(Photo by M&M Racing Photos)
Inside Line Promotions – HANFORD, Calif. (May 18, 2022) – Dominic Scelzi continued his recent success during the Peter Murphy Classic by sweeping the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series action last weekend.
Scelzi was victorious on Friday at Thunderbowl Raceway and Saturday at Keller Auto Speedway. He also posted results of second on Friday and fourth on Saturday in a 360ci winged sprint car during Sprint Car Challenge Tour competition at each track.
“We went in there and won the two races that really, really matter,” he said. “We won the two 410 races and that helped give us a good cushion in points.”
There are still areas to nitpick for Scelzi, who qualified ninth quickest on Friday and seventh on Saturday during 410 action.
“We didn’t qualify very well either night and that has us a little frustrated,” he said. “I would have hoped we would have qualified better, but we raced phenomenal in the 410 both nights.”
Scelzi won a heat race, placed fourth in the dash and advanced from fourth to earn his first King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series win of the season on Friday at the bullring in Tulare, Calif.
“We got to third pretty quick and then into second about 10 laps in,” he said. “I felt I was about even with Shane (Golobic). Halfway through the race I started gaining through turns three and four. We got into a little bit of traffic with 10 laps to go and he didn’t get through it the way he wanted. I had a really big run and slid him into turn three and cleared him with about seven laps to go.”
Scelzi enjoyed a charge from further back on Saturday when he placed fourth in a heat race before hustling from 12th to capture the feature victory.
“The track got really slick and that made me feel better knowing there was opportunity,” he said. “I got to third pretty quick and felt I was as good or better than Corey Day and Justin Sanders. The track was starting to take rubber so I went into conserve mode because of how hard I had used my tires getting to third. Corey started struggling in traffic and missed the rubber off turn two. Sanders slid him and they ended up crashing. I was barely back enough to miss them. After inheriting the lead I rode off into the sunset and tried not to slip out of the rubber the last 10 laps.”
It paid off for Scelzi, who earned the $11,000 top prize and his fourth career series win at the track.
Scelzi was also a contender in the Sprint Car Challenge Tour event each night. He qualified second quickest before winning a heat race, placing second in the dash and ending second in the main event on Friday at Thunderbowl Raceway.
“I was good all night until the feature,” he said. “I fell back to seventh or eighth and didn’t get going until around Lap 12. I trunked the top wing and started pounding the fence. We got back to second. I was passing for the lead and a yellow came out. That ruined my chances because we had found the best line and the leader hadn’t.”
Scelzi had similar success on Saturday at Keller Auto Speedway, qualifying second quickest, winning a heat race, placing sixth in the pole shuffle and capping the night with a fourth-place finish in the feature.
“In the main we struggled getting grip,” he said. “I had to get my wing back right away and we floundered between fifth to seventh. I had a late charge and we got to fourth.”
The next King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series event is Saturday at Petaluma Speedway in Petaluma, Calif. Scelzi enters with a 21-point lead in the championship standings after four races.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 13 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. (410 sprint car) – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 4 (3); Feature: 1 (4).
May 13 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. (360 sprint car) – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 2 (4); Feature: 2 (2).
May 14 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. (410 sprint car) – Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 4 (3); Feature: 1 (12).
May 14 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. (360 sprint car) – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 1 (1); Pole Shuffle: 6 (3); Feature: 4 (6).
SEASON STATS –
19 races, 3 wins, 11 top fives, 13 top 10s, 16 top 15s, 16 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Petaluma Speedway in Petaluma, Calif., with the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.GaryScelziMotorsports.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DominicScelzi41
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scelzi41
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Scelzi Enterprises
Scelzi Enterprises builds the finest utility truck bodies in the USA, including flatbed bodies, water truck bodies, custom truck bodies, service truck bodies and more. After nearly 40 years in business Scelzi Enterprises occupies 20 acres in South Fresno with additional pool and assembly locations in Oregon, Washington, and Southern California. For more information, visit http://www.SEInc.com.
“Scelzi Enterprises is a family business that has been around far before I was born,” Scelzi said. “Now I have a role there. It’s my daily job and something I really enjoy being a part of. It gives me a lot of pride to represent our family business on the side of our race cars.”
Scelzi would like to thank Red Rose Transportation, Inc., Scelzi Enterprises, Whipple Superchargers, System 1, Fuel Delivery Services, Inc., Red Line Oil, FK Rod Ends, Schoenfeld Headers, Roth Motorsports, K&N Filters, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, NAPA Auto Parts, Todd Jorgensen, Sparco, Allstar Performance, Meridian Steel, Auto Meter, 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 May 18, 2022
- Article Date: 5/18/2022 by Inside Line Promotions