Scelzi wins Sonoma, moves into second in points

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


SONOMA, Calif. (July 31, 2005) - Fresno, Calif., native Gary Scelzi grabbed
his third win of the 2005 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car season
today, the 32nd of his career (25 Top Fuel wins, seven Funny Car), and his
second at the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway. His 2003
victory here was his first in that class since entering the Funny Car ranks
in 2002 following three Top Fuel championships.

The top two in Funny Car points, Robert Hight and John Force, were ousted in
the first round, which allowed Scelzi, in third coming into this race, to
capitalize on their stumbles and take over second from Force in the
standings and is just 16 points behind leader Hight and 70 ahead of Force in
third.

With his reaction times nothing to brag about today, Scelzi easily steered
his Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus Funny Car past Frank Pedregon in the opening
stanza, posting the quickest round of the day at 4.785-seconds at 325.30
mph., despite his .132 reaction time (.000 is perfect).

The second round saw another easy defeat, with Tim Wilkerson on the losing
end of Scelzi's 4.921/319.14 (.087 R/T).

In the semifinal round against Tony Bartone, Scelzi's .134 reaction time was
actually quicker than Bartone's .137 and Scelzi crossed the finish line with
a winning 4.877/319.67 pass.

The final round was an all-Don Schumacher Racing affair, as Scelzi faced his
teammate Ron Capps for only the second time this season in a round, and
marked only the second time in NHRA history that two DSR Funny Car teammates
have met in the final round. The first and previous all-DSR final round was
in Atlanta in 2004, when Gary Scelzi beat Whit Bazemore.

The pair took off with nearly identical reaction times: .069 for Scelzi,
.073 for Capps. It was not a flawless run for Scelzi, but he was able to
defeat Capps with a 4.984/295.21 as the Mopar/Oakley Dodge exploded at the
finish line. Capps hazed the tires at the finish, losing with a
5.079/293.60.

"When the points guys ahead of you go out first round, the pressure is on
you and you have to deliver," Scelzi said. "My lights were horrible today
and (team owner Don) Schumacher promised he wouldn't fire me, and I came
through in the final.

"We ran as good as anybody (in qualifying fifth) and then first round my
crew chief Mike Neff lowered the boom on them and ran a 4.78. Where that
came from I have no idea. He said last night, 'I think I know where I'm
missing this thing,' and the race track was pretty good first round and it
ran really well.

"But we pulled it back after that because we knew it was going to get hot
and slippery. The car responds to the moves [Neff] makes, even as subtle as
they are, and it did everything he wanted it to do today except for the
final. It knocked the blower off the thing.

"Actually, in the semis, when the front end went crazy, we had too much
front brake in the car. We changed master cylinders and the thing started
vibrating.  I had to let my hand off the wheel and grab both hands on the
brake to try to lock the brakes up and not hit the wall.

"My lights absolutely sucked today. I had to roll it in second round against
Burkart because Burkart's had my number for the last couple of years. He
always seems to run his best number and have his best light (against me). I
rolled it in and got a little better light and then went thin again for the
semis for lane choice for the final.

"And then in the final we had to race Capps. Capps and (Whit) Bazemore - my
two teammates - are probably the two deadliest on the starting line. All
bets were off in the final. Capps and I both stuck our noses in there deep
and I got a good light, but it knocked the blower off, for whatever reason,
I have no idea. But to see that win light was very comforting today."

Scelzi carved his way even closer to winning his first Funny Car
championship today, but he knows there are still eight races left, and he's
not one to ever count out the John Force contingent. "They've stumbled more
than I've ever thought they'd stumble," said Scelzi of Force's now four
straight first-round losses.

"We should have been 100 points ahead of everybody if we'd been able to
capitalize on his early-round losses," said Scelzi, who's had his own string
of two first-round exits in the last four races. "Robert (Hight) has been
deadly, and Force isn't going to stumble like this. If you think that those
guys aren't deadly and can't win this championship you're wrong, and we know
that.

"I'm just not going to think about [the championship]. Force and I are
buddies. I'm not going to worry about it. I put too much effort in this
thing too early. I know how to win championships, I know how to shut my
mouth and I know how to pay attention to what I've got to do, and that's
what I'm doing from here on out, and whatever happens happens. If they get
ahead of us they get ahead of us, If they don't, then they don't. They
decide the champion at the end of the year in Pomona, not right now. But a
win is a big thing right now."

Added crew chief Neff: "We needed to make up some ground with the Force guys
going out early. We've had a lot of opportunities, but we've never been able
to capitalize on it. There's been a lot of pressure on us here lately, so
it's going to feel good to redeem ourselves a little bit after what happened
last weekend (first-round loss to Bazemore).

"The Mopar/Oakley Dodge hasn't been running like it should. I had to step it
up first round, it made a good run, and then from there we decided to
survive the track, so I feel better about that."

Next up is the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., Aug. 12-14,
2005.

FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1. Robert Hight, 1024
2. Gary Scelzi, 1008
3. John Force 938
4. Ron Capps, 936
5. Tommy Johnson Jr., 937
6. Whit Bazemore, 832
7. Eric Medlen, 831
8. Cruz Pedregon, 778
9. Del Worsham, 723
10. Tony Pedregon, 707