FC champ Scelzi on course to No. 3 in points in Memphis
DON SCHUMACHER RACING 2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES Round 17 of 23 O'REILLY NHRA MID-SOUTH NATIONALS Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park Race Date: Aug. 18-20, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438; jstropus@earthlink.net FC CHAMP SCELZI ON COURSE TO NO. 3 IN POINTS IN MEMPHIS Also, Dominic Scelzi Racing Update MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Aug. 17, 2006) - Gary ScelzI is making dead aim towards the No. 3 spot in the 23-event NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car point standings as the season winds down to the last seven venues, including the 17th round this weekend, the O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park. The reigning Funny Car champion, three-time Top Fuel Champion, and 2000 Top Fuel winner in Memphis, who is seventh in the standings after his runner-up finish in Brainerd, Minn., on Sunday, knows his chances of getting back into the Funny Car championship chase are slim. He's 240 points behind leader and teammate Ron Capps and 192 short of second-place John Force. The driver of the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car does see a chance to finish in the top three, however, and has his sights set on knocking Tony Pedregon, 50 points ahead, out of that position. "Everything is good," says the Fresno, Calif., native, who's had one win, two runner-ups and one semifinal finish in the last six races. "I'm really pleased with the performance we had in Brainerd. The Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger is showing signs of recovery again. We're just a little bit off on our consistency, but it's a lot better than it's been for the last two races. "We're coming into another hot, slippery race track," he says of Memphis, "and we did well in Denver (winner), so I think we should be fine, even with the new combination, which should be OK. "We actually tested part of this combination on Monday after the St. Louis race, but we didn't have all the pieces we needed. But it went right down the track in St. Louis when it was hot, so I'm thinking it should just carry right on over to Memphis. "We tested some experimental stuff. Not all the stuff we have now, just some of it, and it worked really well. So, I think we have enough knowledge now between the test we did there and the test we did in Chicago (before Brainerd), that we should be in pretty good shape." Scelzi and the team struggled earlier in the season, but they're chipping their way back to the front, despite actually losing a position last weekend. "We lost a spot, but we are closer to Tony Pedregon in third now," Scelzi says. "We're like three rounds out of third even though we fell to seventh. We built a little bit of a cushion between us and (Whit) Bazemore (in eighth), but we just need to look forward and not look behind us." DOMINIC SCELZI UPDATE: Nine-year-old Dominic Scelzi continues to excel in the Junior Sprint class in California. After what his dad Gary Scelzi called "a bad weekend," Dominic is just 40 points out of the lead with seven races remaining in the season. Dominic had the chance to make another step up in his fledgling racing career by testing a Mini Sprint in Lemoore, Calif., on Tuesday. "He did really good," said the elder Scelzi. "He races Junior Sprint, which has a 100 cc Yamaha engine in it, and we put him in a 600 cc Mini Sprint. His car is 400 pounds, this one is 750 pounds with 60 horsepower instead of 17. "He hauled ass. I don't think he has enough upper body strength yet to go 20 laps and a 10-lap heat race and qualifying, and, actually, he is too young to be in one. "His first reaction was that he didn't want to drive the Junior Sprint anymore. I said, Hey, you have another year to drive this thing before you can even get in that other deal. "We'll probably build one over the winter and then get him practicing all year long, so by the time he goes he'll have enough strength." As for last weekend in the Junior Sprint, in which Dominic is in a three-way battle for the lead, "He finished fourth and the other two kids got around him - one by 10 points, the other one by 30. He's fine," said Gary. "They have a big Friday-Saturday show this weekend in Visalia. I'm going to miss that. That will be a big event and he could take the lead again. The three of them are all bunched in real close." GARY SCELZI QUICK FACTS: * Seventh in 2006 Funny Car points after 16 events * So far, in 2006, his best results are a win in Denver, runner-up in Englishtown, N.J., runner-up in Brainerd, Minn., and three semifinal finishes in Bristol, Tenn., Joliet, Ill., and St. Louis. Also has five quarterfinal finishes * Claimed the 2005 Funny Car championship, his first, by eight points over his teammate Ron Capps, 32 over third-place John Force * Won three times in 2005 (Bristol, Chicago 1 and Sonoma); was low qualifier six times (Las Vegas 1, Atlanta, St. Louis, Reading, Las Vegas 2, Pomona 2) * Is a three-time Top Fuel champion * Became only the second NHRA driver to have won crowns in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. Kenny Bernstein is the first * Only win in Memphis was in TF in 2000; has never won Funny Car here * At 2005 Memphis event, he qualified No. 2, lost second round to teammate Ron Capps * Has set 23 Funny Car top speeds since joining Don Schumacher Racing 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) - and two individual teams competing under the DSR banner: Mike Ashley's Funny Car team, which DSR is managing, and Erica Enders' Pro Stock team, running under a partnership agreement with DSR * Is first Funny Car driver to break the 330-mph barrier (330.15 mph at Route 66 Raceway in 2004) * Career Funny Car bests: 4.696-second ET (Pomona 2 '05), 332.51 mph (Pomona 1 '06) * Qualified in top five 19 times in 2005, No. 1 six times * Age 46 (Aug. 11, 1960), born and raised in Fresno, Calif., where he lives with wife Julianne and sons Dominic and Giovanni * Dominic, 9, races Junior Sprints * Runs Scelzi Enterprises, a custom truck body design and manufacturing business in Fresno with his two brothers * 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 * 2006 is his fourth 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: 11-8, 3-1 in final rounds WEEKEND SCHEDULE: FRIDAY, Aug. 18 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 4:30 and 7 p.m. SATURDAY, Aug. 19 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 2 and 6 p.m. SUNDAY, Aug. 20 - Pre-race ceremonies, 2 p.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 3 p.m. TELEVISION: Saturday, Aug. 19, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 8 p.m. (ET). Sunday, Aug. 20, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 10 p.m. (ET). Sunday, Aug. 20, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will broadcast NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute weekly news magazine show, at 11:30 a.m. (ET). SATELLITE: Friday, Aug. 18, 11-11:30 p.m. (ET) - Galaxy 11 / 20 K (12100 MHz, vertical) Saturday, Aug. 19, 10:30-11 p.m. (ET) - Galaxy 11 / 20 K (12100 MHz, vertical) Sunday, Aug. 20, 10-10:30 p.m. (ET) - Galaxy 11 / 20 K (12100 MHz, vertical) ***