Gary Scelzi is a four-time NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series champion
(three in Top Fuel, one in Funny Car), and has 37 national-event career
victories in 58 final rounds. He has won twice in Top Fuel (2000, 2001) at
Pacific Raceways, holds the Funny Car top-speed record there (325.85 mph), set
in 2005, was low qualifier there four times (1997, 2000 and 2001 in TF; in FC in
2003), but has never won a fuel Funny Car national event at this facility in the
Northwest corner of the United States.
Driving the Mopar/Oakley Dodge
Charger R/T in his sixth season with Don Schumacher Racing, Scelzi is ready to
get back down to earth following last weekend's Mopar Mile-High Nationals in
Denver and change that statistic. He's pumped up about his, the team's and the
car's performance after spending a large part of the first half of the season
adapting to a new car, new NHRA rules and, most recently, racing to the 1000-ft.
mark instead of the traditional 1320-ft. finish line.
As the No. 16
qualifier in Denver he knocked out low qualifier Tony Pedregon in the opening
round at the Mile-Highs, and despite his close loss to Robert Hight in the
second round, "Wild Thing" - as he's known by his fans - is charged up by his
Dodge Charger.