THURSDAY TESTING - SCELZI MAKES IT THREE-IN-A-ROW FOR
SCHUMACHER RACING AT INDY TESTING;
BURKART FASTEST IN TOP FUEL AT THURSDAY’S TEST SESSION
Funny Car driver Gary Scelzi made it three-in-a-row for Don
Schumacher Racing at the final session of testing for the Mac Tools U.S.
Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.
Scelzi clocked a 4.846 second run at 317.87 mph, taking the
top spot for Thursday’s test session, which had been held the previous two days
of testing by Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps.
Testing his Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger with newly acquired
crew chief, Todd Okuhara, Scelzi says the experience gained in this test
session should prove to be successful heading into the U.S. Nationals.
“Todd hasn’t had a
whole lot of test time with our car,” said Scelzi. “We got here and there were
a lot of things he wanted to try with the clutch and today was mainly doing
some really wild stuff. It looked really great and that was the quickest run of
the weekend and that wasn’t the optimum conditions that we had run in the other
night.”
Scelzi feels that with conditions being cooler then the
scorching heat felt in Indy for Thursday’s test session, his team should have
an exceptional tune-up for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals beginning next week.
“I’m very pleased and
looking very forward to coming back to the U.S. Nationals,” Scelzi said. “I’m
hoping it is hot because what we learned right now was a big thing. I’m not
worried about it when it is cold because those guys set the national record
last year with (Jack) Beckman so I’ve got that tune-up and I feel good about my
chances.”