the world-famous Sardi's Restaurant in New York City. Schumacher covered the subject of race sponsorship, how to obtain sponsors for race teams in these economically challenging times, and, most importantly, how to maintain these sponsors and to provide them the best return for their investment. Schumacher's unique business approach has made his team, which became a multi-car team in 2001, the largest NHRA Pro racing team in 2003, with three Funny Cars and one Top Fuel Dragster. Whit Bazemore's Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus R/T Funny Car was parked in front of the restaurant on West 44th Street, attracting a large crowd of fans and onlookers. Schumacher invited all in attendance at the luncheon to be his guests at the K&N Filters SuperNationals at Englishtown, N.J., this weekend. "I thought it was the right thing to do," said Schumacher, who also owns Schumacher Electric in Mt. Prospect, Ill. "I was impressed with the interest the members had in this subject and their intelligent questions. They probably have never been to an NHRA drag race, so I thought I would provide them the opportunity to see an NHRA professional drag race up close and personal."