(Photo by Trent Gower Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 18, 2020) – Giovanni Scelzi captured a 13th-place outing last Saturday during the 9th annual Brownells Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank.
It was a strong result during the marquee World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series event that replaced this year’s Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway. Approximately 70 drivers tackled the three-day show with the KCP Racing driver kicking off the competition last Thursday.
Scelzi qualified 25th quickest and advanced from fourth to third place in a heat race, which ranked him 15th in overall points and earned a lock-in position into the A Main. Scelzi continued to march forward in the feature as he hustled to an eighth-place result.
“We moved around a bit,” he said. “I got a good restart once and had a bad restart when I got stuck behind a couple of cars. Going 15th to eighth was a positive start to the weekend. Your first night you have to make the show and get a good amount of points, which we did.”
Scelzi improved his qualifying result on Friday, timing in 17th quickest. He got a great initial start to the heat race, but a caution negated that. The next attempt didn’t fare as well and Scelzi finished seventh in the race. That relegated him to the middle of the B Main. He then charged from 12th to sixth, which was only two positions shy of earning a transfer into the main event.
Scelzi accumulated enough preliminary points to be in a good position entering Saturday’s finale. A third-place finish in a qualifier locked him into the 16th starting position for the 30-lap main event.
“We had a decent first couple of restarts and gained a few positions,” he said. “Then the race went green until Lap 28. I wasn’t able to make anything happen on the bottom or the top because the lanes were clogged. We battled between 12th and 13th the whole race.
“The format was harder than the Knoxville Nationals, but I’d consider it a Nationals. Running 13th isn’t bad given the circumstances. That was my ninth race with KCP Racing and we’re still learning. I think we have a pretty good program. The more we race together the better we will get.”
Scelzi returns to ARCA Menards Series West competition this Saturday at Colorado National Speedway in Dacono, Colo. He currently ranks fifth in the championship standings – only five points out of fourth and eight points away from third place.
Scelzi’s next sprint car race is Aug. 30 at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.
QUICK RESULTS –
Aug. 13 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 25; Heat race: 3 (4); Feature: 8 (15).
Aug. 14 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 17; Heat race: 7 (6); B Main: 6 (12).
Aug. 15 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifier: 3 (3); Feature: 13 (16).
SEASON STATS –
36 races, 1 win, 12 top fives, 23 top 10s, 29 top 15s, 32 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Colorado National Speedway in Dacono, Colo., 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 – Meridian Steel
Meridian Steel manufactures steel for a variety of uses, including 80 percent of the steel used by Scelzi Enterprises. For more information, visit http://www.MeridianSteel.com.
“Sam at Meridian Steel has been a supporter for us for several years and is tied in with our family business,” Scelzi said. “Not only is he a sponsor of our race team, but he enjoys racing in general. We’re grateful to have his support.”
Scelzi would like to thank Scelzi Enterprises, Red Rose Transportation, Inc., Whipple Superchargers, Red Line Oil, Fuel Delivery Services, Inc., Panella Trucking, 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 Aug 18, 2020
- Article Date: 8/18/2020 by Inside Line Promotions