AN emerging American driver who scored a win in his Australian 410 sprintcar debut could have taken a different sporting path.
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Californian teenager Gio Scelzi said drag racing was in his family’s blood too.
“My dad (Gary) drag raced for a long time and he was friends with a lot of dirt racers and with dirt racing there’s so many kids’ classes between go karts, outlaw karts and formula 500s,” he said.
“There’s all kinds of classes to race when you’re younger and with drag racing there’s really not.
“You have to be 16 to do pretty much everything, so we took the dirt road and it’s led to here.”
The decision is paying dividends for the South West Conveyancing Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic debutant.
Scelzi, 17, set a record last August when at 16 he became the youngest driver to qualify for the Knoxville Nationals A-Main.
He arrived in Australia with high expecations and lived up to them in his maiden race down under.
“To win at Avalon on Wednesday, that was pretty cool, it was my first 410 race here,” Scelzi said.
“I have always been fascinated with racing in other countries and to get a win there was a tick off of my bucket list.
“It was good to get some momentum going into a big race like this and now there’s obviously harder cars now and some of the best drivers in Australia and America, so hopefully we can have a good prelim night (on Saturday) and get some points and see what we can do Sunday.”
Scezli got a first-hand look at the Classic – a three-night sprintcars showcase – when he visited Australia with older brother Dominic, 22, two years ago. The pair hopes to one day compete in the iconic race together.
Scelzi travelled to Australia with Indy Race Parts owner Bernie Stuebgen this time around and will race for Australian Domain Ramsay at the Classic. It is a whirlwind visit for the teenager, who will fly home on Wednesday.
“We went to Bells Beach where the surfing deal is and that was pretty cool to relax a little bit and (we’ve been) working everyday,” he said.
“It’s been kind of hectic and we’re not here for too long, so hopefully I can come back next year and enjoy it a little bit more.”
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Justine McCullagh-Beasy
Sports journalist with an interest in feature reporting. Email: justine.mc@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Sports journalist with an interest in feature reporting. Email: justine.mc@austcommunitymedia.com.au
