Inside Line Promotions - TULARE, Calif. (April 14, 2014) - Dominic Scelzi kicked off the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series season with a bang last Saturday at Thunderbowl Raceway.
Scelzi rallied from last to a fourth-place result, which marked his first top five of the season and provided momentum entering this Saturday's King of the West race at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif.
"I understand that I'm running for a championship, but my goal is to win races and I want to win as many as I can," he said. "If I can run top 10 at Placerville that'll be a huge night for me. Who knows, maybe I can get more."
Scelzi opened last Saturday's event at Thunderbowl Raceway by qualifying 12th quickest on the third-mile track. That lined him up on the outside of the front row of a heat race.
Scelzi finished third in his heat race, which locked him into the main event. He started the 30-lap feature on the outside of the seventh row.
"I was rolling through the middle," he said. "Everyone was running the bottom in turns one and two. I was able to pass a couple of cars."
Scelzi had advanced into the top 10 when contact with another car led to him spinning on Lap 5. He was forced to restart at the back of the pack.
"I was really disappointed when I stopped," he said. "I felt like I had a really strong car and I felt really comfortable. I felt pretty confident that I could come up through the field. I really wanted to get a top 10."
Once the race restart, Scelzi began to pick his way toward the top 10.
"We restarted at the back and I tried to be as patient as I possibly could, yet aggressive when there was an open spot," he said. "I was running the top around the whole track. Around the last five or six laps there was rubber starting to get laid down on the bottom in turns three and four. I was the only guy on the top toward the end of the race."
Scelzi kept his momentum up around the track and made a last-corner pass to secure a fourth-place finish to wrap up the weekend, which began the night before with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series race at Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif.
"We had a lot of confidence going into Hanford," he said. "We felt really good in hot laps. We went out a little late and the track slowed down. It wasn't a great qualifying effort, but I was a little conservative in qualifying."
After qualifying 24th quickest, Scelzi advanced from eighth into sixth place during his heat race. With the top six locking into the feature, Scelzi maintained the position until the final lap.
"There was something with the throttle linkage where it wouldn't allow the motor to idle down," he said. "It was really difficult to slow down. On a restart I saw (Jason) Statler below me. I wanted to go down and protect, but I knew I couldn't get slowed down enough to hit the bottom. I tried to stay high and keep my momentum, but he got by me coming to the checkered."
Scelzi finished seventh in his heat race, which relegated him to the Last Chance Showdown.
"I was racing for fifth for most of the race with D.J. Netto," he said of the LCS. "We kinda got in line and on the white flag Austen Wheatley got around me on the top."
Scelzi again placed seventh, which was one position out of transferring to the main event.
QUICK RESULTS -
April 11 - Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif. - Qualifying: 24; Heat race: 7 (8); B Main: 7 (6).
April 12 - Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. - Qualifying: 12; Heat race: 3 (2); Feature: 4 (14).
SEASON STATS -
11 races, 0 wins, 1 top five, 1 top 10, 2 top 15s, 3 top 20s
UP NEXT -
Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., with the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS -
Website: http://www.GaryScelziMotorsports.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DominicScelzi41
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gary-Scelzi-Motorsports/225890834113599
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT - AXA Equitable Insurance with Bob & Gina Estrada
Robert M. Estrada Insurance Services was established 39 years ago in Fresno, Calif., after Bob Estrada graduated from Fresno State. He has focused his practice on business owners, farming families and medical professionals. With more than 2,800 clients it has grown to handle the volume of business. His primary focus in later years has been Estate Planning and helping people retire successfully. His wife, Gina, joined the business in 2008 and added the technology aspect that was needed to stay relevant in a fast-changing industry. The business offers insurance and investment products to its clients through many different carriers.
"Robert has insured our family for more than 20 years and many of our sponsors as well," Scelzi said. "Not only is he a friend, but a big supporter of our racing program."
Scelzi would also like to thank Whipple Superchargers, Fowler Packing, Fuel Delivery Services, Inc., Roth Motorsports, Carlucci Transport, Panella Trucking, Red Rose Transportation, Tim Jones, G&J Truck Sales, K&N Filters, Sparco, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems and Schoenfeld Headers for their continued support.
