Scelzi out in second round against Force

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2005 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 2 of 23
CHECKER SCHUCK'S KRAGEN NHRA NATIONALS
FIREBIRD RACEWAY
CHANDLER, ARIZ.
Race Dates: Feb. 25-27, 2005

SCELZI OUT IN SECOND ROUND AGAINST FORCE

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 27, 2005) - Here they go again. In only Gary Scelzi's
third full season in the Funny Car class of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
Series, he has already faced John Force in an elimination round 15 times.
Make that 16 now following today's second-round match-up. Although Scelzi
lost that round, he holds on to his dominant lead in that contest, with nine
wins against his good friend and fierce competitor.

Scelzi also found the redemption he was seeking after losing the first round
at the season-opener at Pomona on a holeshot while setting his career-best
elapsed time and speed.

The three-time Top Fuel champion handily dismissed Tim Wilkerson in the
first round with a .103 reaction time and a winning 4.763/328.54 lap versus
his opponent's 6.682/134.40.

In the second round against the reigning champion, Scelzi nailed the
starting light with a .084 reaction time to Force's .090, then struck the
tires on the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus midway, coasting to an 8.624-second
pass at 90.84 mph. Force was there for the taking, as he crossed the finish
line with a winning but less-than-impressive 4.918/298.80.

"Well, the good news is I left on the same day the Tree came down," laughed
Scelzi. "So that's a big plus. The hot race track just bit us today. We're
going to test here tomorrow and we'll see what happens, and hopefully it
will be this hot. I don't think we missed it by much. I think we just missed
it by a taste.

"When you race the 13-time champ you don't go up there weak. We didn't go up
there to smoke the tires. It just got fast early and got away and the tire
just kept speeding up and the car wasn't.

"We'll go to Gainesville and swing for the fence."

Scelzi stands 10th in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car points,
with 88.

Next up is the NHRA Gatornationals  in Gainesville, Fla., March 18-20.

FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1. Phil Burkart Jr., 164
2. John Force, 152
3. Tommy Johnson Jr., 144
4. Ron Capps, 125
5. Whit Bazemore, 124

10. Gary Scelzi, 88

***