Inside Line Promotions – MERCED, Calif. (March 21, 2022) – Dominic Scelzi earned his second straight top-10 result with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series last Friday at Merced Speedway.
The event began with Scelzi qualifying 14th quickest despite being one of the final qualifiers to hit the high-banked dirt oval.
“We went out pretty late in qualifying and didn’t have a great time, but we were 14th quick to put ourselves in a decent position,” he said. “The good times were still possible. It was just really hard to hit a killer lap so I was happy with our lap.”
Scelzi gained a position to finish third in a heat race, which lined him up on the outside of the fifth row for the main event.
“We got up to sixth and were racing with fifth place,” he said. “He checked up and I had to check up to miss him so I fell to eighth. We raced our way back to fifth and got racing with some guys before we fell to eighth at the end. We could have run anywhere from fourth to 12th. It was really even and there was so much stuff going on the entire race. It was wild.”
Scelzi’s eighth-place outing was his 29th career top 10 with the World of Outlaws.
“I had a great time and it was racy,” he said. “There was a minute the bottom was fast and a minute the top was fast. The last few laps it was getting abrasive and we started running just off the top. The race track changed tremendously. Picking up another top 10 is really good for our team.”
Last Saturday’s show at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., rained out.
Next up for the team is the final World of Outlaws weekend in California this spring as Bakersfield Speedway in Bakersfield hosts a race on Friday followed by the SoCal Showdown on Saturday at Perris Auto Speedway in Perris.
“I haven’t been to Bakersfield since I think 2018,” Scelzi said. “I remember I was fourth quick, won the heat and then finished third in the dash. We were good all night and then we hit a hole in the first corner of the feature and fell backwards.
“I’ve raced at Perris two or three times. I think it’s laid rubber every time we’ve been there so it hasn’t allowed for great racing. Hopefully it’ll be a good event this year and we can end our time with the Outlaws on a positive note.”
QUICK RESULTS –
March 18 – Merced Speedway in Merced, Calif. – Qualifying: 14; Heat race: 3 (4); Feature: 8 (10).
SEASON STATS –
6 races, 0 wins, 3 top fives, 5 top 10s, 5 top 15s, 5 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Bakersfield Speedway in Bakersfield, Calif., and Saturday at Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, Calif., for the SoCal Showdown with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series