NHRA - SCELZI SEEKS SPRING SUCCESS AT THE STRIP

FRESNO, Calif. (April 10, 2007) - Four-time NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series champion Gary Scelzi has done quite well at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, thank you very much. The majority of his successes, however, came in the fall event and not in the spring.

Fresno native Scelzi, who has three Top Fuel championships and one Funny Car crown under his belt, was the 2004 Funny Car winner at The Strip in the fall, and runner-up in 2005 (from No. 1). His only triumph at the first Las Vegas event of the season was qualifying No. 1 in 2005. Driving the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T for Don Schumacher Racing, he's looking to change that at this weekend's SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.

"We always do well at at the October race at Las Vegas," said Scelzi, winner at the season-opener in Pomona, Calif., this year. "The first race of the year in Vegas hasn't always been that good. We don't really understand why. The conditions are very similar, the race track is fabulous. We absolutely love going there, because the race track doesn't fall off as bad when the sun comes out.

"It's one of those race tracks that, yes, you have to be cautious when the sun is on it, but not as cautious as at the majority of the race tracks where we go when there's sun.

"We're excited about going there; we've done well there in the past. And with two first-round losses and a second-round loss this season (following the victory in Pomona), we need to break that jinx and get ourselves in the final."

John Force Racing is said to be returning this weekend after sitting out the last race in Houston due to Eric Medlen's passing from injuries sustained in a testing accident in Gainesville, Fla. "That's why we all race," said Scelzi, alluding to every Funny Car team's perennial quest to defeat the JFR powerhouse. "It was awfully weird in Houston looking at the qualifying ladder and not seeing all the Force cars there, because they're always a factor, no matter where they qualify. You always like to see when you're going to end up meeting one of them. Not that the other guys aren't capable of beating you, but you always want to know what you've got ahead of you, and Force's cars are always part of that equation."

GARY SCELZI QUICK FACTS:

* Fourth in Funny Car points after qualifying No. 1 and winning the 2007 season-opening Pomona event, first-round losses in Phoenix and Gainesville, and a quarterfinal finish in Houston.

* Is 118 points behind leader Ron Capps, eight points out of third

*Scelzi's Vegas record includes an LV2 win in 2004, runner-up in 2005 (LV2), and low qualifier in both 2005 events

* Qualified No. 12 at LV1 in 2006, lost first round to Tommy Johnson Jr.

* Seventh in 2006 Funny Car points, with a win in Denver (three final rounds), runner-up in Englishtown, N.J., runner-up in Brainerd, Minn., and three semifinal finishes in Bristol, Tenn., Joliet, Ill., and St. Louis.

* Also had seven quarterfinal finishes and no No. 1 qualifiers in '06

* Claimed the 2005 Funny Car championship, his first, by eight points over his teammate Ron Capps, 32 over third-place John Force

* Won three times in 2005 (Bristol, Chicago 1 and Sonoma); was low qualifier six times (Las Vegas 1, Atlanta, St. Louis, Reading, Las Vegas 2, Pomona 2)

* Is a three-time Top Fuel champion (1997, 1998, 2000)

* Became only the second NHRA driver to have won crowns in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. Kenny Bernstein is the first

* Has set 23 Funny Car top speeds since joining Don Schumacher Racing in 2003

* Is a member of the largest team in NHRA pro history: Don Schumacher Racing - one in Top Fuel, three in Funny Car, one in Pro Stock, two in Pro Stock Motorcycle (all four pro categories)

* Is first Funny Car driver to break the 330-mph barrier (330.15 mph at Route 66 Raceway in 2004)

* Career Funny Car bests: 4.690-second ET (Pomona 1 '07), 333.49 mph (Pomona 1 '07)

* Qualified in top five 19 times in 2005, No. 1 six times

* Age 46 (Aug. 11, 1960), born and raised in Fresno, Calif., where he lives with wife Julianne and sons Dominic and Giovanni

* Dominic, 9, races Junior Sprints

* Runs Scelzi Enterprises, a custom truck body design and manufacturing business in Fresno with his two brothers

* Won his first Top Fuel crown as a rookie

* Has nine Funny Car wins, 25 Top Fuel wins * Sixth in 2003 Funny Car points, his first full season in that class

* 2007 is his fifth straight season racing for Don Schumacher Racing

* Is the only NHRA driver to have won in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car. He accomplished this feat by winning Nitro Funny Car at Infineon Raceway in 2003

* Is one of the few Funny Car drivers who has a round winning record against the 13-time Funny Car champion John Force: 11-8, 3-1 in final rounds

WEEKEND SCHEDULE: FRIDAY, April 13, PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 3 and 6 p.m. SATURDAY, April 14, PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at noon and 3 p.m. SUNDAY, April 15, Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.

TELEVISION: Saturday, April 14, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 6 p.m. (ET). Sunday, April 15, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will air NHRA Race Day, at 11 a.m. (ET). Sunday, April 15, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).