Scelzi runs strong in first round, loses to Burkart at U.S. Nats

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 18 of 23
U.S. NATIONALS
O'REILLY RACEWAY PARK
Clermont, Ind.
Race Date: Sept. 1-4, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438;
jstropus@earthlink.net

SCELZI RUN STRONG IN FIRST ROUND, LOSES TO BURKART AT U.S. NATIONALS

CLERMONT, Ind. (Sept. 4, 2006) - Those people who believe drag racing is
just "stand on the gas and get it from A to B" would be considered
misinformed when it comes to the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. With
speeds reaching 334 mph and elapsed times under five seconds, this sport is
clearly more of a science laced with outrageous power, disappointment and
emotional wins and losses.

Gary Scelzi and the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T team were victims of
those aspects as well as of engineering and mechanical issues today at the
U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

The reigning NHRA Funny Car champion, who has won this prestigious event in
Top Fuel but not in Funny Car - since entering that class in 2002 - lost the
opening stanza in today's final eliminations at the historic race. His
dismissal came on a holeshot advantage to Phil Burkart Jr. Scelzi clocked a
quicker elapsed time of 4.731 seconds at 330.96 mph, but Burkart's slower
4.789/323.58 claimed the win light. The margin of victory was an agonizing
two feet.

At first glance, Scelzi's .116 (of a second) reaction time (.000 is perfect)
to Burkart's .054 would appear that the driver was asleep at the wheel, but,
while Scelzi admits Burkart took off ahead of him, he offers the following
technical explanation of the results:

"This weekend especially, we have really been fighting our car to move in
the first 60 feet (of a 1320-ft. track)," he said. "We've been on the very
bottom of the 60-ft. charts which includes the initial hit of the throttle
and moving forward. And we've been 18th, 20th, and nowhere close to the rest
of the guys in the field.

"Our car, from 330 feet to the finish line, is like a couple thousandths (of
a second) behind John Force's best run. We pick up more from there. That's
why we've been running the 330-nph speeds (three times this weekend). But,
no matter what we do to this thing we can't get it to react like (teammates
Ron) Capps' car and (Whit) Bazemore's car. It just won't do it.

"So, we're going to run the car tomorrow (here at ORP) and we're going to
make some completely wacko changes to get our car to run quicker to 60 feet
and to 330 feet. If we could get it to pick up the 200 hundredths to 300
hundredths of a second we're lacking, we'll be running 4.60s and over 330
mph again. Because whatever it does early, it carries it through to the end.

"Yeah, I got beat on a holeshot," Scelzi added. "Phil had a great light and
actually I had about my average light when I staged thin: .100 to .116, .120
- within a couple of hundredths. That's where I'm at all the time thin.

"Phil hit the gas ahead of me, no doubt about it, but his car reacts quicker
too. If we had those two hundredths back - I lost by four thousandths - the
outcome would be different.

"Bazemore is actually going to drive the car for me tomorrow, because I want
him to hit the gas. They've really quickened Bazemore's car up in reaction
time, and he was phenomenal in qualifying. If it picks up with the changes
we're making with him driving, we'll know when we get to Reading if we
actually made it better.

"This is disheartening," Scelzi said of his early exit. "This is Indy. You
don't want to give this one up."

Scelzi remains seventh in the points rankings, with 1001 points.

Next up is the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pa., Sept. 15-17.

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