Gary Scelzi
Unlike most of his predecessors, Gary Scelzi got his first start in competitive drag racing at the wheel of a small-block, Chevy-powered sand dragster at the age of 16-years-old. He notched his share of wins in this arena before his world changed in 1996. Following the racing death of Blaine Johnson, Scelzi was selected by Alan Johnson to replace his brother in the family Top Fuel Dragster. Scelzi took advantage of the opportunity as he became the first rookie to win an NHRA title.
Scelzi first came to national prominence in 1985 in a Top Alcohol Dragster when he won the NHRA World Finals. He was victorious twice more in the class before moving to Alcohol Funny Car, where he also collected three NHRA national event wins.
Incredibly, in 1997, Scelzi captured the first two races in the class – the first one the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., and the second one the NHRA Atsco Nationals in Phoenix, Ariz. – becoming the first rookie driver in NHRA history to win his first two races as a pro. He went on to earn the NHRA Top Fuel championship and repeated that feat in 1998. Scelzi added a third crown in 2000 when he became the first Top Fuel driver in history to garner nine national event victories in one season. In 2002, Scelzi accepted the driver’s job in Alan Johnson’s second AA/Funny Car.
Scelzi is one of a very few drivers to win in NHRA’s four quickest and fastest supercharged categories – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car – with multiple victories in each as well as four championships spread among his nitro-burning career.
Parting ways with Johnson in 2002, Scelzi joined Don Schumacher Racing for the 2003 season in an Oakley-sponsored Funny Car and in 2004 he became the first Funny Car driver to exceed 330 mph. In 2005, Scelzi won the NHRA Funny Car world championship, ending John Force Racing’s 12-year stranglehold on the championship.
Scelzi is one of the very few drivers to rack up the win record he posted during his 12 seasons in the NHRA elite classes with 25 wins out of 39 finals in Top Fuel and 12 wins out of 20 finals in Funny Car.
Proving he is not one dimensional, while Scelzi was competing on the drag strip he owned and fielded a Ford Focus Midget that that won the legendary Turkey Night Grand Prix at Irwindale, Calif., in 2006 and took home the United States Auto Club Championship that year. For the 2007 season, Scelzi sold his Focus Midget and moved up to a standard midget and assumed the driving chore at the Chili Bowl Nationals.
After the 2008 season, Scelzi retired from driving in Funny Car to focus on the family business, Scelzi Enterprises, and his sons’ own racing careers. He has not abandoned the sport he loves so much and had so much success in, but has become even more vocal in his quest to improve its overall safety.
