Giovanni Scelzi Sweeps Sprint Car Challenge Tour’s Asparagus Cup at Stockton Dirt Track

Inside Line Promotions – STOCKTON, Calif. (April 15, 2019) – Giovanni Scelzi is $25,000 richer after one of the most dominating weekends of his racing career.

Scelzi guided his family owned No. 41s to a sweep of the Asparagus Cup last weekend at the Stockton Dirt Track, which hosted the Sprint Car Challenge Tour event that paid $10,000 to win on Friday and $15,000 to win on Saturday.

“To win both nights and have the big paying purse, it helps everyone on our team,” he said. “One of the big things is how hard Brandon, Lucas and the team has worked the last couple of weeks. They have worked for a month straight trying to get organized and something like this makes it worth it.”

The doubleheader started on Friday with Scelzi setting quick time in his group. He then advanced from fourth to second place in a heat race and from sixth to third place in the dash to line up on the inside of the second row for the 30-lap A Main.

“I ran second for most of the feature,” he said. “I slid Mitchell (Faccinto) for the lead about eight laps in, but the yellow came out so we had to go back to second. We got really right rear tight on the curb. I kept pushing harder and harder. Late in the race the door opened. He went to the top. In turn one and you can hit the bottom really well. I slid him and he got tight on the curb so we got the lead in turn two.”

Scelzi took the lead with two laps remaining en route to his first career win at the track. Here is a link to watch the race: https://youtu.be/_v7H0qXSZWg.

It got much sweeter on Saturday as the team continued to improve.

“Friday we were good, but the balance was a little off,” Scelzi said. “I just pushed really hard to win. We made some changes with the car for Saturday. One thing with Bernie (Stuebgen) is he’s not afraid to take a swing at it. We’re never taking a step backwards and we’re always improving.”

Scelzi qualified second quickest in his group and he placed second in a heat race to garner a position into the dash. Unfortunately, he drew the highest number – eight – to line up last in the race.

“When you make a dash that’s huge,” he said. “Drawing the No. 8 sucks, but it gives you six more laps to get as high up as you can because every position counts.”

Scelzi picked up a trio of positions to finish fifth, which is where he started in the 30-lap main event.

“They did some track prep before the feature, but we didn’t change the car up a lot,” he said. “We were really good in the main. That was one of the best cars I’ve ever driven. The harder I drove the thing the more comfortable I felt.”

Scelzi quickly maneuvered to the front and took the lead on Lap 7. He pulled away for the sizeable triumph, which was his 10th career in the United States and 11th overall.