Four-time NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series champion Gary Scelzi says he’s coming into this weekend’s 27th annual NHRA Nationals at Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway under no pressure, as far as the Countdown to the Championship is concerned.
Driving the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, and with only three events remaining before the Countdown to the Championship playoffs for the top 10 begin following the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend, Scelzi finds himself No. 13 in the standings, 77 points out of a berth to vie for his second Funny Car crown.
The Fresno, Calif., native knows he and the Mopar/Oakley team must win rounds this weekend if there’s any chance for them to move into the top 10. He’s decided to approach it in a more relaxed manner than one would expect.
“Well, it’s our one-year anniversary since (crew chief) Todd Okuhara took over the helm of the Mopar/Oakley Dodge team,” said Scelzi, the 1998 Top Fuel winner in Brainerd, No. 1 qualifier in 1999 (TF) and 2003 (FC), and FC runner-up in 2004 and 2006. “And we’re excited about that. The Brainerd race was Todd’s first race with us last year, we made it to the semifinals and had a real good shot at winning the race.
“So, I’m putting the Countdown on the backburner. To be honest with you, I don’t want to put any more pressure on us than we’ve already got. We know it’s there, we know we need to do well, but the main thing we need to do is go there and qualify in the top half of the field and go some rounds. And that’s all we’re looking at.
“Getting into the Countdown would be great, but we’ve had a lot of fumbles this year, we’ve had some chances to make some moves, and nothing happened. So, we’re just going to do all we need to do and try to execute. If it works, great; if it doesn’t, then it’s not meant to be.
“We’re going into Brainerd with no pressure. Hopefully, Todd will make the right calls, I will do my job driving, and I know the Mopar/Oakley Dodge crew is always on top of things. I don’t worry about them at all. We’ll just see what happens.”
GARY SCELZI QUICK FACTS:
* No. 13 in points after 15 events in 2008 (one semifinal, four quarterfinal finishes, eight first rounds and two DNQs)
* Just 77 points out of a spot in the top 10 for the Countdown to the Championship
* Qualified No. 16 at 2007 Brainerd event, lost semis to Kenny Bernstein
* No. 1 qualifier in Brainerd in 1999 (TF) and 2003 (FC)
* Funny Car runner-up in Brainerd: 2004 and 2006
* Third in 2007 Funny Car point standings
* Won class-best four national events in 2007, in four final rounds
* Qualified No. 1 and won the 2007 season-opening Pomona event (against Robert Hight), again qualified No. 1 and won the Chicago event, then won in Memphis and Richmond
* Seventh in 2006 Funny Car points, with one win in three final rounds, no low qualifiers
* Claimed the 2005 Funny Car championship, his first, by eight points over his teammate Ron Capps, 32 over third-place John Force
* Won three times in 2005, was low qualifier six times
* Is a three-time Top Fuel champion (1997, 1998, 2000)
* Became only the second NHRA driver to have won crowns in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. Kenny Bernstein is the first
* Has set 24 Funny Car top speeds since joining Don Schumacher Racing in 2003
* Is first Funny Car driver to break the 330-mph barrier (330.15 mph at Route 66 Raceway in 2004)
* Career Funny Car bests: 4.690-second ET (Pomona 1 ‘07), 333.49 mph (Pomona 1 ‘07)
* Qualified in top five 19 times in 2005, No. 1 six times
* Has 37 career national-event titles in 58 final rounds
* Career round win-loss record is 376-205
* Age 47 (Aug. 11, 1960), born and raised in Fresno, Calif., where he lives with wife Julianne and sons Dominic and Giovanni
* Dominic, 11, races Restricted 600 Mini Sprints; Giovanni, 6, races Junior Sprints
* Runs Scelzi Enterprises, a custom truck body design and manufacturing business in Fresno with his two brothers
* Won his first Top Fuel crown as a rookie
* Has 12 Funny Car wins, 25 Top Fuel wins
* Sixth in 2003 Funny Car points, his first full season in that class
* 2008 is his sixth straight season racing for Don Schumacher Racing
* Is the only NHRA driver to have won in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car. He accomplished this feat by winning Nitro Funny Car at Infineon Raceway in 2003
* Is one of the few Funny Car drivers who has a round-winning record against the 14-time Funny Car champion John Force: 3-1 in final rounds, 12-11 in head-to-head match-ups
* Said early in 2007 that he would step away from NHRA competition at end of season. An offer from NHRA team owner Ken Black to fly him to and from 10 races in 2008, so he could spend more time with family business and family, helped him change his mind and return with DSR in 2008
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