Topeka: Gary Scelzi preview

SCELZI EYES FIRST TOPEKA FUNNY CAR WIN

TOPEKA, Kan. (May 23, 2006) - Gary Scelzi has won at most of the tracks on which the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series competes, including a win at Heartland Park Topeka in Top Fuel. What he'd like to see this weekend at the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park is his first Funny Car victory here.

The reigning Funny Car champion was the Top Fuel winner here in 2000, runner-up in 1997, and qualified No. 1 in 1998 and 2000 in Top Fuel.

The driver of the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car has 32 career wins to his credit, four NHRA championships (three in Top Fuel), and 22 top-speeds in Funny Car. That latter record includes his latest top-speed performance, at Columbus last weekend.

The Fresno, Calif., native has not yet won this season in eight events and, now that the team is showing signs of returning to its familiar high-performing style, Scelzi is ready to turn things around in Topeka.

"We're going to break through," he says. "I know it's coming. I just wish it would hurry.

"We'll have the Charger back in Topeka," he says of his switching to the Stratus after the Charger was damaged in qualifying in Columbus. "We'll have some changes made to it aerodynamically, and I'm looking forward to getting it back on in Topeka. We know it's better; we just need to massage it a little bit.

"We can run hard, we can run slow in the heat, we can do whatever; I think we've proved that. If we can just keep the misfortune of breaking something, or somebody being better than me on the starting line - there's a lot of ifs - hopefully we can get that first win of the season here.

"My family is coming; they haven't been to a race for awhile. We'll get to spend Memorial Day together. That's a good thing."

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