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MOHNTON, Pa. (Aug. 18, 2007) - Gary Scelzi steered the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car into the No. 6 spot in qualifying for the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals, and he's pleased with the team's efforts.
Scelzi's quick pass came in the cooler Friday-night session, a 4.850-second run at 315.93 mph, good for No. 4 at the time. Today's final two rounds produced a 4.950/312.71 and another straight 4.894/316.45, each a strong pass, but it didn't improve his standing, and he fell to sixth. His only tire-smoking pass was his first on Friday, a 6.708/127.04.
"Thrilled to death," he said. "One run with tire smoke, and the other three go right down the race track. We've got something to race with. I'm excited.
"It's fun working with Todd," he said of his new crew chief Okuhara, who shares tuning duties with Phil Shuler. "He's so mellow, and so relaxed. So was Zippy (former crew chief Mike Neff).
"Tomorrow's going to be fun. We have (second in points) Robert Hight first round. Big race. We've got a chance to make a move here and this is it," he said of escalating up from seventh in the standings for when the next phase of the Countdown to the Championship begins at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend. "We want to get as high as we can in those POWERade points, so we don't give anything away coming into Indy. Because now it's crunch time. We've got to get serious.
"The Mopar/Oakley Dodge is coming around at the right time. Todd and I are starting to really get together here, and the guys are having a good time. Let's get it, baby."
SCELZI PLEASED WITH NO. 6 QUALIFYING SPOT IN READING
MOHNTON, Pa. (Aug. 18, 2007) - Gary Scelzi steered the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car into the No. 6 spot in qualifying for the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals, and he's pleased with the team's efforts.
Scelzi's quick pass came in the cooler Friday-night session, a 4.850-second run at 315.93 mph, good for No. 4 at the time. Today's final two rounds produced a 4.950/312.71 and another straight 4.894/316.45, each a strong pass, but it didn't improve his standing, and he fell to sixth. His only tire-smoking pass was his first on Friday, a 6.708/127.04.
"Thrilled to death," he said. "One run with tire smoke, and the other three go right down the race track. We've got something to race with. I'm excited.
"It's fun working with Todd," he said of his new crew chief Okuhara, who shares tuning duties with Phil Shuler. "He's so mellow, and so relaxed. So was Zippy (former crew chief Mike Neff).
"Tomorrow's going to be fun. We have (second in points) Robert Hight first round. Big race. We've got a chance to make a move here and this is it," he said of escalating up from seventh in the standings for when the next phase of the Countdown to the Championship begins at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend. "We want to get as high as we can in those POWERade points, so we don't give anything away coming into Indy. Because now it's crunch time. We've got to get serious.
"The Mopar/Oakley Dodge is coming around at the right time. Todd and I are starting to really get together here, and the guys are having a good time. Let's get it, baby."
