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TULARE, Calif. (Oct. 18, 2022) – Dominic Scelzi produced a feature triumph and a trio of top fives last weekend.
Just as important, he increased his lead in the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series championship standings to 54 points with only two races remaining this season.
“If we make a qualifying lap each race its mathematically impossible to get beat,” he said. “Our goal this year was to back up our championship from last year. We haven’t got the wins this year compared to last year, but we’ve been incredibly consistent. Our bad nights have still been really good nights. I’d love nothing more than to close the season out by knocking some more wins off.”
Scelzi was a contender during KWS/NARC races on Friday at Keller Auto Speedway and Saturday at Thunderbowl Raceway, leading laps in both features before placing fourth and second, respectively.
The weekend began on Friday with Scelzi timing in seventh quickest at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. He then won a heat race and the dash to garner the pole position for the Anthony Simone Classic A Main.
“We were really good all night long,” he said. “I really felt it was leading up to a storybook ending. We ran around the bottom the first 15 laps. Rico (Abreu) and I raced for two or three laps before I got back out in front of him. He got back to me with about six laps to go and was able to put me away after three or four laps of pretty tough racing. I tried to move around a bit to get back to him and lost two more spots to fall to fourth.”
Scelzi’s fourth-place finish was his 25th top five of the season.
The team did double duty on Saturday during the Dennis Roth Classic hosted by Thunderbowl Raceway. Scelzi set quick time during qualifying, hustled from fourth to second place in a heat race and won the dash to earn the pole position for the KWS/NARC main event.
“We were challenged by Rico early, but held on,” he said. “Then he had a really good corner with three or four laps to go and I wasn’t able to get back by him. He was stalking me and it just played out in his favor. We had a really good package all night and our speed was good, but didn’t lead the laps that counted.”
Scelzi finished second. He was one spot better in the 360ci feature, winning it for his ninth triumph of the season. Scelzi qualified seventh quickest and won a heat race before the rally from third to win the A Main.
“I think what really helped was I searched around more than the guys in front of me,” he said. “I set the two up in front of me and I was getting by just as rubber was laying down. It all just sort of worked out in my favor, but in all reality I was in Rico’s position in the 360 race. That’s the biggest difference is being able to search around for grip versus in the 410 when I was stuck against the fence as the leader.”
The famed Trophy Cup is up next for Scelzi as he invades Thunderbowl Raceway this Thursday through Saturday.
“We’ve been the high-point guy three or four times within this event and haven’t had a solid finish on Saturday,” he said. “Over the last few weeks we’ve struggled a bit, but last weekend got a lot better. I think our speed is where it needs to be going into this weekend. There’s so much that can happen at a race like this with 100 entries and the best guys in the western half of the United States. It’s a place that is one of the most treacherous tracks in the nation. You have to be smart and have some luck on your side.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Oct. 14 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. – Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 1 (1); Feature: 4 (1).
Oct. 15 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. (410 sprint car) – Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 2 (4); Dash: 1 (1); Feature: 2 (1).
Oct. 15 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. (360 sprint car) – Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 1 (3).
SEASON STATS –
50 races, 9 wins, 27 top fives, 37 top 10s, 44 top 15s, 46 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Thursday through Saturday at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., for the Trophy Cup
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.GaryScelziMotorsports.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DominicScelzi41
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scelzi41
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 Red Rose Transportation, Inc., Scelzi Enterprises, Whipple Superchargers, System 1, Fuel Delivery Services, Inc., Red Line Oil, FK Rod Ends, Schoenfeld Headers, Roth Motorsports, K&N Filters, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, NAPA Auto Parts, Todd Jorgensen, Sparco, Allstar Performance, Meridian Steel, Auto Meter, Kenny’s Components and Worldwide Bearings for their continued support.