From Inside Line Promotions
WARRNAMBOOL, Victoria, Australia (Jan. 24, 2017) – Dominic Scelzi wrapped up his inaugural trip to race in Australia with a strong outing during the 45th annual Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic last weekend.
Scelzi, who was driving for Wormall Motorsport, placed sixth on a preliminary night before finishing 16th in the finale on Sunday, when 96 of the top drivers from Australia and the United States converged upon Premier Speedway for one of the biggest sprint car events in the country.
“I had an amazing time in Australia and I hope to return sooner than later,” he said. “I want to thank everyone involved with Wormall Motorsport for the great opportunity as well as my brother, Giovanni, who worked hard helping to set up my race car each night. We were fast every time out.”
The racing part of the trip overseas concluded at Premier Speedway, where Scelzi qualified 17th quickest before advancing from ninth to second place in his first heat race on Saturday during preliminary action. He then finished sixth in the second heat to lock into the 12th starting position for the main event.
Scelzi gained a half-dozen positions during the race to close in the sixth spot out of the approximately 50 racers. Here is a link to watch the race: https://youtu.be/qZbwhtbO8H0.
He returned to the oval on Sunday for the finale, which started with Scelzi finishing where he started – sixth – in a heat race. That narrowly missed locking into the main event and relegated Scelzi into a B Main, which he won to transfer into the 18th starting position.
“Just to make the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic was huge,” he said. “We ended up spinning with about 14 laps to go so that made us go the back of the field without many laps remaining, but we were able to advance back up to 16th. To end up 16th out of 96 of the best drivers is a big boost for us and a great way to wrap up our time in Australia.”
Scelzi also competed at two other tracks last week, starting on Wednesday with the Presidents Cup at Avalon Raceway in Lara, Victoria, Australia. He timed in eighth quickest during qualifying before placing second in the first heat race and third in the second heat race (after starting eighth). That lined him up on the outside of the front row for the main event.
“We pushed off for the main event and a bolt snapped in the front end of the race car,” he said. “It ended our run before we were able to line up. The car had great speed and would have been a serious contender.”
The team then ventured to Borderline Speedway in Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia, for the Kings Sprintcar Challenge on Thursday. Scelzi qualified 23rd quickest, which lined him up sixth in his first heat race.
“Coming out of turn two I got put into the wall,” he said. “That broke the front end and we crashed pretty hard about a lap later. It destroyed the car so we were done for the night and had to rebuild a new car for the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic.
“We ran into some bad luck during our time racing in Australia, but we produced some great results. I had an absolute blast and created some great friendships. This was an amazing opportunity and I’m very grateful.”