<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/g_scelzi07.jpg" alt="g_scelzi07" align="left"borders="0"/>
JOLIET, Ill. (June 6, 2007) - What do you look forward to when you're in the top eight towards the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series' Countdown to the Championship (fourth), have a hiatus awaiting you at the end of the 2007 season, and are headed to one of the fastest quarter-miles on the NHRA drag-racing circuit? A blizzard.
What? That's what four-time NHRA champion Gary Scelzi, driver of the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, is expecting at this weekend's Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., "home track" for Don Schumacher, the team owner who hails from nearby Park Ridge, Ill.
"It's just a great place," says Scelzi, a Fresno, Calif., native. "It's Schumacher's home, and we'll have a ton of Schumacher Electric people in the pits. It's almost like racing at home because of Don being from here. It will be a little hectic at first, but it's always good. There's a friend of Schumacher's who owns a Dairy Queen who always brings Oreo Cookie blizzards, so that's what I'm really looking forward to."
Scelzi also loves the track, at which he's won twice - once in Top Fuel (2000) and again in Funny Car (2005). It's where he became the first Funny Car driver to break the 330-mph barrier (330.15 mph) in 2004.
"We love racing in Chicago," said Scelzi, "because Route 66 Raceway is absolutely one of the best places we go to. The night qualifying session there will be fun. We'll let the big dog eat.
"Besides the Bruton Smith-owned tracks, Chicago is right up there. That's where we broke the 330-mph barrier, we've won here in Top Fuel and in Funny Car and it's one of the fastest tracks we go to. It will be an exciting weekend for the fans and the competitors."
GARY SCELZI QUICK FACTS:
* Fourth in Funny Car points after qualifying No. 1 and winning the 2007 season-opening Pomona event, first-round losses in Phoenix, Gainesville and Las Vegas, and quarterfinal finishes in Houston, Atlanta, St. Louis and Topeka
* Is 220 points behind leader Ron Capps, 66 points short of third
* Scelzi's Chicago record includes one win in Top Fuel (2000), TF runner-ups in 1998 and 2001, and an FC win in 2005 (Eric Medlen)
* Qualified No. 8 in Chicago in 2006, lost semifinal to Robert Hight
* 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 23 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 46 (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 nine 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: 12-8, 3-1 in final rounds
* Says he's stepping away from NHRA competition at end of 2007, but not retiring
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, June 8 – PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, June 9 – PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 12:10 p.m. and 3:05 p.m.
KING DEMON CROWN ELIMINATION ROUNDS at noon, 3, and 4:25 p.m.
SUNDAY, June 10 – Pre-race ceremonies, 10:30 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, June 9, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise one hour and 30 minutes of qualifying highlights at 5 p.m. (ET).
Sunday June 10, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will air NHRA Race Day at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, June 10, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 4 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, June 8, 10:30-11 p.m. (ET) – SBS 6, Transponder 16K (Downlink frequency, 12092.5 MHz, vertical) ANALOG
Saturday, June 9, 8-8:30 p.m. (ET) – SBS 6, Transponder 16K (Downlink frequency, 12092.5 MHz, vertical) ANALOG
Sunday, June 10, 7:30-8 p.m. (ET) – SBS 6, Transponder 16K (Downlink frequency, 12092.5 MHz, vertical) ANALOG
SCELZI LOOKS FORWARD TO FUN FACTOR IN CHICAGO
JOLIET, Ill. (June 6, 2007) - What do you look forward to when you're in the top eight towards the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series' Countdown to the Championship (fourth), have a hiatus awaiting you at the end of the 2007 season, and are headed to one of the fastest quarter-miles on the NHRA drag-racing circuit? A blizzard.
What? That's what four-time NHRA champion Gary Scelzi, driver of the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, is expecting at this weekend's Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., "home track" for Don Schumacher, the team owner who hails from nearby Park Ridge, Ill.
"It's just a great place," says Scelzi, a Fresno, Calif., native. "It's Schumacher's home, and we'll have a ton of Schumacher Electric people in the pits. It's almost like racing at home because of Don being from here. It will be a little hectic at first, but it's always good. There's a friend of Schumacher's who owns a Dairy Queen who always brings Oreo Cookie blizzards, so that's what I'm really looking forward to."
Scelzi also loves the track, at which he's won twice - once in Top Fuel (2000) and again in Funny Car (2005). It's where he became the first Funny Car driver to break the 330-mph barrier (330.15 mph) in 2004.
"We love racing in Chicago," said Scelzi, "because Route 66 Raceway is absolutely one of the best places we go to. The night qualifying session there will be fun. We'll let the big dog eat.
"Besides the Bruton Smith-owned tracks, Chicago is right up there. That's where we broke the 330-mph barrier, we've won here in Top Fuel and in Funny Car and it's one of the fastest tracks we go to. It will be an exciting weekend for the fans and the competitors."
GARY SCELZI QUICK FACTS:
* Fourth in Funny Car points after qualifying No. 1 and winning the 2007 season-opening Pomona event, first-round losses in Phoenix, Gainesville and Las Vegas, and quarterfinal finishes in Houston, Atlanta, St. Louis and Topeka
* Is 220 points behind leader Ron Capps, 66 points short of third
* Scelzi's Chicago record includes one win in Top Fuel (2000), TF runner-ups in 1998 and 2001, and an FC win in 2005 (Eric Medlen)
* Qualified No. 8 in Chicago in 2006, lost semifinal to Robert Hight
* 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 23 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 46 (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 nine 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: 12-8, 3-1 in final rounds
* Says he's stepping away from NHRA competition at end of 2007, but not retiring
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, June 8 – PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, June 9 – PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 12:10 p.m. and 3:05 p.m.
KING DEMON CROWN ELIMINATION ROUNDS at noon, 3, and 4:25 p.m.
SUNDAY, June 10 – Pre-race ceremonies, 10:30 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, June 9, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise one hour and 30 minutes of qualifying highlights at 5 p.m. (ET).
Sunday June 10, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will air NHRA Race Day at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, June 10, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 4 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, June 8, 10:30-11 p.m. (ET) – SBS 6, Transponder 16K (Downlink frequency, 12092.5 MHz, vertical) ANALOG
Saturday, June 9, 8-8:30 p.m. (ET) – SBS 6, Transponder 16K (Downlink frequency, 12092.5 MHz, vertical) ANALOG
Sunday, June 10, 7:30-8 p.m. (ET) – SBS 6, Transponder 16K (Downlink frequency, 12092.5 MHz, vertical) ANALOG
