Scelzi Earns 11th-Place Finishes in Bakersfield, Perris and Tucson

Inside Line Promotions – TUCSON, Ariz. (April 21, 2016) – Dominic Scelzi produced a trio of 11th-place finishes last weekend as the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series wrapped up its spring swing through the West.

“My goal was three top 10s and we were more than capable of that,” he said. “It’s a great performance for our team to compete for a top 10 three nights with the World of Outlaws at tracks I’d never been to. I learned a ton going to three new places. We’re getting better every night and I’m a better driver every night.”

The weekend began on Friday at Bakersfield Speedway in Bakersfield, Calif., for the Budweiser Bash. Scelzi qualified 21st quickest before maneuvering his Roth Motorsports backed entry from seventh to fourth place in a heat race, which lined him up on the outside of the sixth row for the main event.

“We had one of the fastest cars on the race track,” he said. “I just had two bad restarts and got caught behind guys on the outside. I fell back to 18th on the first lap. I drove it up to 10th and a yellow came out. Then another driver got into the wall and I fell back to 13 th or 14th. At the end of the day I was really happy with how it went. The scorecard only shows plus-one position, but there was a lot of battling going on.”

Scelzi rebounded to post his first of three straight 11th-place results.

The action continued on Saturday at Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, Calif., for the SoCal Showdown. Scelzi timed in 12th quickest and finished where he started – fourth – in a heat race. That lined him up on the outside of the sixth row in the main event for the second consecutive night.

“I was able to get a really good start,” he said. “I was battling for ninth or 10th and the rubber started laying down. I got a little greedy trying to get another spot before the rubber came in. I got over the cushion in turn four and it cost me a spot. We had a car capable of running eighth or ninth, but we ended up 11th.”

The weekend wrapped up on Monday at USA Raceway in Tucson, Ariz., for the NAPA Wildcat Shootout.

“It was a lot different than any other track I’ve been to,” he said. “The corners were so wide and the straightaways were short. It was almost like you were always turning in a circle.”

Scelzi qualified 14th quickest and he advanced from seventh to sixth place in a heat race and from fourth to third place in a qualifier. That started him on the outside of the fifth row for the feature.

“For the first two or three laps I couldn’t find my rhythm,” he said. “That cost us a few spots. As we got going we were able to make our way back up to 11 th. We had a car capable of a top 10, but my lack of experience and a couple of mistakes cost us. We’re still happy to be so competitive, especially at a track we hadn’t seen until that night.”

Scelzi will return to competition this Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., with the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series.