NHRA: Scelzi looks to repeat top fuel victory at Texas Motorplex
24 May 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
ENNIS, Texas - Gary Scelzi has two victories this season, and both final round battles have been against the defending NHRA Winston Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher.
Scelzi, the gritty driver from Fresno, Calif., wore the coveted championship ring for two seasons (1997-'98) before giving it up to the 30-year old Schumacher last year in a tight battle.
Scelzi's determination in defeating Schumacher in finals at Pomona, Calif. and Atlanta is the only proof needed to see that the Team Winston dragster driver will stop at nothing to regain his lost status in the sport.
For Scelzi, it's indeed good to be king. He'll continue to work toward that goal at the fourth annual Castrol Nationals presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts, May 25-28 at the state-of-the-art Texas Motorplex, drag racing's only all-concrete quarter-mile. Scelzi is the defending Top Fuel winner of the $1.8 million race, the ninth of 23 events in the $45 million NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series.
However, Scelzi does know that in order to regain his championship position he'll need to defeat the scrappy Schumacher, who has advanced to five final rounds this season and is the current Winston points leader.
So far, so good in that mission.
"As much as we like to go head-to-head with that Exide bunch and as much as we like to beat them, I have to make sure that I really keep my emotions in check on the starting line or Tony will beat us like he's been beating everyone else this year," Scelzi said. "That team is tough, and as long as they keep going to finals, they're going to be tough."
Not as tough as Scelzi expects the Team Winston dragster to be in upcoming races, thanks to his talented crew chief, Alan Johnson.
"Thank God Alan found the things he did with the car at Atlanta because now we've got that consistency again," Scelzi said. "That's a great feeling to have."
It's contagious. Johnson, usually very reserved, is even breaking a smile these days.
"Alan is a pretty excited guy these days," Scelzi said. "He showed a lot of emotion after that win in Atlanta, and that's a little uncharacteristic of Alan. I think the only other times I've seen him that excited was when we ran the 4.480-second pass in Houston and when we beat Tony at Pomona to open this season. When he's confident, it really reflects on the team."
A team that has posted some of the quickest runs since NHRA mandated the 90-percent nitro rule for Top Fuel and Funny Car teams.
"To run a 4.56 at Atlanta with the new rules in the heat of the day was a major deal," Scelzi said. "Then to run a 4.62 in the final kind of served notice that Alan's on his game. If he stays in this groove, there's a lot of teams that are going to hate to see "Big Red" in the other lane."
CAPPS IS MR. CONSISTENCY: Ron Capps is probably the most excited guy in the Funny Car pit area these days. After suffering through a horrible 1999 season that included three DNQs (did not qualify) and 12 first round losses, the driver of the U.S. Tobacco Camaro is back.
And he's making up for lost time. Although he hasn't won a race since 1998 in Topeka, Kan., Capps feels certain the end to his winless streak is near. The reason for his prediction: consistency.
Capps, an eight-time career winner, has posted runner-up finishes at four events this season.
"We've shown we definitely have a car capable of winning races," Capps said. "Obviously the more finals you're in, the more chances you have to win. We've kept piling up the points. The key to winning the championship is going rounds (during eliminations) on Sunday."
Indeed. Capps has posted final round appearances in Phoenix, Gainesville, Fla., Richmond, Va. and Atlanta. During three of those finals he faced Funny Car dominator John Force. In Florida he lost to new Funny Car championship threat Jerry Toliver, the current Winston points leader and driver of the WWF Racing Pontiac Firebird.
Still, despite his 0-4 final round record in 2000, Capps is certain a victory is near.
"There's a lot of confidence in the driver right now because the car is running well," said Capps, who won five times en route to finishing second overall in the 1998 point standings. "The crew is in a great mood because we're up there in points. It's very exciting."
Prior to the event in Englishtown, N.J., Capps was third in the Winston point standings, 61 behind leader Toliver and 31 behind second place Force. "We'll just keep plugging away," said Capps, from Carlsbad, Calif. "We're trying not to make any dumb moves. If we do that, the wins will come."
SCHUMACHER RETURNS TO SPOT OF HIS FIRST VICTORY: Tony Schumacher, the 1999 NHRA Winston Top Fuel champion, will forever remember the Texas Motorplex for one reason. It is the site of his first victory as a Top Fuel driver.
And that win proved crucial in deciding the NHRA Winston championship last season, which was one of the most competitive championship chases in NHRA history.
Schumacher, from Park Ridge, Ill., is again locked in an extremely tight battle with several of the same drivers who he battled last year, including Scelzi. As much as Scelzi wants the crown back, Schumacher is just as determined to hang on to it.
"It's going to be brutal if anyone wants to take the title away from us, especially Gary (Scelzi)," Schumacher said. "I am going to tell you that we are not going to rest on our laurels. We plan on keeping this title and that means you have to go rounds."
Schumacher's Exide Batteries dragster has made final round runs in Pomona, Calif., Phoenix, Gainesville, Fla., Houston and Atlanta. His only win this season came in Phoenix. Two of his losses have come to Scelzi, a driver that he is eager to settle the score with.
"There are great rivalries in every sport," Schumacher said. "I think you will see more and more intense racing among teams in Top Fuel as the season progresses and people start to separate from the rest of the field. This will be an emotional year for a lot of people."
DIXON READY FOR BACK-TO-BACK EVENTS: Two-time season winner Larry Dixon is anxious to see the results of three straight races over three weekends, with the pivot event at the Texas Motorplex being one of the most crucial stops of the season.
"For me, the way the car is running, it is very exciting to run back-to-back races," said Dixon, driver of the Miller Lite dragster. "It is a major, major load on the crew though. On race day they are constantly changing engines and when it is over, they have four engines to work on from Sunday, as well as any that may have gotten hurt during qualifying. They have got two days to service all those engines and check all the inventory, plus another two days of driving to get to the next race -- in some cases with over 1,000 miles to travel -- like when they go from Englishtown (N.J.) to Dallas."
FORCE IN RECORD MODE: Due to the postponement of the event in Englishtown, N.J., John Force can tie Bob Glidden's historic all-time NHRA win record at the Texas Motorplex. Force has 84 wins entering the event. Glidden holds the record with 85 career victories.
"If it happens, I'm going to enjoy for as long as I can," said nine-time Winston Funny Car champion Force. "I know I won't hold the mark forever but I think it'll be there for a while. It's unbelievable to think I'm so close to these records. Bob Glidden was one of the guys I modeled myself after when I started racing. He was the main man in Pro Stock. No one beat him."
LAMPUS LEARNING: Top Fuel rookie Don Lampus, from Garland, Texas, feels that each time he makes a run in his ExpressAutoParts.com dragster, he becomes a little more adjusted to life in the NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series.
"I'm so confident in our team and what we're capable of accomplishing," said Lampus, a former SCORE off-road racer and 1999 IHRA Top Fuel champion. "Every run this year I've either learned something extremely valuable as a driver, or we've reset our career best numbers. To me, that says progress, which is what a rookie season is all about."
Text provided by Anthony Vestal
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