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LAS VEGAS (Oct. 23, 2007) - Gary Scelzi says he's unusually calm before the storm of the Countdown to One, which begins this weekend at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With two events remaining in the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series before a Funny Car champion is named out of the top four in points, second-place Scelzi is busy with parental and team owner duties.
"You know what?" he said, "I'm working on (son) Dominic's stuff (Restricted 600 Mini-Sprint). We raced last Saturday, and my midget (with driver Michael Faccinto) is going to race on Saturday in Vegas. I'm going into Vegas with the same approach we had when we went into Virginia: go there and try to qualify in the top half of the field. Hopefully, my nerves won't go to pieces until Sunday. And, hopefully, we won't wait until the last qualifying session to get in.
"We'll be a little less dramatic," added the driver of the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T who didn't make the field at the last event in Virginia until the final qualifying session, then went on to win his fourth season event and move into second from sixth in the standings. "I've been in these situations so many times, fortunately, that fate is fate. It's either going to happen or it's not going to happen. So you just go in there and you try to treat it like another race. We all know that's not going to happen, but I'm not going to worry about it until the time comes to worry about it.
"Right now we're in Vegas, (wife) Julie and I and the kids (Dominic and Giovanni) are going to spend some time and see a show. We have a baby sitter coming out and Julie and I are going to spend a couple of days in Vegas and go to dinner with friends. We're just going to have a good time and try to relax and I'll worry about all that stuff come Friday."
As for last week's test session at The Strip: "We learned a lot of things," said Scelzi, a four-time NHRA world champion, including a 2005 Funny Car title. "Todd (Okuhara, crew chief along with Phil Shuler) seemed to be extremely happy with what we've learned.
"If I were to pick a crew chief to take me to Vegas, I want the guy who won Vegas and set the national record at Pomona going into the last two races," said Scelzi of Okuhara, who tuned Scelzi's teammate Jack Beckman's MTS Dodge at the end of 2006 to those exact results. "I'm excited about having Todd and Phil in my corner and our working together. I think our chances are as good if not better as anybody's. I believe things are going to be good."
Scelzi's record at The Strip includes a 2004 (LV2) victory in Funny Car, an FC runner-up in 2005, and two No. 1 qualifiers, at both 2005 events.
GARY SCELZI QUICK FACTS:
* Second in Countdown to One point standings
* Earned seventh in the Funny Car Countdown to the Championship points for the top eight, then moved into second after winning Richmond, solidifying a spot in the top four for the Countdown to One
* Qualified No. 1 and won the 2007 season-opening Pomona event, again qualified No. 1 and won the Chicago event, then won in Memphis and Richmond
* His other results this season are first-round losses in Phoenix, Gainesville, Las Vegas, Englishtown, Denver, Sonoma, Reading, Indianapolis and Dallas, quarterfinal finishes in Houston, Atlanta, St. Louis, Topeka, Bristol and Seattle, a semifinal finish in Brainerd, and a DNQ in Norwalk
* Has one FC win at The Strip (2004 LV2), one runner-up (2006 LV2), and two No. 1 qualifiers, both in 2005
* Qualified No. 9 in LV2 in 2006, lost first round to Tony Pedregon
* Seventh in 2006 Funny Car points, with a win in Denver (three final rounds), runner-up in Englishtown, N.J., runner-up in Brainerd, Minn., and three semifinal finishes in Bristol, Tenn., Joliet, Ill., and St. Louis.
* Also had seven quarterfinal finishes and no No. 1 qualifiers in '06
* 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)
* 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 a member of the largest team in NHRA pro history: Don Schumacher Racing - one in Top Fuel, three in Funny Car, one 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: 4.690-second ET (Pomona 1 '07), 333.49 mph (Pomona 1 '07)
* Qualified in top five 19 times in 2005, No. 1 six times
* 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
* 2007 is his fifth 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: 12-10, 3-1 in final rounds
* Said earlier this year that he would step away from NHRA competition at end of 2007. 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:
FRIDAY, Oct. 26 – PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, Oct. 27 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
TECHNICOAT TOP FUEL SHOOTOUT, with rounds at 1 p.m., 3:20 p.m. and 4:45 p.m.
