Scelzi wins a big one in Denver

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 13 of 23
Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals
Bandimere Speedway
Morrison, Colo.
Race Date: July 14-16, 2006


SCELZI WINS A BIG ONE IN DENVER

MORRISON, Colo. (July 16, 2006) - It was a long time coming, but Gary Scelzi
finally conquered Bandimere Speedway today by winning his first national
event here in either Top Fuel or Funny Car at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals.

It was a landmark victory for him and for his and event sponsor Mopar, as it
was also Scelzi's first win of the season, his first as the reigning NHRA
POWERade Drag Racing Series champion and his first since Sonoma, Calif., in
2005, 21 races ago.

This also marked his eighth Funny Car win and his 33rd career victory in
both Top Fuel and Funny Car in 53 final rounds.

Driving the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car en route to the
triumph, the four-time NHRA world champion disposed of Scott Kalitta with a
5.092/298.21, John Force with a 5.284/270.54 in the quarterfinal, and Tommy
Johnson Jr. in the semifinal with a 5.182/298.47.

He faced Cruz Pedregon in the final round. Pedregon torched the starting
lights with an almost impossible .011 reaction time (.000 is perfect) to
Scelzi's .090, but Scelzi took over the lead at 500 feet when the engine in
Pedregon's car exploded. Scelzi crossed the finish line in 5.132 seconds at
301.94, while Pedregon coasted across in 5.820 seconds at 202.82 mph.

"Coming here with Mopar being the sponsor, having the Big-Block Party
(Thursday night in Golden, Colo.), and playing golf with the people from
Gates Belts, there was a lot of activity (this week)," said Scelzi, who now
has only Gainesville, Fla., and Englishtown, N.J., on his list as venues
where he hasn't won. "This is a tough place. It's really tough to make cars
run. The track temperatures were hotter than anywhere we've ever been, even
in St. Louis. It was six degrees hotter than St. Louis. It was 146 degrees.
And (crew chief) Mike Neff really has a handle on this thing.

"I've struggled, (with) the car not running, me trying to make things happen
and I've made some dumb mistakes. Mike Neff just keeps being a motivator and
keeps telling me that he doesn't want anybody else in his car and just go
out there and drive it like I normally drive it.

"Mike Neff, Jim Jannard from Oakley, Kevin Miller from Mopar. Those three
have been so instrumental in trying to keep my head on straight. It's a long
time for me. I've been fortunate to be around a lot of good people in cars
that should win and you don't want to be the weak link.

"It doesn't upset me if the car smokes the tires. It upsets me if I do
something wrong. When I went into that final against Cruz, I said, You are
not taking this away from me. There's no way. I've come this far. I'm going
to win Denver. And lucky enough we did.

"We wanted a win. Force and (teammate Ron) Capps have a pretty big lead (in
the points), said Scelzi, who is now sixth in the standings, "but, I tell
you, I have my eye on Robert Hight (in third) right now (39 points ahead of
Scelzi) and that's our goal right now. It's to try to win some races and get
into third. Then we'll just have to see what those other two do. But that's
a pretty big margin to make up this late in the season, but it could be
done."

Said Mike Neff: "It's very difficult as hot as it was. It's not that the
Denver track is a bad track, it's just, given the temperature of the track
was 146 degrees, any track would be difficult. Then, to throw in the
altitude up here, it was as challenging as I could ever see it getting.

"It feels real good (to win). It's been a long time since we've won. We've
been close, but it's really important to get a win here to keep everyone
motivated. The first win of the year always feels good."

Added team owner Don Schumacher: "It is great for them to get their first
win of 2006. The last four races they've really had a great race car, and
just have had some tough breaks with some hiccups. They're doing a great
job, and things are going great. We'll go to Seattle, where the first thing
we have to do is qualify, then we'll go from there."

Next up is next weekend's Schuck's NHRA Nationals at Pacific Raceways,
outside of Seattle, Wash., July 21-23.

FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1. Ron Capps, 1009
2. John Force, 983
3. Robert Hight, 797
4. Tony Pedregon, 781
5. Tommy Johnson Jr., 760
6. Gary Scelzi, 758
7. Eric Medlen, 744
8. Whit Bazemore 625
9. Cruz Pedregon, 586
10. Del Worsham, 568

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