Scelzi Showcases Strong Moments in North Dakota With World of Outlaws
Inside Line Promotions – MINOT, N.D. (Aug. 23, 2017) – Dominic Scelzi was strong throughout a World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series tripleheader in North Dakota last weekend.
“I think we had a really strong weekend,” he said. “It’s the best weekend I’ve had with the Outlaws. It’s three bad finishes that could have been a couple of top fives and a top 10. I can’t hang my head because we’re showing speed and running strong. I have a lot of confidence moving forward.”
Scelzi and the Roth Motorsports backed, family owned team opened the action last Friday at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks by qualifying eighth quickest in his group. He then advanced from fourth to third place in a heat race to earn the 11th starting position for the main event.
“We qualified pretty decent and were able to get by David (Gravel) for third in the heat race,” he said. “That was a big deal for us. Then we were perfect in the main event. We drove up to fifth or sixth. We had a great race car, but I made a mistake. The bottom was slowing down and I think I just missed it and we spun around. That was a bummer because we were so fast. However, having that fast of a race car was a boost of confidence for the rest of the weekend.”
Scelzi, who was in contention for a top-five finish, pulled into the pits early and was credited with a 23rd-place result.
He ventured to Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo on Saturday.
“The race track reminded me of a bigger version of Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif.,” he said. “It was really wet and we went out late for qualifying. My first lap felt good, but I thought I could get more. I changed how I ran the corners and clicked off a really good lap.”
Scelzi set a new track record before he finished second in qualifying, which was his best-ever World of Outlaws qualifying result. That lined him up on the pole of a heat race.
“Since we started on the inside we spun our wheels in the grease,” he said. “We were in second at the flagstand and a guy on the outside hit us and nearly spun us around. By the time we got to turn one we were in fourth.”
Scelzi finished fourth to start the A Main on the inside of the sixth row.
“We went three or four laps and were battling for 10th,” he said. “On a restart as soon as I picked up the gas I lost all steering. I was going to smoke the wall so I slammed on the brakes to turn the front end. I hit the wall and we got upside down. Luckily it didn’t tear up too much stuff.”
The tough luck ended Scelzi’s night early with a 22nd-place result.
The weekend concluded on Sunday at Nodak Speedway, where Scelzi timed in 19 th quickest before he picked up a position in a heat race to finish sixth. That locked him into the 16th starting position for the main event.
“We got going and were up to 11th,” he said. “Ninth and 10 th were right in front of us. I used up my tires and blew a right rear tire with two laps to go. I blew it into turn one and slid off the track.”
Scelzi was in contention for a top 10 when the late-race problem occurred, which dropped him to a 17th-place finish.
Next up, Scelzi will make his debut at a pair of tracks this weekend with the World of Outlaws. He is slated to compete on Friday at Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, S.D., for the Rushmore Outlaw Showdown and on Saturday at BMP Speedway in Billings, Mont., for the Big Sky Brawl at Billings.