SUNDAY, Oct. 28 – Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, Oct. 27, two hours of qualifying coverage at 10 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD
Sunday, Oct. 28, NHRA Race Day, half-hour preview show at 11 a.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD
Sunday, Oct. 28, three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD
SCELZI CALM BEFORE THE STORM IN VEGAS
LAS VEGAS (Oct. 23, 2007) - Gary Scelzi says he's unusually calm before the storm of the Countdown to One, which begins this weekend at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With two events remaining in the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series before a Funny Car champion is named out of the top four in points, second-place Scelzi is busy with parental and team owner duties.
"You know what?" he said, "I'm working on (son) Dominic's stuff (Restricted 600 Mini-Sprint). We raced last Saturday, and my midget (with driver Michael Faccinto) is going to race on Saturday in Vegas. I'm going into Vegas with the same approach we had when we went into Virginia: go there and try to qualify in the top half of the field. Hopefully, my nerves won't go to pieces until Sunday. And, hopefully, we won't wait until the last qualifying session to get in.
"We'll be a little less dramatic," added the driver of the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T who didn't make the field at the last event in Virginia until the final qualifying session, then went on to win his fourth season event and move into second from sixth in the standings. "I've been in these situations so many times, fortunately, that fate is fate. It's either going to happen or it's not going to happen. So you just go in there and you try to treat it like another race. We all know that's not going to happen, but I'm not going to worry about it until the time comes to worry about it.
"Right now we're in Vegas, (wife) Julie and I and the kids (Dominic and Giovanni) are going to spend some time and see a show. We have a baby sitter coming out and Julie and I are going to spend a couple of days in Vegas and go to dinner with friends. We're just going to have a good time and try to relax and I'll worry about all that stuff come Friday."
As for last week's test session at The Strip: "We learned a lot of things," said Scelzi, a four-time NHRA world champion, including a 2005 Funny Car title. "Todd (Okuhara, crew chief along with Phil Shuler) seemed to be extremely happy with what we've learned.
"If I were to pick a crew chief to take me to Vegas, I want the guy who won Vegas and set the national record at Pomona going into the last two races," said Scelzi of Okuhara, who tuned Scelzi's teammate Jack Beckman's MTS Dodge at the end of 2006 to those exact results. "I'm excited about having Todd and Phil in my corner and our working together. I think our chances are as good if not better as anybody's. I believe things are going to be good."
Scelzi's record at The Strip includes a 2004 (LV2) victory in Funny Car, an FC runner-up in 2005, and two No. 1 qualifiers, at both 2005 events.
GARY SCELZI QUICK FACTS:
* Second in Countdown to One point standings
* Earned seventh in the Funny Car Countdown to the Championship points for the top eight, then moved into second after winning Richmond, solidifying a spot in the top four for the Countdown to One
* Qualified No. 1 and won the 2007 season-opening Pomona event, again qualified No. 1 and won the Chicago event, then won in Memphis and Richmond
* His other results this season are first-round losses in Phoenix, Gainesville, Las Vegas, Englishtown, Denver, Sonoma, Reading, Indianapolis and Dallas, quarterfinal finishes in Houston, Atlanta, St. Louis, Topeka, Bristol and Seattle, a semifinal finish in Brainerd, and a DNQ in Norwalk
* Has one FC win at The Strip (2004 LV2), one runner-up (2006 LV2), and two No. 1 qualifiers, both in 2005
* Qualified No. 9 in LV2 in 2006, lost first round to Tony Pedregon
* Seventh in 2006 Funny Car points, with a win in Denver (three final rounds), runner-up in Englishtown, N.J., runner-up in Brainerd, Minn., and three semifinal finishes in Bristol, Tenn., Joliet, Ill., and St. Louis.
* Also had seven quarterfinal finishes and no No. 1 qualifiers in '06
* 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)
* 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 a member of the largest team in NHRA pro history: Don Schumacher Racing - one in Top Fuel, three in Funny Car, one 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: 4.690-second ET (Pomona 1 '07), 333.49 mph (Pomona 1 '07)
* Qualified in top five 19 times in 2005, No. 1 six times
* 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
* 2007 is his fifth 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: 12-10, 3-1 in final rounds
* Said earlier this year that he would step away from NHRA competition at end of 2007. 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:
FRIDAY, Oct. 26 – PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, Oct. 27 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
TECHNICOAT TOP FUEL SHOOTOUT, with rounds at 1 p.m., 3:20 p.m. and 4:45 p.m.
SUNDAY, Oct. 28 – Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, Oct. 27, two hours of qualifying coverage at 10 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD
Sunday, Oct. 28, NHRA Race Day, half-hour preview show at 11 a.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD
Sunday, Oct. 28, three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD
