(Photo by Devin M. Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – HANFORD, Calif. (March 1, 2022) – Dominic Scelzi produced a pair of top-five results during the Dave Helm Memorial last Saturday at Keller Auto Speedway.
His second-place showing in the 360ci winged sprint car portion of the program marked Scelzi’s career-best result during a season opener. He capped the night with a fifth-place run in the 410ci winged sprint car main event.
“We didn’t do any testing this winter and we didn’t change anything,” he said. “For us to start maybe be a little behind the eight ball, we were competitive, we gained on it and started off the season on a good note.”
Scelzi overcame an eighth-place qualifying run in the 360 class by winning a heat race, which earned a spot into the dash. He finished where he started – third – to garner the third starting position in the main event.
Scelzi quickly advanced into second place and tracked down the leader, using a slide job in turn four to capture the top spot on Lap 9. Traffic proved to be the difference maker as Scelzi soon lost the lead before regaining it near the midpoint of the feature. However, with a handful of laps remaining Scelzi was slowed on the bottom groove in thick traffic, allowing the second-place driver to make the race-winning pass.
“We got to the lead and a lapped car ran us into the berm,” he said. “I lost the lead, rallied back to the lead and then a lapped car nearly spun in front of me and I lost it again. That was disappointing, but at the end of the day we had good speed and ran second in our first feature of the season.”
Scelzi qualified seventh quickest and placed fourth in a heat race to open the 410 competition. He started the A Main on the inside of the fourth row. The track was fast and Scelzi was one of only three drivers to gain more than one position in the feature, which nearly went non-stop.
“We were off on the gearing in qualifying with the new shape of the track,” he said. “We got better every time we hit the track. It was just really hard to pass. We got to fifth in the feature and pushed third and fourth around the track, but there wasn’t a way to pass. I tried running high and running low, but the opportunity wasn’t there so we settled for fifth.”
Scelzi will take this weekend off before tackling a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series doubleheader March 12-13 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif.
QUICK RESULTS –
Feb. 26 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. (410 sprint car) – Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 4 (3); Feature: 5 (7).
Feb. 26 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. (360 sprint car) – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 3 (3); Feature: 2 (3).
SEASON STATS –
2 races, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 2 top 10s, 2 top 15s, 2 top 20s
UP NEXT –
March 12-13 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.GaryScelziMotorsports.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DominicScelzi41
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scelzi41
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Fuel Delivery Services, Inc.
Based in Stockton, Calif., Fuel Delivery Services, Inc., is a premier bulk transporter of refined petroleum products. For more information, visit http://www.FuelDeliveryServices.net.
“Fuel Delivery Services, Inc., has been a partner of ours since the first year we began racing sprint cars,” Scelzi said. “They supply a lot of product for our family business as well. We’ve been fortunate to work with them for more than a decade.”
Scelzi would like to thank Red Rose Transportation, Inc., Scelzi Enterprises, Whipple Superchargers, System 1, Red Line Oil, FK Rod Ends, Schoenfeld Headers, Roth Motorsports, NAPA Auto Parts, Todd Jorgensen, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, K&N Filters, Sparco, Allstar Performance, Auto Meter, Meridian Steel, Kenny’s Components and Worldwide Bearings for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Mar 01, 2022
- Article Date: 3/1/2022 by Inside Line Promotions