Scelzi Finishes Season With Top Five at Stockton Dirt Track

Inside Line Promotions – STOCKTON, Calif. (Nov. 3, 2014) – Dominic Scelzi capped his season with a strong performance on Sunday while pulling double duty at the Stockton Dirt Track.

Scelzi maneuvered from 11th to a fifth-place finish in the California Civil War Sprint Car Series main event and he rallied from 12th to fourth before a mechanical issue sidelined him during the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series feature.

“We were extremely strong and it was a great way to end our year,” he said. “I feel excited to build on what we did. Hopefully all the bad luck is out of the way for next year.”

Scelzi qualified seventh quickest and advanced from third to second place during his heat race in the Dan Monhoff owned sprint car. That lined him up on the inside of the sixth row for the 30-lap California Civil War Sprint Car Series main event.

“I had a really good start and restarts,” he said. “The longer the runs it seemed the guys in front of me would make mistakes. Even though the track was rough and hooked up and demanding, we were able to get around there well. It was a really good run, but all the cars were so fast we never got to lapped traffic.”

Scelzi methodically picked his way through the top 10 before he ended fifth, which marked his sixth top-five finish of the season.

Unfortunately, bad luck reappeared when Scelzi piloted his Roth Motorsports backed sprint car during King of the West action.

Scelzi followed a ninth-place qualifying effort by placing second in his heat race.

“The motor just wasn’t running in the 410 car,” he said. “I’m not sure if it was a fuel issue or what it was, but we struggled in the heat race. The car wouldn’t take off.”

The problem continued in the 30-lap feature, which Scelzi started on the outside of the sixth row.

“We were really good, but again the motor wouldn’t take off,” he said. “It really hurt me on the restarts. I wouldn’t be able to get going. I was fortunate enough to move around and find a good lane.”

Scelzi rallied from 12th to fourth within the first third of the race before tough luck ended his promising run early.

“We had a horrible restart and then it started smoking bad so I pulled in,” he said. “We found a rock went through the valve cover.”

Scelzi was credited with a 19th-place finish.

“I wish we could have finished that race because I think we had a great car capable of winning,” he said. “That’s the story of our season. We had a fast car, but missed catching some breaks. I want to thank my family, crew and everyone who helped us for their effort this season. I can’t wait for next year to get started.”