Giovanni Scelzi Stopped by DNFs during Doubleheader at Lemoore

Inside Line Promotions – LEMOORE, Calif. (Oct. 5, 2015) – Giovanni Scelzi was stymied by a pair of DNFs last weekend at Lemoore Raceway.

Scelzi and his team experimented with a new engine package on Friday night to kick off the doubleheader at the bullring, where Scelzi qualified 18 th quickest before advancing from sixth to fifth place during a heat race on the rough track.

“The track was really hooked up and rough and narrow,” he said. “The car was good. We were fighting motor issues. It’s a new deal and nobody else is really doing it. There is some trial-and-error with it. We were just down on power.”

That lined Scelzi up on the inside of the ninth row for the main event.

“I felt like the car was ok,” he said. “When the track is that hooked up you really need a motor. Everyone was right on top of each other. We just waited for guys to run into each other and crash. We capitalized on their mistakes.”

Scelzi rallied into the top 10 before his engine began to overheat with approximately 10 laps remaining. He pulled into the pits early and was credited with a 20th-place result.

“We put in an older engine of ours on Saturday before the races,” he said. “We qualified eighth quickest out of 20 cars.”

That started Scelzi on the outside of the front row for a heat race, which he won to garner a spot in the dash. Scelzi then finished where he started – third – in the dash to line up on the inside of the second row for the main event.

“The track was really good,” he said. “It was slick and wide with a good cushion. In the main it was really slick. I battled with a guy for second for a few laps and then around Lap 6 or 7 I dropped to the bottom in one corner and there was rubber so I passed the leader.”

Scelzi led for most of the 40-lap feature and he held more than a four-second advantage with five laps remaining when he collided with another competitor.

“I was like half a lap ahead of everybody,” he said. “I got under a lapped car and we bumped wheels. The bolt on the right rear birdcage broke and I lost all right rear suspension. We were so much faster than everyone else.”

Scelzi was unable to resume the race and he finished 15th.

“It is frustrating,” he said. “I feel like we have speed. We just haven’t been able to capitalize and win.”