SCELZI'S GOT HIS CAR BACK, HEADS TO ATLANTA
DON SCHUMACHER RACING
Contact: Judy Stropus
COMMERCE, Ga. (May 3, 2006) - Reigning NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car champion Gary Scelzi is back on top of the world after a strong semifinal-round finish at Bristol Dragway last Sunday in the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus Charger R/T.
It's been a tough start to this season for the four-time NHRA champion who's famous for setting top speeds across the nation - 21 in Funny Car to be exact since joining Don Schumacher Racing in 2003. He's had four early-round losses and a DNQ before Bristol's semifinal result. Following pre-Bristol productive test sessions, the always-competitive, ever-hot team of Gary Scelzi and young crew chief Mike Neff are beginning to see that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.
Scelzi was No. 1 qualifier at Atlanta Dragway last year en route to his first Funny Car championship. He's never won Funny Car here, but is a two-time Top Fuel titlist at this dragstrip. Winning this Sunday would certainly pump up his and the Mopar/Oakley team's spirits.
"After the weekend in Bristol, we've finally got our race car back," says the Fresno, Calif., native. "It may be a little too late to win a championship, but we can still do a lot of damage.
"I feel good. Going into Bristol and now Atlanta, it's the best I've felt all year long. I know we have a hot rod that can win, and it should qualify in the top half of the field.
"We're digging ourselves out of this hole," he says of his 363-point deficit between his 11th place in the standings and the lead. "The first thing we have to do is concentrate on getting back in the top 10, then just start moving up the food chain."
GARY SCELZI QUICK FACTS:
* Eleventh in 2006 Funny Car points after six events
* 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)
* Became only the second NHRA driver to have won crowns in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. Kenny Bernstein is the first
* Has two Top Fuel wins at Atlanta Dragway, in 1999 and 2000, one TF runner-up in 1997, and a Funny Car runner-up in 2004
* At 2005 Summit Racing Equipment Nationals he qualified No. 1, lost second round to Cruz Pedregon
* Has set 21 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)
* Is first Funny Car driver to break the 330-mph barrier (330.15 mph at Route 66 Raceway in 2004)
* Career Funny Car bests: 4.697-second ET (Chicago 2 '05), 332.51 mph (Pomona 1 '06)
* Qualified in top five 19 times in 2005, No. 1 six times
* Age 45, born and raised in Fresno, Calif., where he lives with wife Julianne and sons Dominic and Giovanni
* Dominic, 8, races Junior Sprints
* Runs Scelzi Enterprises, a custom truck body design and manufacturing business in Fresno with his two brothers
* Is a three-time Top Fuel Dragster champion
* 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: 9-8, 3-1 in final rounds
SCHEDULE:
Friday, May 5, professional qualifying sessions are at 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 6, pro qualifying continues at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 7, pre-race ceremonies are 10 a.m. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, May 6, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 9 p.m. (ET).
Sunday May 7, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute weekly news magazine show, at 11:30 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, May 7, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, May 5, 9-9:30 p.m. (ET) SBS 6 / 2K (11749.5 MHz, vertical)
Saturday, May 6, 8:30-9 p.m. (ET) SBS 6 / 2K (11749.5 MHz, vertical)
Sunday, May 7, 9:30-10 p.m. (ET) SBS 6 / 2K (11749.5 MHz, vertical)
***
Contact: Judy Stropus
COMMERCE, Ga. (May 3, 2006) - Reigning NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car champion Gary Scelzi is back on top of the world after a strong semifinal-round finish at Bristol Dragway last Sunday in the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus Charger R/T.
It's been a tough start to this season for the four-time NHRA champion who's famous for setting top speeds across the nation - 21 in Funny Car to be exact since joining Don Schumacher Racing in 2003. He's had four early-round losses and a DNQ before Bristol's semifinal result. Following pre-Bristol productive test sessions, the always-competitive, ever-hot team of Gary Scelzi and young crew chief Mike Neff are beginning to see that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.
Scelzi was No. 1 qualifier at Atlanta Dragway last year en route to his first Funny Car championship. He's never won Funny Car here, but is a two-time Top Fuel titlist at this dragstrip. Winning this Sunday would certainly pump up his and the Mopar/Oakley team's spirits.
"After the weekend in Bristol, we've finally got our race car back," says the Fresno, Calif., native. "It may be a little too late to win a championship, but we can still do a lot of damage.
"I feel good. Going into Bristol and now Atlanta, it's the best I've felt all year long. I know we have a hot rod that can win, and it should qualify in the top half of the field.
"We're digging ourselves out of this hole," he says of his 363-point deficit between his 11th place in the standings and the lead. "The first thing we have to do is concentrate on getting back in the top 10, then just start moving up the food chain."
GARY SCELZI QUICK FACTS:
* Eleventh in 2006 Funny Car points after six events
* 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)
* Became only the second NHRA driver to have won crowns in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. Kenny Bernstein is the first
* Has two Top Fuel wins at Atlanta Dragway, in 1999 and 2000, one TF runner-up in 1997, and a Funny Car runner-up in 2004
* At 2005 Summit Racing Equipment Nationals he qualified No. 1, lost second round to Cruz Pedregon
* Has set 21 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)
* Is first Funny Car driver to break the 330-mph barrier (330.15 mph at Route 66 Raceway in 2004)
* Career Funny Car bests: 4.697-second ET (Chicago 2 '05), 332.51 mph (Pomona 1 '06)
* Qualified in top five 19 times in 2005, No. 1 six times
* Age 45, born and raised in Fresno, Calif., where he lives with wife Julianne and sons Dominic and Giovanni
* Dominic, 8, races Junior Sprints
* Runs Scelzi Enterprises, a custom truck body design and manufacturing business in Fresno with his two brothers
* Is a three-time Top Fuel Dragster champion
* 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: 9-8, 3-1 in final rounds
SCHEDULE:
Friday, May 5, professional qualifying sessions are at 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 6, pro qualifying continues at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 7, pre-race ceremonies are 10 a.m. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, May 6, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 9 p.m. (ET).
Sunday May 7, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA 2Day, a 30-minute weekly news magazine show, at 11:30 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, May 7, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, May 5, 9-9:30 p.m. (ET) SBS 6 / 2K (11749.5 MHz, vertical)
Saturday, May 6, 8:30-9 p.m. (ET) SBS 6 / 2K (11749.5 MHz, vertical)
Sunday, May 7, 9:30-10 p.m. (ET) SBS 6 / 2K (11749.5 MHz, vertical)
***
posted by David @ 11:06 PM
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