Scelzi No. 7 in Chicago, watches Force surpass his record speed

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2004 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 20 of 23
CARQUEST AUTO PARTS NHRA NATIONALS
ROUTE 66 RACEWAY
JOLIET, ILL.
Race Dates: Oct. 1-3, 2004

JOLIET,  Ill. (Oct. 2, 2004) - Gary Scelzi held onto the elapsed time he set
in the first round of qualifying on Friday, of 4.827 seconds at 324.59 mph,
to place No. 7 in the Funny Car field after only three qualifying rounds.

Friday's second round was rained out and today's 50-degree temperatures and
bright sun produced outstanding conditions on Route 66 Raceway's
quarter-mile for quick times and fast speeds.

Driving the HEMI-powered Oakley Dodge Stratus, Scelzi, who had set the
national Funny Car speed record here in May of 330.55 mph under NHRA's
90-percent nitromethane rule and predicted that the record would not likely
be broken this weekend under the new 85-percent rule, watched Funny Car
points leader John Force prove him wrong.

While Scelzi and crew chief Mike Neff struggled to get the right setup to
perform on the ultra-fast and super-quick Route 66 Raceway, posting a
5.038/233.80 in the second session and a tire-smoking 11.427/79.10 in the
final, Force blasted to the finish line with a stunning 4.697-second pass at
332.75 mph, for No. 1.

In order for Force to surpass Scelzi's national top-speed record, he will
need to back it up in eliminations on Sunday within one percent of that
speed (329.42 mph). To establish a new elapsed-time record (Whit Bazemore
currently still holds the record at 4.713 seconds), he will have to back it
up within one percent (4.744).

"I definitely didn't expect that," said Scelzi, who is second in Funny Car
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series points to Force, with three races
remaining. "That was a jaw-dropper and it just goes to show that all of us
are being out-classed by John Force right now, no question about it.

"They have flexed their muscles, and I'm telling you, they're on another
planet. That was just incredible.

"Congratulations to those guys. Whatever they're doing it's working and I
don't know what to say. We tried to step the HEMI Oakley Dodge up and get it
to do what it needs to do and we just couldn't get it done. We'll just keep
trying."

Scelzi faces Jerry Toliver in first round of eliminations on Sunday, which
begin at 11 a.m.

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