Giovanni Scelzi Reaches New Heights in Second Season Racing Sprint Cars

Inside Line Promotions – FRESNO, Calif. (Dec. 4, 2017) – Giovanni Scelzi took another leap forward in 2017 during only his second season racing a sprint car.

Scelzi scored five feature victories and finished second in the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series championship standings – only one point out of first – this season.

“I thought it was a really successful year,” he said. “I want to thank Dennis and Teresa Roth and everyone at Roth Motorsports for a great opportunity along with Bryan Sundby and everyone at BDS Motorsports. I was fortunate to drive for some great teams.”

Scelzi earned a trio of King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series feature victories, none more special than on May 13 at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., where Scelzi used a last-lap pass to become the youngest winner in the series history.

“It was a race I felt like I made some mistakes in,” he said. “I really calmed down and got my head on straight. Then I passed for the win on the last corner.”

Scelzi added series wins at Antioch Speedway in Antioch, Calif., on June 3 and at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., on June 10. He also produced a 360ci winged sprint car triumph at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif., on May 5. All four wins were with Roth Motorsports.

Scelzi recorded a win outside of his home state on Aug. 18 at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, where he swept the Sprint Invaders event by winning a heat race, the dash and the main event while driving for BDS Motorsports.

“I took a lot of big steps in a short amount of time this year,” he said. “Going to a lot of new places and racing with different teams is tough, but you’re learning and that’s important in the evolution of a sprint car driver. I had good runs with most of the cars I drove and that’s a confidence boost moving forward.”

Scelzi had numerous other strong moments this season, like charging from 23 rd to ninth place during the Trophy Cup finale, finishing on the podium of an IRA Sprint Car Series event in Iowa, placing second during both nights of the Grizzly Nationals in Montana and setting quick time during qualifying a dozen times.

“I gained a lot of comfort and confidence this year and I can’t wait for what the future holds,” he said. “Thanks to everyone who has supported me. I think 2018 will be even bigger and better.”