Inside Line Promotions – ANTIOCH, Calif. (April 25, 2016) – Giovanni Scelzi powered to his first career podium finish in a sprint car during only his second career race in the sport.
The 14-year-old topped his fourth-place finish during his sprint car debut by earning a runner-up result last Saturday at Antioch Speedway, where he made a late-race bid to reach Victory Lane.
“Sprint cars are so big and lazy,” he said. “It’s completely different from what I’m used to. It’s just weird being in the driver seat because the last three or four years I’ve been working on them.
“(Antioch Speedway) is really, really small so it’s good getting a variety on my schedule. The track was slick to the fence. It’s good to race on different surfaces so I can hopefully get better quicker. I’ll be going to a few different places this year in a sprint car so hopefully it’ll help me be more versatile.”
Scelzi didn’t have any problems adjusting to the new division or a new track as he rallied from fifth to third place in a heat race to open the night.
“We got into fourth on the start and then about Lap 6 we passed a car on the entrance of turn three and pulled away,” he said. “I closed in on second, but we ran out of laps.”
That lined Scelzi up on the inside of the second row for the 25-lap main event.
“I fell to fourth on the initial start,” he said. “I got back up to third and ran there for a little. On a restart I passed Koen Shaw on the bottom in turns one and two for second probably halfway through. I ran up on the leader. On the last lap going into turn three he went to the bottom and I went to the top and he beat us by only half a car length at the finish line. It was pretty close at the end.”
Click https://youtu.be/-UqnuROLnkk to watch the complete main event.
Scelzi will take the momentum of a second-place result into next Friday’s sprint car race at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif., where he will drive for Roth Motorsports. Scelzi will wrap up the weekend on Saturday in a micro sprint at Delta Speedway in Stockton, Calif.
QUICK RESULTS –
April 23 – Antioch Speedway in Antioch, Calif. – Heat race: 3 (5); Feature: 2 (3).
SEASON STATS –
9 races, 0 wins, 4 top fives, 4 top 10s, 4 top 15s, 5 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif., and Saturday at Delta Speedway in Stockton, Calif.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.GaryScelziMotorsports.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GioScelzi
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gary-Scelzi-Motorsports/225890834113599
VIDEO –
Here is a link to a highlight video: https://vimeo.com/161410751
Here is a link to a promotional video: https://vimeo.com/160322149
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Panella Racing Engines
Panella Racing Engines, which is owned by Bobby Panella and is based in Stockton, Calif., builds racing engines for a variety of motor sports.
“Last weekend we had our first night on our 360ci engine and we were the fastest guy on the track all night,” Scelzi said. “We’re pretty good family friends with the Panella’s. They’ve been long-time supporters of our family and we really appreciate their help.”
Scelzi would also like to thank Whipple Superchargers, Fowler Packing, Red Rose Transportation, Fuel Delivery Services Inc., Panella Trucking, Carlucci Transport, Roth Motorsports, Scelzi Enterprises, Red Line Oil, Metric Cycles Racing Engines, Schoenfeld Headers, Weld Wheels, FK Rod Ends, K&N Filters, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, MicroBlue Bearings, KW Suspensions, Worldwide Bearings, Sweet Blast Tech, Todd Jorgensen, G&J Truck Sales, Sparco, Simpson Race Products, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Red Fuel, Meridian Steel, Kenny’s Components, Southern Pacific Farms, Auto Meter and Allstar Performance 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 Apr 25, 2016
- Article Date: 4/25/2016 by Inside Line Promotions