Good and bad luck for Scelzi in Reading

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2006 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 20 of 23
TOYO TIRES NHRA NATIONALS
Maple Grove Raceway
Mohnton, Pa.
Race Date: Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

GOOD AND BAD LUCK FOR SCELZI IN READING

MOHNTON, Pa. (Oct. 1, 2006) - Reigning NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Funny Car champion Gary Scelzi benefited from good luck in the opening round
of eliminations at the rescheduled Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals today, then was
the victim of bad luck in the second round.

In the opening stanza, driving the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T, Scelzi
got a gift from Gary Densham, who crossed the centerline after Scelzi had
already broken down and slowed to a dead stop in the other lane. Densham was
disqualified, Scelzi received no elapsed time, was towed off the track, yet
won the round.

The second round saw Scelzi versus Phil Burkart Jr., who had just dismissed
his teammate Ron Capps. Scelzi took off with a .096 reaction time; Burkart
responded with a .068 (.000 is perfect). In an instant, it was over for
Scelzi, as he struck the tires early and coasted to an 11.954/75.34 losing
lap.

"Absolutely bizarre," said the Fresno, Calif., native. "It caught us by
surprise. We actually took some timing out of it, took some primary weight
off of it to make sure we'd get down the race track first round, because a
lot of the Top Fuel cars were smoking their tires, and we wanted to be safe.

"We went out there and smoked the tires and I went to pedal it and nothing
happened. Then Densham shot in front of me and I saw cones flying and the
motor was off, the blower drive broke, it wouldn't do anything.

"Next round we took more weight off of it, took more timing out of it, put
bigger tires on it, did everything we thought of to get it down the race
track, and it just didn't want to hear it. It got in trouble right away and
there was nothing we were going to do."

Slightly warmer, sunny conditions today after two days of clouds and
occasional rain drops, may have been a factor. "It's a shock," said Scelzi.
"The sun on the race track just changed everything. The temperature wasn't
that different; it's just like the track was different the last two days to
today. So, we'll see what happens in Virginia."

Scelzi is seventh in points, 61 points out of fifth place.

Next up is the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports
Park in Richmond, Va., Oct. 6-8.

NHRA FUNNY CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1. John Force, 1387
2. Ron Capps, 1386
3. Robert Hight, 1352
4. Tony Pedregon, 1241
5. Eric Medlen, 1169
6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 1143
7. Gary Scelzi, 1108
8. Whit Bazemore, 956
9. Phil Burkart, 899 (winner today)
10. Cruz Pedregon, 844

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