Scelzi says Chicago is his kind of town and track

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Round 20 of 23
CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals
Route 66 Raceway
Joliet, Ill.
Race Dates: Sept. 26-28, 2003

Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell, 203-243-2438 cell

CHICAGO IS MY KIND OF TOWN AND TRACK, SAYS SCELZI

JOLIET, Ill. (Sept. 25, 2003) - Gary Scelzi returns to Route 66 Raceway this
weekend for the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, the second visit to this
track this year. The first time around, Scelzi's Oakley Time Bomb Dodge
Stratus rocketship pulled off an awesome pass of 328.06 mph to put Scelzi in
the NHRA record books as the fastest Funny Car driver in the world.

Eighth in points, and aiming to finish in the top five this season after
struggling early on, Scelzi's game plan is to continue that trend here and
gain points, as only five races remain in the 2003 POWERade Drag Racing
Series.

"Chicago is probably without question the best facility we go to," he says.
"We're going to go back there with a few little changes in the clutch
department because it is a better race track. We're going to try to run low
4.70s every round at over 328 miles an hour. We're going in there swinging
the bat hard because that's the one place where you can do that. We're not
going to be shy.

"We're going go in there and we're going to try to not get outrun and we're
going to aim for the fence," the Fresno native adds.

Three-time Top Fuel champion Scelzi, in his first full season of Nitro Funny
Car competition, is just 49 points out of seventh (Tommy Johnson, Jr.), 98
behind Ron Capps for sixth, and 191 short of fifth place (Del Worsham).

Scelzi has one Nitro Funny Car win in his career, which came this season at
Infineon Raceway in Sonoma.

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