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FRESNO, Calif. (Feb. 19, 2008) - Four-time NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series world champion Gary Scelzi is brimming with confidence heading into the second round of 24 events in the 2008 NHRA season, the NHRA Nationals at Firebird Raceway, just outside of Phoenix, this weekend.
The driver of the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing is ready to settle into a long season battling for a second Funny Car crown, now that the opening event of the year in Pomona, Calif., is over.
"I'm really excited about going to Phoenix," said Scelzi, who landed in the quarterfinals in Pomona and is tied in fifth place in the standings with three other drivers. "I felt that we could have done damage in Pomona. It was unfortunate that we broke a Heim joint (in his second round against John Force) that is connected to the barrel valve. But it's one of those things; it's something that just never breaks. So, we'll write that off as one that got away.
"Firebird is a tough, tricky race track," added Scelzi, the 1997 winner there in the Top Fuel class. "The quickest-ever Funny Car elapsed time was set there last year (4.636 seconds by Robert Hight), and there was also a lot of tire smoke. I'm really confident in (crew chief) Todd Okuhara, in the way he and the other DSR crew chiefs work together. I'm confident in the car we're running, because it's the car we ran last year, so there's no curve balls being thrown at us there. We're in the top 10. We just need to go there and start making our move right now and begin marching our way into the Countdown."
As for getting past the first event of the year, "I don't know if winning a round makes a difference," said Scelzi, "but I know all the photography for hero cards, ESPN shooting their season HD footage, getting the new uniforms sorted out, and all all those things we go through at the first event, are a real pain in the butt to get through, so Pomona is always tough. And the fans are crazy because it's the first race of the year. That's a good thing, but I'm just glad it's all out of the way and now we can concentrate on winning and that's a big thing."
GARY SCELZI QUICK FACTS:
* Tied in fifth place after one event in 2008
* Third in 2007 Funny Car point standings
* Won class-best four national events in 2007, in four final rounds
* Qualified No. 1 and won the 2007 season-opening Pomona event (against Robert Hight), again qualified No. 1 and won the Chicago event, then won in Memphis and Richmond
* His other results in 2007 are first-round losses in Phoenix, Gainesville, Las Vegas, Englishtown, Denver, Sonoma, Reading, Indianapolis, Dallas, Las Vegas 2 and Pomona 2, quarterfinal finishes in Houston, Atlanta, St. Louis, Topeka, Bristol and Seattle, a semifinal finish in Brainerd, and a DNQ in Norwalk
* Has one Top Fuel win at Firebird Raceway, in 1997, his rookie season, but has not won there in Funny Car
* Was No. 1 qualifier once at Firebird, in Top Fuel, in 2000
* Seventh in 2006 Funny Car points, with one win in three final rounds, no low qualifiers
* 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, was low qualifier six times
* Is a three-time Top Fuel champion (1997, 1998, 2000)
* Became only the second NHRA driver to have won crowns in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. Kenny Bernstein is the first
* Has set 24 Funny Car top speeds since joining Don Schumacher Racing in 2003
* Is first Funny Car driver to break the 330-mph barrier (330.15 mph at Route 66 Raceway in 2004)
* Career Funny Car bests: 4.690-second ET (Pomona 1 '07), 333.49 mph (Pomona 1 '07)
* Qualified in top five 19 times in 2005, No. 1 six times
* Has 37 career national-event titles in 58 final rounds
* Career round win-loss record is 370-193
* Age 47 (Aug. 11, 1960), born and raised in Fresno, Calif., where he lives with wife Julianne and sons Dominic and Giovanni
* Dominic, 10, races Restricted 600 Mini 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 12 Funny Car wins, 25 Top Fuel wins
* Sixth in 2003 Funny Car points, his first full season in that class
* 2008 is his sixth 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 by winning Nitro Funny Car at Infineon Raceway in 2003
* Is one of the few Funny Car drivers who has a round winning record against the 14-time Funny Car champion John Force: 12-11, 3-1 in final rounds
* Said early in 2007 that he would step away from NHRA competition at end of season. An offer from NHRA team owner Ken Black to fly him to and from 10 races in 2008, so he could spend more time with family business and family, helped him change his mind and return with DSR in 2008
WEEKEND SCHEDULE: Pro qualifying sessions are scheduled for 1:30 and 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22. Qualifying continues at noon and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23 and final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24.
ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise qualifying highlights at 2 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, Feb. 24. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, Feb. 24. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise the race beginning at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Feb.
24.
TV COORDINATES: Friday, Feb. 22, 10-10:30 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 10R / Transponder 24K (analog)
Saturday, Feb. 23, 10-10:30 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 10R / Transponder 24K (analog)
Sunday, Feb. 24, 10:30-11 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 10R / Transponder 24K (analog) Downlink Frequency: Galaxy 10R/Transponder 24K -- 12184 MHz Horizontal
ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest news updates from every NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at NHRA.com.
