TULARE, Calif. — The California crowd cheered Friday night as one of their own entered victory lane at Thunderbowl Raceway with Gio Scelzi having won the night’s World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series feature.
Once the Fresno, Calif., native grabbed the microphone to deliver his winning remarks, the cheers became a roar.
“Just tally one for California over the Outlaws,” Scelzi said, pointing with the furled checkered flag he waved toward the fans. “You guys can all mark that one down in your book.”
On top of collecting his fourth career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory and first in his home state, Scelzi is simply enjoying the opportunity to compete at the tracks where he cut his teeth.
“It’s just good to be home,” Scelzi told SPEED SPORT on Saturday. “That’s something I haven’t said in a while. That’s for sure. Now that COVID is somewhat gone and things are getting back to normal we get to race at home and do the spring Outlaw swing. I’m happy to be home and just enjoying it.”
During the last few years of Scelzi’s rise to sprint car stardom, the 20-year-old hasn’t had many chances to circle the ovals that helped shape him as a racer. Scelzi’s first major 410 sprint car experience came in 2017 when he was 15 years old and competed in the California-based NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Car Series, finishing second in points.
Scelzi now races across the nation against the toughest competition, but pandemic regulations forced California to cancel three consecutive WoO swings, creating a two-year absence. Last September when the Outlaws finally returned to the Golden State, Scelzi was racing in Pennsylvania with the All-Star Circuit of Champions.
It had been since March 2019 that Scelzi had last raced at Thunderbowl.
In addition to racing, the KCP Racing pilot can enjoy some extra family time over these few weeks. The Scelzi family still calls Fresno home, and Gio’s older brother, Dominic, made Gio an uncle with the birth of his daughter, Stella. Stella’s chosen attire on Saturday included a shirt that read, “Uncle Gio’s biggest fan.”
Scelzi will follow the World of Outlaws tour as it continues through California. Next up are two quarter-mile tracks in Merced Speedway and Ocean Speedway.
“I’ve been to Ocean and struggled there quite a few times,” Scelzi said. “I’m looking forward to turning it around. I know I have a better race car now. Merced is cool. I’ve practiced there once but never raced there. Those are two very short, elbows up race tracks.”
Scelzi hasn’t turned laps at Ocean Speedway since April 2018.
The California swing will conclude with a pair of shows farther south in the state at Bakersfield Speedway and Perris Auto Speedway. Scelzi has limited laps at both tracks.
Four years ago, Scelzi drove for Paul Silva against the Outlaws in Bakersfield and a year later he piloted the Roth Motorsports machine at Perris.
Perris will punctuate the California swing and signal the end of Scelzi’s time at home for now. And while leaving home is never easy, a heavy schedule of racing all over the country in some of the biggest races coupled with the momentum he and the No. 18 team are building might ease the pain just a little.
“I know we have a car that’s really solid and we’re firing on all cylinders that’s for sure,” Scelzi said. “From there (Perris), we go to Vado (Speedway Park) to Devil’s Bowl (Speedway) and then back to my new home, Iowa.”