From Peterson Media
Dominic Scelzi made his first start aboard the Harley Van Dyke No. 5h a memorable one. Taking part in the opening night of the Fall Nationals, Scelzi would make a thrilling final corner move on Andy Forsberg to score his first win of the season, his first career win a the Silver Dollar Speedway, and give Van Dyke Motorsports their fifth win of the 2016 season.
“I really have to thank Harley Van Dyke for taking a chance on me,” Dominic Scelzi said. “It was awesome to get my first win at Chico, with such a laid back guy and in such an exciting way.”
With 42 cars checked into the pit area on Friday night, Scelzi would time the Lucas Oil/Hansen Machine/NAAKE Suspension No. 5h in 13th fastest in trials, which put him on the pole of an extremely stacked first heat race.
Getting a strong jump, Scelzi was able to keep the field at bay as he raced his way to the win and earned a spot in the all-important Dash. Pulling the two-pill, Scelzi would line up on the front row of the six-lap shootout alongside Kyle Hirst.
While the two battled in the early laps, Scelzi would hang on to finish in the second spot which would place him on the front row of the 25-lap feature event. When the race came to life, the Fresno, CA driver would battle with Andy Forsberg for the second spot before finding himself back in third.
As cautions would plague the first half of the race, an extended green flag run would allow Scelzi battle with Forsberg as they raced through traffic, as the leader had gapped the field.
On the 23rd lap, trouble would strike Hirst, and Scelzi would find himself on Forsberg’s rear bumper with just two laps left in the race. Going high in turns one and two when the race came back to life, Scelzi hung right with Forsberg as the crowd came to life.
With the white flag in the air, Scelzi again let it all hang out in turns one and two, as he pulled up alongside Forsberg and they raced side by side by side by side down the backstretch. Beating Forsberg to the bottom in three and four, Scelzi would get through the corner perfectly and pick up his first ever win at the Silver Dollar Speedway, and his first triumph of the season.
“We were so fast right out of the box,” Scelzi said. “I don’t typically time in well, and we were able to time in 13th and win our heat race. In the feature I thought Kyle (Hirst) was gone, so I really focused on trying to get back by Forsberg to run second. I kind of went nuts when we had the restart with two-to-go, and knew I had to try and be a hero. I went high a couple of times and it stuck, and it was awesome. Again, I really have to thank Harley Van Dyke and his team for everything.”
The Van Dyke Motorsports team would like to thank Lucas Oil, Hansen Machine, NAAKE Suspension, Maxim Chassis, and Moyle Racing Engines for their support during the year.