SCELZI BRIMMING WITH CONFIDENCE HEADING TO PHOENIX
FRESNO, Calif. (Feb. 19, 2008) - Four-time NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series world champion Gary Scelzi is brimming with confidence heading into the second round of 24 events in the 2008 NHRA season, the NHRA Nationals at Firebird Raceway, just outside of Phoenix, this weekend.
The driver of the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing is ready to settle into a long season battling for a second Funny Car crown, now that the opening event of the year in Pomona, Calif., is over.
"I'm really excited about going to Phoenix," said Scelzi, who landed in the quarterfinals in Pomona and is tied in fifth place in the standings with three other drivers. "I felt that we could have done damage in Pomona. It was unfortunate that we broke a Heim joint (in his second round against John Force) that is connected to the barrel valve. But it's one of those things; it's something that just never breaks. So, we'll write that off as one that got away.
"Firebird is a tough, tricky race track," added Scelzi, the 1997 winner there in the Top Fuel class. "The quickest-ever Funny Car elapsed time was set there last year (4.636 seconds by Robert Hight), and there was also a lot of tire smoke. I'm really confident in (crew chief) Todd Okuhara, in the way he and the other DSR crew chiefs work together. I'm confident in the car we're running, because it's the car we ran last year, so there's no curve balls being thrown at us there. We're in the top 10. We just need to go there and start making our move right now and begin marching our way into the Countdown."
As for getting past the first event of the year, "I don't know if winning a round makes a difference," said Scelzi, "but I know all the photography for hero cards, ESPN shooting their season HD footage, getting the new uniforms sorted out, and all all those things we go through at the first event, are a real pain in the butt to get through, so Pomona is always tough. And the fans are crazy because it's the first race of the year. That's a good thing, but I'm just glad it's all out of the way and now we can concentrate on winning and that's a big thing."
GARY SCELZI QUICK FACTS:
* Tied in fifth place after one event in 2008
* Third in 2007 Funny Car point standings
* Won class-best four national events in 2007, in four final rounds
* Qualified No. 1 and won the 2007 season-opening Pomona event (against Robert Hight), again qualified No. 1 and won the Chicago event, then won in Memphis and Richmond
* His other results in 2007 are first-round losses in Phoenix, Gainesville, Las Vegas, Englishtown, Denver, Sonoma, Reading, Indianapolis, Dallas, Las Vegas 2 and Pomona 2, quarterfinal finishes in Houston, Atlanta, St. Louis, Topeka, Bristol and Seattle, a semifinal finish in Brainerd, and a DNQ in Norwalk
* Has one Top Fuel win at Firebird Raceway, in 1997, his rookie season, but has not won there in Funny Car
* Was No. 1 qualifier once at Firebird, in Top Fuel, in 2000
* Seventh in 2006 Funny Car points, with one win in three final rounds, no low qualifiers
* 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, was low qualifier six times
* Is a three-time Top Fuel champion (1997, 1998, 2000)
* Became only the second NHRA driver to have won crowns in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. Kenny Bernstein is the first
* Has set 24 Funny Car top speeds since joining Don Schumacher Racing in 2003
* Is first Funny Car driver to break the 330-mph barrier (330.15 mph at Route 66 Raceway in 2004)
* Career Funny Car bests: 4.690-second ET (Pomona 1 '07), 333.49 mph (Pomona 1 '07)
* Qualified in top five 19 times in 2005, No. 1 six times
* Has 37 career national-event titles in 58 final rounds
* Career round win-loss record is 370-193
* Age 47 (Aug. 11, 1960), born and raised in Fresno, Calif., where he lives with wife Julianne and sons Dominic and Giovanni
* Dominic, 10, races Restricted 600 Mini 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 12 Funny Car wins, 25 Top Fuel wins
* Sixth in 2003 Funny Car points, his first full season in that class
* 2008 is his sixth 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 by winning Nitro Funny Car at Infineon Raceway in 2003
* Is one of the few Funny Car drivers who has a round winning record against the 14-time Funny Car champion John Force: 12-11, 3-1 in final rounds
* Said early in 2007 that he would step away from NHRA competition at end of season. An offer from NHRA team owner Ken Black to fly him to and from 10 races in 2008, so he could spend more time with family business and family, helped him change his mind and return with DSR in 2008
WEEKEND SCHEDULE: Pro qualifying sessions are scheduled for 1:30 and 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22. Qualifying continues at noon and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23 and final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24.
ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise qualifying highlights at 2 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, Feb. 24. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, Feb. 24. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise the race beginning at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Feb.
24.
TV COORDINATES: Friday, Feb. 22, 10-10:30 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 10R / Transponder 24K (analog)
Saturday, Feb. 23, 10-10:30 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 10R / Transponder 24K (analog)
Sunday, Feb. 24, 10:30-11 p.m. (ET) – Galaxy 10R / Transponder 24K (analog) Downlink Frequency: Galaxy 10R/Transponder 24K -- 12184 MHz Horizontal
ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest news updates from every NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at NHRA.com.
