Dominic Scelzi Earns Second-Place Finish During Peter Murphy Classic Opener

Inside Line Promotions – TULARE, Calif. (May 20, 2019) – Dominic Scelzi captured a runner-up result last Friday at Thunderbowl Raceway during the opening night of the Peter Murphy Classic, which featured more than 40 competitors in the Sprint Car Challenge Tour portion.

The action began with Scelzi driving a Roth Motorsports entry to the third quickest qualifying time in his group. He then won a heat race after starting on the outside of the front row, which locked him into the dash.

“We made some changes and won the heat race,” he said. “That was a boost of confidence because that place is tough. In the dash I felt outstanding and we raced with Rico (Abreu) and Tony (Gualda) for the lead.”

A third-place result in the dash lined Scelzi up on the inside of the second row for the main event.

“Coming off four we went three wide for the lead when Rico and Tony got together,” he said. “Tony crashed so that put me starting on the outside of the front row for the restart. Rico got the jump and we went five or six laps running against the wall. I ran him down and was on his rear bumper. I was going to slide him going into turn one when a lapper didn’t get pulled off on time and brought out a caution. We went green and then within a full lap later it was rubber down around the whole track.”

Scelzi maintained second for the remainder of the race. It marked his sixth top five of the season.

Saturday’s Peter Murphy Classic was postponed to next month because of rain.

Scelzi started last week by racing with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Wednesday at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa. He qualified 18th quickest in his group before placing ninth in a heat race and fourth in the C Main.

“I got us buried in qualifying by trying to get too much,” he said. “In the heat I felt better than cars in front of me, but it was impossible to pass. In the C Main it was a similar situation. However, I felt comfortable around the track. I’m looking forward to getting to Bridgeport and making good laps.”

Scelzi will join the World of Outlaws for races this Tuesday at Bridgeport Speedway in Swedesboro, N.J.; Friday and Saturday at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C., for the Patriot Nationals; and Monday at Lawrenceburg Speedway in Lawrenceburg, Ind., for the Memorial Day Spectacle presented by KOI Auto Parts.