YORK HAVEN, Pa.: Gio Scelzi loves competing at BAPS Motor Speedway, but that didn’t translate into a spot in Victory Lane.
That doesn’t mean he hasn’t been close. The California driver had speed, which has led to a podium finish, but he just couldn’t get over the hump during crunch time.
It changed Friday night. Scelzi took advantage of a late restart and slipped past Justin Peck to claim the 30-Lap Night Before ... A-Main and banked a $6,000 payday for his seventh overall win of the 2022 season.
“Well, no one can give me crap for my restarts, now,” Scelzi said. “I saw the speedy dry laid down there, and Peck has won so many races this year that I know he isn’t fazed by anybody behind him.
“It went green for a long time, and I knew I didn’t have time to really catch anybody. I got racing with Macri, and things just worked out for me. I saw [Peck] slide up in the speedy dry, and that was the only shot I was going to have with the top being dominant.”
Continued Scelzi, “Hats off to my guys. Adam has been working extremely hard, and it seems like we were spinning our tires for a while, but it seems like we have some traction. It’s fun to win, not for me, but for the guys on the team who put their heart and soul into it.”
Danny Dietrich lined up on the pole and took the lead over Peck when the green flag dropped on the main event. The two drivers set a blistering pace around the top, with Peck closing to within a car-length numerous times over the first half of the event.
While Dietrich moved around, Peck was committed to the top. He had a good surge off of Turn 2 to close the back and was able to poke his nose under the leader by the time the 20th circuit was scored.
But Dietrich, a master at BAPS Motor Speedway, was able to maintain his lead by knifing through traffic. That changed, however, on Lap 27 when Peck pulled a slider through the third and fourth corner.
Dietrich didn’t go away, but he pushed the issue too hard on Lap 28. That led to a 360 spin in Turns 3 and 4 and the first caution of the event. The blend rule was used, and the Gettysburg driver remained in second.
On the double-file restart, there was contact between Dietrich and fourth-place Anthony Macri. The result was a nine-car pile-up and an open red flag, which Scelzi used to work on his car and make a bid for the win.
Scelzi slid Peck in the first and second corner but couldn’t corral the lead. At the other end of the speedway, he made it stick and led by a narrow margin at the stripe to complete the 28th circuit.
“We made a couple of small changes,” Scelzi said. “Normally, we dial ourselves out under the red, and we dialed ourselves right in. I knew it was going to be first lap or first corner after that first restart, and it ended up being the first corner.
“So, when you are leading, there isn’t much you can do. I’m sure he was running the top the whole race, and he wasn’t going to move to the bottom. I’ve been close to winning here, and I’ve been on the podium a couple of times. It’s such a cool racetrack, and I wish they would race here more.”
Scelzi pulled away over the final two laps to earn the win. Peck held on for second, with Ryan Smith, Anthony Macri, and Kyle Reinhardt, who charged from 15th to fifth, completing the top five.
In the Creekside Auto Sales Late Model feature, Travis Mease started on the pole and went unchallenged over the race distance to take the 20-Lap victory.
It was a big night for Mease. Not only was it his second victory of the season, he locked up the track championship for the season. DJ Mease, Joey Hoffer, Charles Potts, and Kyle Moser completed the top five in the main event.
The Superior Homes Extreme Stock division competed in a feature-only main event, and Sam Rial topped the field in the 25-Lap event.
Ty Hunsterger started on the outside pole and led the opening five circuits, before Rial, who started eighth, took over. Huntsberger regained the position on Lap 7, but Rial was too much and was back out front on the eighth circuit.
Rial went unchallenged the rest of the way and earned his ninth win of the season at the speedway. Patrick McClane, 12th-place starter Chase Rehbein, Hunter Fulton, and Michael Goodwin completed the top five.
BAPS Motor Speedway
York Haven, PA
Friday, October 21, 2022
For Immediate Release
SPRINTCARUNLIMITED.COM 410 SPRINT CARS
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 18-Gio Scelzi[5]; 2. 13-Justin Peck[2]; 3. 10X-Ryan Smith[3]; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri[6]; 5. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[15]; 6. 5W-Lucas Wolfe[4]; 7. 39-Troy Wagaman Jr[11]; 8. 9-Kasey Kahne[8]; 9. 44-Dylan Norris[10]; 10. 51-Freddie Rahmer[20]; 11. 41-Logan Rumsey[13]; 12. 23A-Chris Arnold[21]; 13. 39T-Cameron Smith (MX)[12]; 14. 97-Brie Hershey[16]; 15. 23-Michael Millard[22]; 16. 22-Bryn Gohn[23]; 17. (DNF) 48-Danny Dietrich[1]; 18. (DNF) 7-Austin Graby[17]; 19. (DNF) 75-Tyler Ross[18]; 20. (DNF) 4R-Tim Wagaman II[7]; 21. (DNF) 69-Tim Glatfelter[9]; 22. (DNF) 99M-Kyle Moody[14]; 23. (DNF) 49H-Bradley Howard[19]; 24. (DNF) 77K-Steven Kisamore[24].
Lap Leaders: Danny Dietrich (1-26), Justin Peck (27), Gio Scelzi (28-30)
410 Sprint Car Qualifying #1: 1. 39M-Anthony Macri, 00:15.262[3]; 2. 13-Justin Peck, 00:15.407[4]; 3. 39-Troy Wagaman Jr, 00:15.429[8]; 4. 4R-Tim Wagaman II, 00:15.653[7]; 5. 41-Logan Rumsey, 00:15.715[2]; 6. 97-Brie Hershey, 00:15.785[6]; 7. 23A-Chris Arnold, 00:15.996[9]; 8. 77K-Steven Kisamore, 00:16.785[1]; 9. 23-Michael Millard, 00:16.880[5].
