Scelzi claims fifth in Gainesville qualifying

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2005 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 3 of 23
36TH ANNUAL NHRA GATORNATIONALS
GAINESVILLE (Fla.) RACEWAY
Race Dates: March 18-20, 2005


SCELZI CLAIMS FIFTH IN GAINESVILLE QUALIFYING

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 19, 2005) - The zip code said we're in Florida, but
the temperatures the last few days in Gainesville, in the northern part of
the state, said something else.

All the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series classes struggled to get down a
cold track the last two days, where the outside thermometer dipped into the
40s yesterday under cloudy skies, then warmed to the 60s today as the sun
popped out and produced spring-like conditions.

Gary Scelzi, in the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus Funny Car, coasted to an
11.442/75.03 in the first round, was disqualified in the second after
crossing the centerline (6.238/148.71), before finally making a stout pass
in the third session, of 4.815/310.77, the quickest ET of that round.

In today's final attempt, Scelzi clocked a 4.891/312.60, ending up No. 5 in
the 16-car field.

"We struggled a little bit in qualifying," he said. "We never ran under
40-ambient-degree conditions and track temperatures of 60 degrees. We ran in
Vegas a couple of years ago testing like that when it was that cold. We
didn't make it down the track then, we didn't make it down the track now.

"Fortunately, we run under conditions like these only once in a great while.
We came back, rebounded, ran very well with the .81, but for some reason in
the last run it hurt a piston either on the burnout or at the beginning of
the run and it ran on seven cylinders. It ran an .89, so, we're OK."

Scelzi will face his new teammate Ron Capps in the first round of
eliminations on Sunday, the first time the pair will meet as members of Don
Schumacher Racing. "It's unfortunate we get Ron Capps first round," said
Scelzi. "Ron is deadly on the starting line and those guys have been running
very well. But we can't play favorites and friends now. It's time to go to
war and time for us to move up in the POWERade points chase (he's 10th).
We're going to throw everything we got at Ron and see if we can get this
Gatornationals win that's been eluding me for a long time."

Scelzi has won 29 national events in his career, in Top Fuel and Funny Car,
but has never won at the Gatornationals.