Giovanni Scelzi Caps Peter Murphy Classic with 11th-Place Finish

Inside Line Promotions – TULARE, Calif. (July 25, 2016) – Giovanni Scelzi is pleased with his results following his King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series debut last weekend at Thunderbowl Raceway during the Peter Murphy Classic.

Scelzi, who was driving his family owned 360ci sprint car during the marquee 410ci sprint car event, recorded a pair of top-15 finishes and he was the highest finishing driver competing with a 360ci engine.

“That was such an awesome event,” he said. “We received a $500 bonus from Peter Murphy for being the highest finishing 360 driver. I want to thank Peter for his hard work at putting on such a great event.”

The weekend began on Friday when Scelzi made his debut at Thunderbowl Raceway by qualifying 15th quickest.

“I was the first car out for qualifying so I didn’t get a chance to watch anybody,” he said. “I felt like I made decent laps. I think we were two or three tenths off eighth place, which is surprising in a 360.”

Scelzi then advanced from fifth to fourth place in a heat race to lock into the main event, where he ended with a 14th-place result. Here is a link to watch the feature: https://youtu.be/PLUkpIRDbcI.

“The track was really hooked up and rough on the bottom,” he said. “There wasn’t a lot of passing, but the whole weekend was about getting laps. It was a really good learning experience.”

Scelzi put the information he learned Friday to use on Saturday. He placed fourth in a heat race to lock into the 17th starting position for the main event.

“I was up on the fence in both corners,” he said. “I got up to 14th and then there was a restart with 10 laps to go. I was the best on restarts because no one had momentum going, but we didn’t have as many restarts as I thought we would. I passed three guys in one corner on the fence and got to ninth. Then I got out-experienced I guess you could say. I didn’t move where I needed to. It was exactly what I needed. It was one of the most fun races I’ve been a part of.”