410 Sprint Car Qualifying #2: 1. 48-Danny Dietrich, 00:15.090[7]; 2. 69-Tim Glatfelter, 00:15.497[5]; 3. 39T-Cameron Smith (MX), 00:15.560[4]; 4. 10X-Ryan Smith, 00:15.586[9]; 5. 99M-Kyle Moody, 00:15.596[6]; 6. 1M-Lachlan McDonough, 00:15.987[2]; 7. 49H-Bradley Howard, 00:15.990[1]; 8. 7-Austin Graby, 00:16.020[8]; 9. 9X-Gordon Senft III, 00:17.190[3].
410 Sprint Car Qualifying #3: 1. 18-Gio Scelzi, 00:15.029[4]; 2. 9-Kasey Kahne, 00:15.225[7]; 3. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 00:15.312[1]; 4. 44-Dylan Norris, 00:15.374[9]; 5. 91-Kyle Reinhardt, 00:15.441[3]; 6. 51-Freddie Rahmer, 00:15.536[2]; 7. 75-Tyler Ross, 00:15.679[8]; 8. 55-Domenic Melair, 00:15.956[5]; 9. 22-Bryn Gohn, 00:16.077[6].
410 Sprint Car Heat #1 (10 Laps): 1. 13-Justin Peck[3]; 2. 4R-Tim Wagaman II[1]; 3. 39M-Anthony Macri[4]; 4. 39-Troy Wagaman Jr[2]; 5. 41-Logan Rumsey[5]; 6. 97-Brie Hershey[6]; 7. 23A-Chris Arnold[7]; 8. 23-Michael Millard[9]; 9. (DNF) 77K-Steven Kisamore[8].
410 Sprint Car Heat #2 (10 Laps): 1. 10X-Ryan Smith[1]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich[4]; 3. 69-Tim Glatfelter[3]; 4. 39T-Cameron Smith (MX)[2]; 5. 99M-Kyle Moody[5]; 6. 7-Austin Graby[8]; 7. 49H-Bradley Howard[7]; 8. 9X-Gordon Senft III[9]; 9. (DNF) 1M-Lachlan McDonough[6].
410 Sprint Car Heat #3 (10 Laps): 1. 5W-Lucas Wolfe[2]; 2. 9-Kasey Kahne[3]; 3. 44-Dylan Norris[1]; 4. 18-Gio Scelzi[4]; 5. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[5]; 6. 75-Tyler Ross[7]; 7. 51-Freddie Rahmer[6]; 8. 55-Domenic Melair[8]; 9. 22-Bryn Gohn[9].
410 Sprint Car Consolation (10 Laps): 1. 49H-Bradley Howard[2]; 2. 51-Freddie Rahmer[3]; 3. 23A-Chris Arnold[1]; 4. 23-Michael Millard[4]; 5. 22-Bryn Gohn[7]; 6. 77K-Steven Kisamore[8]; 7. (DNF) 9X-Gordon Senft III[5]; 8. (DNF) 55-Domenic Melair[6]; 9. (DNS) 1M-Lachlan McDonough.
CREEKSIDE AUTO SALES LATE MODELS
Feature (20 Laps): 1. 116-Travis Mease[1]; 2. 18-Derrick Mease[3]; 3. 21-Joey Hoffer[2]; 4. 5-Charles Potts[5]; 5. 4-Kyle Moser[8]; 6. 19-Bobby Beard[7]; 7. 5W-Travis Horan[11]; 8. ONE-Chuck Schutz[13]; 9. 21M-Matt Murphy[12]; 10. 543-Eric Tripp[6]; 11. 14-Lucas Adams[14]; 12. 96-Matt Adams[10]; 13. 27-Cuyler Upperman[9]; 14. 48-Kyle Nicholas[15]; 15. 62-Devin Frey[4].
Lap Leaders: Travis Mease (1-20)
Late Model Heat #1 (8 Laps): 1. 116-Travis Mease[1]; 2. 18-Derrick Mease[2]; 3. 5-Charles Potts[6]; 4. 19-Bobby Beard[7]; 5. 27-Cuyler Upperman[8]; 6. 5W-Travis Horan[5]; 7. ONE-Chuck Schutz[3]; 8. 14-Lucas Adams[4].
Late Model Heat #2 (8 Laps): 1. 21-Joey Hoffer[2]; 2. 62-Devin Frey[6]; 3. 543-Eric Tripp[4]; 4. 4-Kyle Moser[5]; 5. 96-Matt Adams[7]; 6. 21M-Matt Murphy[3]; 7. (DNF) 48-Kyle Nicholas[1].
SUPERIOR HOMES EXTREME STOCKS
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 11-Sam Rial[8]; 2. 79-Patrick McClane[9]; 3. 54-Chase Rehbein[12]; 4. 7F-Hunter Fulton[4]; 5. 33-Michael Goodwin[14]; 6. 97-Donnie Broderick[7]; 7. 5-Tyler Knaub[15]; 8. 7-Jordan Fulton[5]; 9. 6G-Gordie Marshall[10]; 10. 12-Bryan Hare[13]; 11. 28-Tyler Frye[16]; 12. 98-Richard Daughtrey[11]; 13. 29-Roger Rhodes III[19]; 14. (DNF) LAZY8-John Wright[1]; 15. (DNF) 11D-Dustin Pietrak[17]; 16. (DNF) 41-Howard Williams[18]; 17. (DNF) 65H-Ty Huntsberger[2]; 18. (DNF) 47-Bob Scott[6]; 19. (DNF) 7JR-Johnny Palm[3].
Lap Leaders: Ty Huntsberger (1-5), Sam Rial (6), Huntsberger (7), Rial (8-25)
- administrator on Oct 24, 2022
- Article Date: 10/21/2022 by BAPS Motor Speedway