Scelzi reaches semis after defeating Force at U.S. Nats

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2005 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 18 of 23
50th ANNUAL U.S. NATIONALS
INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK
RACE DATES:  Sept. 3-6, 2004

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 6, 2004) - Gary Scelzi, second in the NHRA POWERade Drag
Racing Series Funny Car standings, and points leader John Force have been
spending way too much time together this season on the quarter-mile as
Scelzi vies for his first Funny Car crown in the HEMI-powered Oakley Dodge
Stratus, and Force his 13th.

The pair matched up in an elimination round for the fifth straight event
today at the prestigious 50th Annual U.S. Nationals, and in seven of the
last eight events. For the second time this season, Scelzi defeated Force on
a holeshot advantage, in the second round, after first disposing of his
teammate Johnny Gray in the opening round.

The Fresno native and three-time Top Fuel champion defeated Force on a
holeshot back in Brainerd, Minn., and Force paid him back with a holeshot
winner in the quarterfinal at the last event in Memphis.

Scelzi's career round win-loss record against Force now stands at 7-5 and
Scelzi has inched closer to the points lead, although losing in the
semifinal round to Cruz Pedregon. Scelzi is now 206 points behind.

"I didn't know I had him," said Scelzi in the top-end interview after
upsetting Force. "And I was looking for that green machine to come flying by
there. It's good if you can beat him. It ain't a win at Indy, but, damn, it
sure feels good.

"It's big. It's fun. It's exciting," he added. "You just get up to race the
champ because you know that his car is fast and John is the best driver out
here. He's always ready.

"It's been a duel all year long and I like it. And I really enjoy racing him
because he doesn't play any games and he's a 12-time champion and nobody
else out here can say that.

"It's neat for me to be able to stand up and go toe-to-toe with him and
sometimes have some pretty good results."

Losing on a holeshot is not always what it seems. "The thing that reporters
might not understand is when you roll the car in deeper (at the staging
lights) you have a great reaction time," Scelzi explained. "When you roll it
in thinner for lane choice your reaction time is worse. Sometimes the guy's
late, but most of the time it's who rolled it in deeper.

"They can say holeshot, shmoleshot. When you're a driver you don't think
much of that."

As for Force's reaction to him at the finish line: "He was pretty quiet,"
said Scelzi. "It's the U.S. Nationals. I've beat him before and John has
always been very gracious and happy. He was very gracious, but you could see
the emotion. He wanted to win bad.

"And when the media and everybody are saying you got beat on a holeshot, it
hurts. I know what I felt like after Memphis. It was just seven thousandths
of a second."

In the semifinal round against Cruz Pedregon, Scelzi had the edge in
reaction time, but went up in smoke at about half-track. Scelzi pedaled it
to regain control as the car veered to the centerline. Pedregon also lost
traction and the pair fought it out to the finish line, with Pedregon taking
the win light by a .1566 margin. "For whatever reason, it wore a clutch, and
saw too much clutch and it smoked the tires," said Scelzi. "It's like the
magic clutch discs; we don't know."

Next on the NHRA schedule is the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pa.,
Sept. 16-19.

FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS:

1. John Force, 1379
2. Gary Scelzi, 1173
3. Whit Bazemore, 1152
4. Del Worsham, 1107
5. Gary Densham, 1090 (winner today)
6. Eric Medlen, 1059
7. Tim Wilkerson, 1039

***