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LAS VEGAS - Gary Scelzi, the Funny Car winner of the 2004 ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, is seeking to double his record this weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, one of his favorites.
The reigning Funny Car champion who drives the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T for Don Schumacher Racing has had a tough year defending his title. He's seventh in the rankings, with no chance of claiming back-to-back crowns. But he welcomes the chance to give it a go for a second season win this weekend as the series winds down to its final two events.
Scelzi does have a shot at a season-ending top-five finish, as he is 125 points behind Tony Pedregon, who sits in that spot.
He was the Funny Car runner-up at this event in 2005, en route to his first Funny Car crown on top of his three Top Fuel championships, and has qualified No. 1 in both the spring and fall races in 2005. He also holds the Funny Car track record of 4.746 seconds, set last fall. It's been a good track for the Fresno, Calif., native.
"We're just hoping that it continues to be a good race track for us," said Scelzi. "We stayed to test the Monday after Virginia (the last race in Richmond, Va.) and found a few things to make the Mopar/Oakley Dodge a little more consistent. It reacted well.
"Vegas is going to be a whole bunch better race track than Virginia was. Should leave us a little bigger window for tuning, and, like I said before, we're taking the gloves off and trying to run as hard as we can, 'cause we have nothing to lose.
"The Strip is a Bruton Smith race track. There's nothing better. It's a great time of year to be here. I'm just so happy to be back on the West Coast. It seems like your mood gets better out here after a long season. We're only five hours from my home, and my family is coming with me. So, we're going to have a good time, and I'm in the right frame of mind."
Scelzi Seeks Second Vegas Victory
LAS VEGAS - Gary Scelzi, the Funny Car winner of the 2004 ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, is seeking to double his record this weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, one of his favorites.
The reigning Funny Car champion who drives the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T for Don Schumacher Racing has had a tough year defending his title. He's seventh in the rankings, with no chance of claiming back-to-back crowns. But he welcomes the chance to give it a go for a second season win this weekend as the series winds down to its final two events.
Scelzi does have a shot at a season-ending top-five finish, as he is 125 points behind Tony Pedregon, who sits in that spot.
He was the Funny Car runner-up at this event in 2005, en route to his first Funny Car crown on top of his three Top Fuel championships, and has qualified No. 1 in both the spring and fall races in 2005. He also holds the Funny Car track record of 4.746 seconds, set last fall. It's been a good track for the Fresno, Calif., native.
"We're just hoping that it continues to be a good race track for us," said Scelzi. "We stayed to test the Monday after Virginia (the last race in Richmond, Va.) and found a few things to make the Mopar/Oakley Dodge a little more consistent. It reacted well.
"Vegas is going to be a whole bunch better race track than Virginia was. Should leave us a little bigger window for tuning, and, like I said before, we're taking the gloves off and trying to run as hard as we can, 'cause we have nothing to lose.
"The Strip is a Bruton Smith race track. There's nothing better. It's a great time of year to be here. I'm just so happy to be back on the West Coast. It seems like your mood gets better out here after a long season. We're only five hours from my home, and my family is coming with me. So, we're going to have a good time, and I'm in the right frame of mind."
