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Inside Line Promotions
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Giovanni Scelzi Scores Top Five During Debut at Silver Dollar Speedway
Inside Line Promotions – ANTIOCH, Calif. (April 3, 2017) – Giovanni Scelzi kicked off his second season of racing a full-sized sprint car with a strong performance last weekend.
Scelzi drove for Harley Van Dyke during a pair of races, beginning on Friday at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif., with the Civil War Sprint Car Series.
“I thought it was a really good start to the season,” Scelzi said. “I fell in love with Silver Dollar Speedway. That’s probably my new favorite track. It’s so banked and fast paced. It’s like a perfect oval.”
Scelzi qualified seventh quickest out of 26 competitors during his debut at the quarter-mile track. That lined him up on the outside of the front row for a heat race, which he won to advance into the dash.
“I wasn’t really expecting to be that good honestly,” he said. “We finished fourth in the dash to start the main event fourth. It was cool to start that far up front. There were some good guys up there. Andy Forsberg and Justin Sanders were on the front row.
“I got a really good start and was all over Justin going into turn one on the opening lap. I slid over the top and barely stuck my right rear off the edge. That dropped me to about eighth.”
Scelzi picked up a pair of positions on the ensuing lap before he battled for a top five throughout the remainder of the race. A late-race pass propelled him to a fourth-place finish. Here is a link to watch the main event: https://youtu.be/-U2ApYjEN3w.
“The track was two lanes in both corners,” he said. “I was moving all over the track. The middle started coming in toward the end of the race. It was a blast.”
The weekend concluded on Saturday at Antioch Speedway for the inaugural Sprint Car Challenge Tour event. Scelzi timed in fourth quickest in his group, which lined him up on the pole of a heat race next to his brother, Dominic.
“Dominic got the lead and I was running second a few laps in,” Giovanni Scelzi said. “We went into turn three and another driver came into the corner too hot. He hit my left rear with his right front and half spun me. A different driver had nowhere to go and hit me. It damaged the frame so we were done for the night.”
Scelzi was unable to finish the heat race and the team didn’t start the B Main.
“I want to thank Harley for the great opportunity and I hope we can work together soon,” he said. “We were really fast every time out.”
Scelzi will return to action this Friday at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif., where he will make his season debut with Roth Motorsports. Scelzi and the team combined to win the King of Kings title last season at the track.