Scelzi No. 10 in Vegas Fri. qualifying

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
The ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals
Round 22 of 23
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nev.
Race Dates: Oct. 24-26, 2003


LAS VEGAS (Oct. 24, 2003) - Following a stout 4.956-second pass at 311. 92
mph in the first round (fastest speed of that round) Gary Scelzi had an
uncharacteristic miscue in the second qualifying session and traveled the
quarter-mile in only 5.053 seconds at 285.65 mph. This resulted in a No. 10
qualifying effort, not the No. 1 he was aiming for.

"I over-revved it in the burnout," he said. "I'm not hiding it. "This Oakley
Dodge is peppy. We were going to run for the pole and I just got it too high
in the burnout and it's hard to pull back on the throttle. I just blew it. I
hurt a piston on the burnout. When I backed up and hit the gas it knocked
the piston out of it. It had seven cylinders all the way down the race
track. It cost us an oildown and it was not a pretty picture for the driver.

"I don't make a lot of mistakes, but this was a dumb one. So I get to wear
the dunce cap."