SCELZI EYEING FUNNY CAR CHAMPIONSHIP IN LAST SEVEN RACES

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
ROUND 17 of 23
O'REILLY MID-SOUTH NHRA NATIONALS
MEMPHIS (Tenn.) MOTORSPORTS PARK
RACE DATES: Aug. 20-22, 2004




MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Aug. 18, 2004) - Gary Scelzi has done it before. He's gone
from being 215 points behind with six races left in a season to win a Top
Fuel championship, of which he's won three, and he's aiming for his first
Funny Car crown in his second full season of Funny Car competition in the
HEMI-powered Oakley Dodge Stratus.

With seven races remaining in the 2004 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series,
including this weekend's O'Reilly Mid-South NHRA Nationals at Memphis
Motorsports Park, the Fresno native has soared to second from sixth in the
Funny Car point standings in just the last six races.

He has reached two final rounds in that time, plus three semifinal rounds,
winning once in St. Louis. He is just 164 points behind leader John Force,
whom he's met in the last three semifinals (winning one of those) and
defeated for his first 2004 win in St. Louis. Scelzi has a clear edge over
the 12-time Funny Car champion, with a 6-4 win-loss career record against
him. 

Particularly sweet for Scelzi was his holeshot win over Force in the
semifinals last weekend in Brainerd, Minn.

"If you look at the last six or seven races, we've been there," said Scelzi.
"We're racing smart. We might be a surprise to some of the reporters. They
haven't been paying very much attention, and now they have to pay attention.
We have to play smart ball, because there's no room for error, like I've
been saying all along.

"In Memphis we're running in the evening and it doesn't look like it will be
too terribly hot," he added. "But it doesn't really seem to matter with crew
chief Mike Neff's tune-up. It's a night race, so the track should be tight.

"It's not just having power and having a race car that can run really good
in good conditions; it's being able to have a universal combination and it
looks like we're on to that right now.

"And, again, it's just paying attention. We need to go rounds and we need to
go further than Force, and that's what we're looking at.

"We're not looking at who's behind us or who's beside us. It's race the race
track and go rounds. That's the key to this deal right now.

"So we're going to Memphis with the same game plan we've since the
beginning: no mistakes, run well and go rounds."

On Friday, Aug. 20, professional qualifying sessions are scheduled for 4:30
p.m. and 7 p.m. On Saturday, Aug. 21, pro qualifying continues at 3 and 6
p.m., with final eliminations beginning at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 22.
 
On Saturday, Aug. 21, ESPN2 will televise two hours of qualifying highlights
at 10 p.m. (ET). On Sunday, Aug. 22, ESPN2 will televise two hours of
eliminations at 10 p.m. (ET). On Sunday, Aug. 22, ESPN2 will broadcast NHRA
2Day, a 30-minute weekly news magazine show, at 11:30 a.m. (ET).

GARY SCELZI QUICK FACTS:

* At the 2003 O'Reilly Mid-South NHRA Nationals Gary Scelzi qualified No. 3,
lost first round to Dean Skuza
* Scelzi last won in Memphis in Top Fuel in 2000
* Holds national Funny Car top-speed record of 330.55 mph. He demolished his
own previous national record of 329.18 mph, which he had set in 2003 at
Route 66 Raceway
* Is first Funny Car driver to break the 330-mph barrier (Route 66 Raceway
in 2004)
* Second in 2004 Funny Car points after 16 events, is 164 points out of the
lead
* Age 44, born and raised in Fresno, Calif., where he lives with wife
Julianne and sons Dominic and Giovanni
* Runs Scelzi Enterprises, a custom truck body design and manufacturing
business in Fresno with his two brothers
* Is a three-time Top Fuel Dragster champion
* Won his first Top Fuel crown as a rookie
* Has two Funny Car wins, 25 Top Fuel wins
* Sixth in 2003 Funny Car points, his first full season in that class
* 2004 is his second 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 at Infineon
Raceway in 2003
* Is one of the few Funny Car drivers who have a winning record against the
12-time Funny Car champion John Force: 6-4.

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