Giovanni Scelzi Wins Two California Speedweek Races and the Overall Title

Inside Line Promotions – LEMOORE, Calif. (July 11, 2016) – Giovanni Scelzi enjoyed a dominating performance last week during California Speedweek.

Scelzi scored two victories and two second-place finishes during the four-race micro sprint event in his home state. The success was capped by Scelzi charging from ninth to win the finale, which secured the Speedweek championship.

“The last year or so we were always chasing something,” he said. “Now it seems like I’ve paid my dues and we’re starting to win races. We were the dominant car all week. I think we could have won every night. We were the most consistent through qualifying and through the features.”

California Speedweek began last Tuesday at Dixon Speedway in Dixon, Calif., where Scelzi set quick time during qualifying out of more than 40 competitors. He then maneuvered from fourth to win a heat race. That earned him a trip into the feature redraw, where he pulled the No. 1 to start the main event on the pole.

“I felt like I could have won that race,” he said. “It was rubber down from Lap 1. I was pushing too hard. At that point you’re not worrying about points. You’re just trying to win the race. I led probably 22 laps of it and in turns three and four I got tight and fell out of the rubber and got passed for the win.”

Scelzi ended with a runner-up result. Here is a link to watch the feature: https://youtu.be/J-940TZu6Ws.

He returned to action the ensuing night at Delta Speedway in Stockton, Calif., where he once again topped 40-plus racers to set quick time during qualifying. Scelzi advanced from fourth to second place in a heat race to make the feature redraw. This time he pulled the No. 4 to start the feature on the outside of the second row.

“Delta Speedway was by far the best track we went to in terms of track conditions,” he said. “There was a big cushion up against the wall. We worked our way through there and took the lead about halfway through and never looked back.”

Scelzi’s victory was his fifth trip to the Winner’s Circle this season. Here is a link to watch the main event: https://youtu.be/7Ba1SzcnYJg.

Speedweek resumed on Friday at Plaza Park Raceway in Visalia, Calif. Scelzi set quick time during qualifying for the third straight race. He then ended fourth in a heat race to start the main event on the inside of the fourth row.

“We kind of missed on the setup and I wasn’t driving how I needed to,” he said. “We were too loose in the feature. I was running the middle, but I didn’t really feel good anywhere. I was trying to go forward and wait people out because there were a lot of people driving crazy. I passed a few guys on the bottom. We almost won so I can’t complain too much.”

Scelzi posted a second-place finish to close the night. Here is a link to watch the feature: https://youtu.be/lJre0AkPMvI.

Lemoore Raceway hosted the Speedweek finale on Saturday and Scelzi was a man on a mission after timing in 13th quickest during qualifying. He won a heat race, which lined him up on the inside of the fifth row for the main event.

“Before the feature we threw the kitchen sink at the thing for the setup,” he said. “Thanks to Brent Ventura for making me really get after it. I was the first guy to find the rubber. It wasn’t really abrasive at the beginning. We got to second with about 12 laps to go and we had an open red. We passed Jake Andreotti for the lead with a few laps to go and a yellow came out and that put him back in front of us. I stayed with him on the restart and we were three wide off turn two with a lapped car and I passed both of them coming to the white flag.”