Scelzi in agonizingly tight Funny Car battle going to Memphis
DON SCHUMACHER RACING 2005 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES Round 17 of 23 O'REILLY NHRA MID-SOUTH NATIONALS MEMPHIS (Tenn.) MOTORSPORTS PARK Race Dates: Aug. 19-21, 2005 MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Aug. 18, 2005) - It's agonizing. Several races ago, Gary Scelzi was talking about how he wasn't able to capitalize on John Force's early-round exits to move into the lead of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings. Today, he's tortured by the fact that he can't capitalize on Force's teammate rookie Robert Hight's miscues. Seemingly forever mired in second or third place since the Columbus, Ohio, race in May (eight races ago), the driver of the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus R/T Funny Car, which has set 19 top speeds since 2003 (and holds the record at 322.42 mph at Memphis Motorsports Park), is understandably a little frustrated after losing the first round last week in Brainerd, Minn., when points leader Hight did the same. Scelzi did gain two points on Hight by out-qualifying him and is now just 14 points out of the lead. Consequently, the drivers behind Hight and Scelzi (one, two in points), John Force and Ron Capps (three and four) have taken advantage (Force reaching the finals, Capps the semis) and now the four drivers are within one to three round wins of either maintaining the top spot, taking it over, or falling back in a big way. It's an exciting time. With only seven races remaining in the season, it's anybody's championship and the pressure is on. This weekend's O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park, the prelude to the prestigious U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend, should be a barnburner. And Scelzi, a Fresno, Calif., native, says he's still not ready to talk about a potential Funny Car crown to go with his three Top Fuel championships. "I'm not talking about nothing," he laughed. "To me there's nothing to talk about. I'm in the hunt, and that's great. We should have capitalized on a lot of these things. Either I screwed up or the car screwed up, or both. It's just frustrating as hell, so I really don't want to get worked up over it." He'll talk about the Memphis track, however: "It's at night; hopefully they put some lighting in so we can see where we're going. I'm not crazy about having the first round of eliminations at 3 o'clock in the afternoon when we qualify after 4 in the evening, but we'll just see what happens." SCHEDULE: On Friday, Aug. 19, professional qualifying sessions are at 4:30 and 7 p.m. On Saturday, Aug. 20, pro qualifying sessions continue at 3:30 and 6 p.m. On Sunday, Aug. 21, pre-race ceremonies are at 2 p.m., and final eliminations begin at 3 p.m. TELEVISION: On Saturday, Aug. 20, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 8 p.m. (ET). On Sunday, Aug. 21, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 10 p.m. (ET). Also on Sunday, Aug. 21, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will broadcast NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute weekly news magazine show, at 11:30 a.m. (ET). GARY SCELZI QUICK FACTS: * Second in 2005 Funny Car points after 16 races; has three wins (Bristol, Chicago and Sonoma); was low qualifier three times (Las Vegas, Atlanta and St. Louis) * Is in fierce battle with 13-time champion John Force, rookie Robert Hight and teammate Ron Capps for 2005 Funny Car crown; just 14 points behind Hight, eight ahead of Force and 31 in front of Ron Capps * Qualified second at the 2004 O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals; lost second round to John Force * Has not won Funny Car here, but was Top Fuel winner in 2000 * Holds Funny Car speed record here, 322.42 mph, set in 2003 * 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 45, 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 seven 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 round 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