Scelzi Powers To Pole, Victory At Pomona Opener

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There’s never a dull moment with Team Mopar’s “Wild Thing,” Gary Scelzi, as his season-opening win yesterday at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., proved.

Scelzi piloted his Mopar\Oakley Dodge Charger R/T to the pole on the final run of qualifying, posting a pass of 4.692 at 333.49—the third fastest speed in Funny Car history. He then had to overcome a trip to the sand at the end of the track when his parachutes failed to deploy properly following his eliminations semifinal round win over the Dodge Charger R/T of Mike Ashley. The damage took the combined efforts of all three Don Schumacher Racing Funny Car teams to repair. The teamwork paid off, as Scelzi got down the track and scored his 34th career win (ninth in Funny Car) after Robert Hight crossed the centerline in the final round match up.

“We’ve given some away and we’ve had some bad luck,” said Scelzi, who struggled in 2006 after winning the NHRA POWERade Funny Car championships in 2005. “It’s nice to get one back, and it’s great to win at the beginning of the season, especially with the Countdown [NHRA’s new championship format], three new guys on the team, setting the tone, and a great race car. It [the car] is phenomenal and I don’t see any changes coming down the road.”

Scelzi’s Team Mopar and DSR Funny Car teammates Ron Capps and Jack Beckman were also strong. Capps, a five-time winner last year, qualified his Brut Revolution Dodge Charger R/T third and dispatched Bob Gilbertson in the first round before losing in the quarterfinals in heartbreaking fashion on a holeshot to Jeff Arend. Beckman also drove his Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger R/T into the top half of the field, taking sixth in qualifying, before suffering defeat in the first round, the victim of changing track conditions during a two-hour rain delay. The event also saw NHRA legend Kenny Bernstein hit a bump in his return to Funny Car competition, as the former champion failed to qualify his Monster Energy/Lucas Oil Dodge Charger R/T.


 
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