(Photo by Trent Gower Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. (Jan. 26, 2021) – Dominic Scelzi earned a trio of top-10 results last weekend during the inaugural Schaeffer’s Wild Wing Shootout.
Scelzi won a heat race each of the three nights at Arizona Speedway before improving his feature finish each night, culminating with a runner-up result on Sunday.
“We got better throughout the weekend and Sunday was our best day,” he said. “I felt like we were in a good position the first half of each night, but we really made gains in the feature during that final night.”
Scelzi qualified seventh quickest out of the 26 drivers on Friday. A heat race victory locked him into the feature redraw and he pulled the No. 3 to line up on the inside of the second row for the main event.
“They worked the track,” he said. “We figured it’d go away and kept the car pretty tight, but the track never went away. I fell to fifth right away and ran fifth for a while. I started moving around to run the top and middle. I just wasn’t making the right moves and we were too tight and unfortunately dropped to ninth.”
A ninth-place qualifying effort and another heat race win placed Scelzi in the feature redraw on Saturday. He drew the No. 4 to start the main event fourth and duked it out for a top five throughout the race.
“We were better,” he said. “I felt really, really good the second night. We freed the car up, but we changed some stuff around trying to get the tire spin under control. In the heat race we did it and it worked really good. The track was even slicker and we thought it would probably get slick in the feature so we left the engine detuning on and freed the car up. The track stayed wet again and we couldn’t move forward.”
Scelzi placed sixth and entered the event finale on Sunday aiming for continued improvement. He timed in seventh quickest and won his heat race for the third straight night. The No. 4 in the feature redraw lined him up on the outside of the second row for the 35-lap A Main.
“The track was in the best shape it had been in all weekend,” he said. “We qualified better and won the heat race. I felt like we knew where the track was and knew what we needed to do with the car. We raced really, really well.
“It was up against the fence in turns one and two. In turns three and four you could run against the fence, but there was moisture across the track. I went fourth to third right away and I was pressuring D.J. Netto for second. We had a restart with 10 laps to go. At that point I had figured out the middle in turns three and four. I slid him into one and cleared him. I felt like I closed on Tony Stewart (for the lead) in turns three and four. I continued that line and was able to get to him. I felt like I’d have one shot at him, but I got into the cushion too hard in turns one and two on Lap 34. That gave Tony enough room that I couldn’t get back to him. I was pleased with improving to a second-place finish and the gains we made.”
Scelzi plans to return to action on Feb. 20 at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif.
QUICK RESULTS –
Jan. 22 – Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek, Ariz. – Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 9 (3).
Jan. 23 – Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek, Ariz. – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 6 (4).
Jan. 24 – Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek, Ariz. – Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 2 (4).
SEASON STATS –
3 races, 0 wins, 1 top five, 3 top 10s, 3 top 15s, 3 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Feb. 20 at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.GaryScelziMotorsports.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DominicScelzi41
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scelzi41
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 – FK Rod Ends
From the wilds of Baja, Mexico, to the “Good Ole Boys” of NASCAR, from mowers to fitness equipment, FK Rod Ends is there with an evolving program designed to supply rod end products to users everywhere. For more information, visit http://www.FKRodEnds.com.
“Maria with FK Rod Ends started helping us out in 2012 and from the beginning has been an all-hands-on-deck supporter of our race team,” Scelzi said. “She’s been great and FK Rod Ends as a company is stellar. I wrecked a lot when I first started and their great product held up to the test.”
Scelzi would like to thank Red Rose Transportation, Inc., Scelzi Enterprises, Panella Trucking, Whipple Superchargers, Fuel Delivery Services, Inc., Red Line Oil, Roth Motorsports, Schoenfeld Headers, NAPA Auto Parts, Todd Jorgensen, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, K&N Filters, Sparco, Allstar Performance, Meridian Steel, Kenny’s Components, Auto Meter 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 Jan 26, 2021
- Article Date: 1/26/2021 by Inside Line Promotions