(Photo by Trent Gower Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – GAS CITY, Ind. (June 24, 2020) – Giovanni Scelzi showcased speed in both a winged sprint car and a midget throughout four races in a six-day span.
Scelzi made his debut behind the wheel of Guy Forbrook’s sprint car on June 12 at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, which hosted the two-day Brownells Big Guns Bash featuring the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.
Scelzi qualified fifth quickest out of 26 drivers in his group, placed sixth in a heat race and won the Last Chance Showdown to lock into the main event. He then charged from 21st to 14th in the feature to be tied for the third-most cars passed.
“Knoxville was about getting comfortable in the race car,” he said. “I think it takes time. It’s a new car so everything is different. We’ll get more comfortable the more we race. We had awesome speed though.”
Scelzi continued to be fast the following day as he timed in third quickest out of 26 drivers in his group. He was running second in a heat race when an incident ended the night early.
“I was in a spot to make the dash when I got into the infield and spun,” he said. “I tried to run the bottom lane and clipped the infield drain. It just bounced and backed me up into the fence.”
Scelzi was off for two days before joining Tucker Boat Motorsports for a pair of Indiana Midget Week races with the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets beginning a week ago Tuesday at Paragon Speedway in Paragon, Ind.
Scelzi qualified eighth quickest out of 46 drivers before he maneuvered from fifth to third place in a heat race. That locked him into the main event and the feature inversion placed him on the pole for the 30-lap feature. Scelzi led the first 10 laps before losing a pair of positions in traffic. He was maintaining third place until he caught the cushion wrong with nine laps to go.
“We were really fast at Paragon,” he said. “I was pushing too hard and hit the cushion and flipped. It’s easy to do in those cars. I think we could have had a third-place run. We regrouped for a good finish on Tuesday.”
Scelzi also drove for the team the following night at Gas City I-69 Speedway, where he timed in 17th quickest and won a heat race to garner the eighth starting position for the A Main. He continued to progress throughout the feature and posted a fifth-place finish, which was his sixth top five of the season.
“I’m glad we were able to have a good run,” he said. “I struggled to get off turn two. That’s where I think I got beat. I felt better in turns three and four. It was a lot of fun racing the midget again.
“I want to thank Toyota and Tucker Boat Motorsports as well as Guy Forbrook for the opportunities.”
Scelzi returns to pavement competition the next two weekends. He will race this Saturday at Utah Motorsports Campus in Erda, Utah, during the ENEOS/Sunrise Ford Twins presented by West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame with the ARCA Menards Series West.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 12 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 6 (3); B Main: 1 (2); Feature: 14 (21).
June 13 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: DNF (2); B Main: DNS (2).
June 16 – Paragon Speedway in Paragon, Ind. – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 3 (5); Feature: 20 (1).
June 17 – Gas City I-69 Speedway in Gas City, Ind. – Qualifying: 17; Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 5 (8).
SEASON STATS –
22 races, 1 win, 6 top fives, 14 top 10s, 17 top 15s, 19 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Utah Motorsports Campus in Erda, Utah, for the ENEOS/Sunrise Ford Twins presented by West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame with the ARCA Menards Series West
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 and promotional video: https://vimeo.com/216772925
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Panella Trucking
Panella Trucking is one of the largest agriculture carriers in California. For more than 80 years Panella Trucking has been servicing farmers, packers and processors by hauling agricultural goods and providing quality trucking services. For more information, visit http://www.PanellaTrucking.com.
“The Panella Family has been close friends with my family since before I was born,” Scelzi said. “Their support for our racing has been monumental and the work their business does is important for our part of the country.”
Scelzi would like to thank Scelzi Enterprises, Red Rose Transportation, Inc., Whipple Superchargers, Fuel Delivery Services, Inc., Red Line Oil, Roth Motorsports, Schoenfeld Headers, K&N Filters, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, FK Rod Ends, NAPA Auto Parts, Todd Jorgensen, Sparco, Allstar Performance, Worldwide Bearings, Auto Meter and Kenny’s Components 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 Jun 24, 2020
- Article Date: 6/24/2020 by Inside Line Promotions