Giovanni Scelzi Breaks Out During Outlaw Kart Debut at Cycleland

Inside Line Promotions – OROVILLE, Calif. (Sept. 16, 2015) – Giovanni Scelzi had another breakout performance a week ago Tuesday during Kyle Larson’s Outlaw Kart Showcase Presented by ParkerStore.

Scelzi made his outlaw kart debut at Cycleland Speedway driving for David Robinson at the marquee event, which featured more than 200 drivers.

“There were 162 karts in the open class I was competing in so they had two groups for qualifying,” he said. “I was in Group A and I qualified third quickest. I wasn’t expecting to qualify that well at all. I felt ok, but I couldn’t tell if I was fast or slow since I’ve never raced outlaw karts before and they are completely different than a micro sprint.”

Scelzi’s third-place effort lined him up on the outside of the fourth row for a heat race.

“I got to sixth and started racing hard with a guy for fifth,” he said. “Then I got up to fourth, but I messed up on the cushion and lost a spot late in the race.”

Scelzi placed fifth in his heat race, which earned him enough passing points to lock into the 10th starting position for the main event.

“I was up to eighth about 15 laps in and I messed up on the clutch,” he said. “It was hard to get used to. You’d feather it and I just wasn’t used to it. I pulled it in all the way and I dumped it, which bogged the motor and I got run into.”

Scelzi was forced to restart at the back of the pack following the early spin. He rebounded back into the top 15 and was working toward the top 10 when he was involved in another spin on Lap 30, which relegated him to the pits with an 18th-place result.

“It was so much fun,” he said. “The race track was great. They constantly worked on it and it stayed pretty good. I can’t thank David Robinson enough for allowing me this great opportunity. I really appreciate it.”