Scelzi Excited to Tackle Knoxville Nationals After Capitani Classic Charge

Inside Line Promotions – OSKALOOSA, Iowa (Aug. 9, 2017) – Dominic Scelzi feels as good as he ever has entering the famed Knoxville Nationals.

Scelzi and his family owned, Roth Motorsports supported team will tackle the 57th annual 5-Hour Energy Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Store, which is held this Wednesday through Saturday at Knoxville Raceway.

“Knoxville is a tricky track and the Knoxville Nationals is the biggest event in the world,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge. We’ve produced a couple of strong results at Knoxville this year and I think the way our team has grown here will show up this weekend.”

Scelzi put in a lot of laps around the half-mile oval last weekend beginning on Friday with his preliminary night at the 27th annual 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank. He qualified sixth quickest out of nearly 50 competitors before finishing fifth in a heat race. That narrowly missed a lock-in spot to the A Main and relegated him to the B Main.

“We laid down a really good qualifying lap and were set up well,” he said. “The six-car heat race inversion makes it tough for the guys who qualify well because we start on the third row behind some really good cars. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to pick up any positions in the heat race and that sent us to the B Main.

Scelzi placed seventh in the B Main. Once preliminary night points were calculated Scelzi lined up 16th in the B Main during Saturday’s finale.

“We knew our work was cut out for us starting so far back in a B Main that would be an A Main at most races throughout the year,” he said. “It was a good opportunity for us to try some things and race in dirty air around a lot of other really good drivers.”

He finished 14th and the team swapped engines prior to the Capitani Classic on Sunday. Scelzi kicked off his final test at Knoxville Raceway prior to the Knoxville Nationals by qualifying 19th quickest in his group. He then advanced from seventh to fifth place in a heat race before charging from 10th to third place in a B Main to score a transfer position into the A Main.

“The guys gave me a great car and we really improved each time we hit the track,” he said. “I kept gaining more and more confidence. I think we really hit on something that will help us this week during the Knoxville Nationals.”

Scelzi powered from 23rd to a 16th-place result in the main event.

The team also competed on Monday at Southern Iowa Speedway during the Front Row Challenge. Scelzi qualified 11th quickest and he gained a position to finish third in a heat race. That locked him into the 10 th starting position for the main event.

“That was a fun night,” he said. “We timed in well and moved forward in the heat race. We were running well in the main event and were on pace for a solid finish, but our right rear tire blew on the final lap.”

Scelzi’s last-lap tire woes dropped him to a 19th-place finish.

“I want to give a special thanks to Danny Lasoski for all of his help,” he said.