Inside Line Promotions – PLACERVILLE, Calif. (Sept. 20, 2023) – Dominic Scelzi earned a pair of podium results last weekend at Kings Speedway, including during the Tom Tarlton Classic featuring the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.
“I was thrilled,” he said. “We ran the 360 race on Thursday and the track was rough and hard to race on. We qualified fifth quickest, won a heat race and placed second in the dash to start the feature on the outside of the front row. We battled, got in the holes and ran third. I was concerned with how the track would be on Friday.”
Scelzi’s podium outing at the dirt oval in Hanford, Calif., on Thursday was followed by similar success at the track on Friday with the World of Outlaws.
“We were the last car out and were fifth quickest, which was our best qualifying performance of the month,” he said. “We ran second in the heat race to do what we needed to get in the dash. We drew the No. 3 to start third and ended up running fourth.”
Scelzi lined up on the outside of the second row in the main event.
“We got to third right away and I paced myself,” he said. “We had a restart and I got pinched down a little, got into the berm and fell to fourth. I got back into third and ran first and second down. Around Lap 25 I started losing brakes and faded to about half a straightway back. The second-place car spun, which moved me to second for a restart with a few laps to go. I was thinking everything was playing into my favor, but I had boiled my brake fluid and my brakes didn’t cool down in time to come back to me. I had a really good pace and was able to maneuver the top of turns one and two, which Brad (Sweet) wasn’t running. I felt I had a clean lane and it just didn’t pan out. I couldn’t get myself slowed down to where I needed to be on the exit of the corners and David (Gravel) drove by me at the end so we ended third.
“It was the highlight of the trip. I’m thankful of the speed we had. Whenever you can run well like that at home it means a lot to your team and sponsors and fans.”
The World of Outlaws West Coast Swing finale was Saturday at Placerville Speedway, which hosted the World of Outlaws 49er Gold Rush Classic.
Scelzi timed in 18 th quickest in his heat race before he advanced from ninth to eighth place in a heat race and from 12 thto seventh place in the Last Chance Showdown.
“We missed it on the setup and my laps in qualifying,” he said. “We were a little tight and I got into the cushion pretty much both laps and didn’t qualify well. The track was one lane in the heats. We made progress in the Last Chance Showdown, but came up short of making the feature. It’s tough to climb out of a hole when you’re racing with the World of Outlaws.”
Scelzi will take this weekend off before he returns to action at Kings Speedway on Sept. 29-30 during the Cotton Classic and Morrie Williams Twin 20s Memorial with the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series and Sprint Car Challenge Tour.
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 14 – Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif. – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 2 (3); Feature: 3 (2).
Sept. 15 – Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif. – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 2 (2); Dash: 4 (3); Feature: 3 (4).
Sept. 16 – Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif. – Qualifying: 18; Heat race: 8 (9); B Main: 7 (12).
SEASON STATS –
46 races, 11 wins, 31 top fives, 37 top 10s, 41 top 15s, 44 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Sept. 29-30 at Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif., for the Cotton Classic and Morrie Williams Twin 20s Memorial with the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series and Sprint Car Challenge Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.GaryScelziMotorsports.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DominicScelzi41
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scelzi41