Inside Line Promotions – LAWTON, Okla. (June 10, 2020) – Giovanni Scelzi captured his first top 10 of the season with the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 on Monday at Lawton Speedway.
Scelzi qualified 14th quickest before he advanced from fifth to fourth place in a heat race and from 13th to eighth in the main event during Round 3 of the Cometic Gasket Thunder Through the Plains presented by Hercules Tires.
“We gained on it and figured something out at Lawton that made us better,” he said. “We tried some different stuff and we went back to something we hit on in Florida. Trying to get rear grip is the biggest thing. I was really good in the beginning of the race. Then the track took rubber so passing was at a premium.”
Scelzi, who was driving for his family team, also began the Thunder Through the Plains with a strong rally at Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, Okla., last Friday. He qualified fifth quickest out of the 25-plus competitors. Unfortunately, a crash in a heat race relegated him to the B Main. Scelzi won the race to transfer into the main event. He capped the night by maneuvering from 19th to 13th.
“Track position was so key,” he said. “It was tough to give up those spots in the main event through the heat race crash. The top and bottom were so even. I think we could have had a top 10 if we made the dash. It was the best track we’ve been to this season. You could putt around the bottom or hustle around the top.”
Scelzi also competed at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan., on Sunday. He qualified 13th quickest, ended sixth in a heat race and finished 17th in the main event on a track that took rubber early.
Now the focus shifts to Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, where Scelzi will make his debut with Guy Forbrook this Friday and Saturday during the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series’ Brownells Big Guns Bash.
“What better place to start than a World of Outlaws race,” he quipped. “Guy’s car was fast last year when he ran at Knoxville. I know how good the equipment is and how good our track record is at Knoxville. I think being in the top 10 is a solid goal for this weekend.”