Scelzi says he's mum on title talk
DON SCHUMACHER RACING 2005 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES Round 15 of 23 FRAM-AUTOLITE NHRA NATIONALS INFINEON RACEWAY SONOMA, Calif. Race Dates: July 29-31, 2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell, 203-243-2438; jstropus@earthlink.net SCELZI SAYS HE'S MUM ON FUNNY CAR TITLE CHASE TALK SONOMA, Calif. (July 29, 2005) - In the midst of a close battle for the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car championship and stalled in third place after two first-round losses in the last three races while the man everyone wants to beat, John Force, has exited in the opening round in four of the last five races, Gary Scelzi says he doesn't want to talk about the championship anymore. The three-time Top Fuel champion who is looking for his first Funny Car crown is frustrated that he and the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus Funny Car team haven't been able to take advantage of Force's stumbles and move closer to, if not into, the lead. Meanwhile, Force's teammate Robert Hight has taken over the top spot after winning in Denver and taking runner-up in Seattle. "I'm not talking bout the championship anymore," Scelzi says as he gears up for the last event of the Western Swing this weekend, the Fram-Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway. "I'm done talking about the championship. The championship ain't going to be talked about until Pomona. That's where I am at with it. "I've been coaxed into talking about the championship even when I know better. This thing is 23 races long and the more I talk about it the dumber I look, and that's not hard for me to do. So I'm done talking about it." But then he relented and commented on what it's going to take to win for the rest of the season: "We just have to go do our normal stuff. The same thing as every race. We have to qualify well, we have to go down the race track and I can't make a mistake driving, the car can't make a mistake, and maybe we need to have a little luck along the way. That wouldn't hurt us at all. That's what we have to do. "We've got a good race car. I think we have one of the best tuners out here (Mike Neff), and we have the best crew. We just have to go and execute. We need to get around Force when he has these first-round bobbles, and we can't let Robert Hight continue to win rounds. "Otherwise, in another few races, Hight is going to have this thing done. And that's not what we're after. We want to be the world champion. We're going to do whatever we can, but it's in fate's hands. We can only do what we can do." Scelzi won his first Fuel Funny Car race in Sonoma, in 2003, and was No. 1 qualifier here in 2000. He'd like to be only the second NHRA driver to have won championships in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. Kenny Bernstein is the first. In Funny Car points, Scelzi is in third, just 11 points behind Force and 95 points short of first-place Hight. He's also 50 points ahead of his teammate Ron Capps, in fourth place. SCHEDULE: On Friday, July 29, pro qualifying sessions are at 3:45 and 6:45 p.m. On Saturday, July 30, pro qualifying sessions are at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. On Sunday, July 31, pre-race ceremonies begin at 10 a.m., final eliminations at 11 a.m. TELEVISION: On Saturday, July 30, ESPN2 will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 8 p.m. (ET). On Sunday, July 31, ESPN2 will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 9 p.m. (ET). GARY SCELZI QUICK FACTS: * Third in 2005 Funny Car points after 14 races; has two wins (Bristol and Chicago); was low qualifier three times (Las Vegas, Atlanta and St. Louis) * Is in fierce battle with 13-time champion John Force and rookie Robert Hight for 2005 Funny Car crown; just 11 points behind Force, 95 behind leader Hight * Qualified fifth at the 2004 Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals; lost semis to John Force * Funny Car winner here in 2003; No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel in 2000 * Is a member of the largest team in NHRA pro history: Don Schumacher Racing, with nine teams - two in Top Fuel, three in Funny Car, two 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: 4.717-second ET (Pomona '05), 331.53 mph (Pomona '05) * Third in 2004 Funny Car points, with three wins in six final rounds * Qualified in top five nine times in 2004, No. 1 once * Age 44, born and raised in Fresno, Calif., where he lives with wife Julianne and sons Dominic and Giovanni * Dominic, 8, races Junior Sprints * 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 six Funny Car wins, 25 Top Fuel wins * Sixth in 2003 Funny Car points, his first full season in that class * 2005 is his third 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 has a winning record against the 13-time Funny Car champion John Force: 9-8, 3-1 in final rounds * Wants to become only the second driver to have won championships in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. Kenny Bernstein is the first ***