(Photo by Devin M. Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – PETALUMA, Calif. (July 10, 2023) – Dominic Scelzi was in contention to win his third straight NARC 410 Sprint Car Series race at Petaluma Speedway last Saturday when disaster struck.
Scelzi led the first 18 laps of the Salute to Baylands Raceway Park feature before falling to second. Soon after, a lapped car appeared to lose steering and drove down the track directly in front of Scelzi, who was unable to avoid contact.
“I don’t know how I didn’t flip,” he said. “There was a lot of damage. It twisted the arm to no return, ripped the shock in half, messed up the rear axle, ripped off the Jacob’s Ladder.”
It was a disappointing end to a night that began very promising as Scelzi qualified fifth quickest. He then won a heat race and the dash to garner the pole position for the 30-lap A Main.
“I felt I was setting a decent pace in the feature,” he said. “I was just trying not to get myself in a bad predicament behind lapped cars. I knew the bottom was dominant. I felt I had a maneuverable and good race car. A lot of times at that track not taking yourself out of it is half the battle.
“I wasn’t exerting myself. The lapped cars were tough because they’d slip up off the bottom so I had to go around them. Chase (Johnson) was good and he was on the bottom. When he got by me I felt I’d need a couple of laps to get to him to race him. We were in traffic so I felt good about the situation until we were involved in that incident.”
Scelzi was unable to return to the track following the contact and he was credited with a 14th-place result.
He plans on venturing to Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., this Friday and Saturday during the 13th annual Howard Kaeding Classic. Friday is a 360ci winged sprint car show and Saturday features a NARC 410 Sprint Car Series race.
“Our goal from the beginning of the year has been to race for wins,” he said. “The goal for this weekend is to have a problem-free weekend. If that means we’re a 10th-place car I’ll take that with a smile. We’ve been fast all year, but the last six weeks we have faced some bad luck. Hopefully we can have a smooth weekend and if we do I think we’ll be in contention to win a race or two.”
QUICK RESULTS –
July 8 – Petaluma Speedway in Petaluma, Calif. – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 1 (1); Feature: 14 (1).
SEASON STATS –
24 races, 5 wins, 15 top fives, 17 top 10s, 21 top 15s, 23 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., for the 13th annual Howard Kaeding Classic with the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.GaryScelziMotorsports.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DominicScelzi41
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scelzi41
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Sparco
Sparco is a leading manufacturer of racing gear, including suits, gloves, helmets, shoes and more. For additional information, visit http://www.SparcoUSA.com.
“They are by far the most comfortable racing suit on the market,” Scelzi said. “They are the safest suit you can possibly buy and they are the best looking. I can’t thank Sparco enough for everything they do for me and my brother every single year.”
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 Jul 10, 2023
- Article Date: 7/10/2023 by Inside Line Promotions