Giovanni Scelzi Makes Late Charge For 360 Knoxville Nationals Prelim Victory

Making the charge through traffic in the closing laps at the Knoxville Raceway, California’s Giovanni Scelzi captured Night 2 of the 31st annual My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank.

Gio’s first career victory with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network; Scelzi’s win comes just 14 races after his brother, Domonic Scelzi, added his name to the record books at the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup. The win is his second in 360cid competition at Knoxville Raceway in as many races contested at the Iowa half-mile.

Asked if the laps a week ago helped, Scelzi simply replied, “Oh yeah, for sure.”

Chasing Austin McCarl through traffic in the closing laps, the pair looked for open lanes to clear the slower cars, with both trying the middle line through turns one and two. Sticking hard on the right rear, Scelzi was quick to return to the center line as the pair worked Lap 17.

Building momentum off the fourth turn, Gio kept true to the middle entering turn one, pulling event with the No. 27 in the second turn. Drag racing to the back straightaway, the KCP Racing No. 18 shot to the lead and pulled away by 1.745-seconds.

In his hunt for the win, Gio stated, “I got stuck behind Skylar [Prochaska] for a while, and he was just good enough that I couldn’t clear him, and wasn’t sure where to go, but once I cleared him, I knew I could get going. I had lost track of where Carson [McCarl] was at, and he ended up right in front of me, but this was an awesome car. It pretty much drove itself.”

McCarl, in second, was chased to the line by Skylar Prochaska, who held second the opening 12 laps. Scott Bogucki rolled across the line fourth, with Daryn Pittman taking fifth on the closing lap. Terry McCarl took sixth, with Brooke Tatnell in seventh. Battling nearly the entire event, Clint Garner got the better of Ian Madsen, with Colorado’s Jake Bubak moving up three spots to complete the top ten.

A field of 47 drivers was on hand to bring the weekend attendance to 90 competitors for the 31st annual My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank.

SCE Gaskets Heat Race wins went to John Carney II, Jake Martens, Jake Bubak, Colby Copeland, and Seth Brahmer. The BMRS B-Feature win went to Sawyer Phillips.

Racing continues Saturday, August 7. Information, directions, and ticket information is online at http://www.knoxvilleraceway.com. Fans not able to attend can find it online at http://www.dirtvision.com.
The 2021 season is the 30th year of competition for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.

For other news, notes, and information on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the Regional Tours that make up ASCS Nation in 2021, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and Twitter [@LucasOilASCS].

Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS National TourKnoxville Raceway [Knoxville, Iowa]My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville NationalsFriday, August 6, 2021
Car Count: 47Event Count:

90 Hoosier Tire Qualifying: [2 cars per set, 2 laps each] 1. 39, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK [1], 16.128; 2. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD [3], 16.370; 3. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA [2], 16.513; 4. 7BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN [7], 16.553; 5. 83A, Austin Miller, Lacona, IA [24], 16.576; 6. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA [45], 16.622; 7. 47X, Dylan Westbrook, Scotland, ONT, Can. [11], 16.630; 8. 14, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. [12], 16.713; 9. 28, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. [15], 16.733; 10. 97, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH [6], 16.743; 11. 18, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA [34], 16.757; 12. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA [16], 16.757; 13. 35P, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN [5], 16.810; 14. 64, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. [42], 16.842; 15. 35, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA [19], 16.847; 16. 7M, Chance Morton, Coweta, OK [14], 16.877; 17. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN [37], 16.889; 18. 7C, Devin Kline, Knoxville, IA [47], 16.920; 19. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA [8], 16.927; 20. 22L, Connor Loeffler, Georgetown, SC [4], 16.962; 21. 18R, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE [23], 16.966; 22. 27B, Jake Martens, Fairview, OK [28], 16.977; 23. 9X, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO [32], 16.984; 24. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA [17], 17.032; 25. 13V, Seth Brahmer, Wisner, NE [18], 17.049; 26. 7, John Carney II, El Paso, TX [33], 17.073; 27. 94, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN [43], 17.086; 28. 83T, Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, CA [27], 17.175; 29. 5V, Colby Copeland, Roseville, CA [25], 17.207; 30. 15, Christian Bowman, Altoona, IA [26], 17.214; 31. 13MJ, Brandon Halverson, Jackson, MN [21], 17.220; 32. 18T, Tanner Holmes, Jacksonville, OR [30], 17.226; 33. 21G, Gunner Ramey, Sedalia, MO [20], 17.242; 34. 2C, Whit Gastineau, Moore, OK [40], 17.283; 35. 75, Tyler Blank, California, MO [9], 17.317; 36. 17B, Ryan Bickett, Ramona, SD [36], 17.320; 37. 77X, Alex Hill, Six Nations, ONT, Ca [46], 17.411; 38. 19, Wes Wofford, Alamogordo, NM [29], 17.426; 39. 95, Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK [38], 17.506; 40. 11N, Harli White, Lindsay, OK [44], 17.539; 41. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA [13], 17.544; 42. 88, Rowdy Reber, Rapid City, SD [39], 17.724; 43. 14J, Mike Johnston, Des Moines, IA [31], 17.743; 44. 116, Vance Wofford, Alamogordo, NM [10], 17.797; 45. 57B, Boyd Peterson, Ithaca, NE [35], 17.952; 46. 55B, Brandon Anderson, Glenpool, OK [41], 18.229; 47. 35S, Jason Shultz, Carlisle, PA [22], NT.

SCE Gaskets Heat Races [Top 4 to A, Remainder to the B]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[4]; 2. 24-Terry McCarl[5]; 3. 7-John Carney II[1]; 4. 39-Daryn Pittman[6]; 5. 7M-Chance Morton[3]; 6. 18R-Ryan Roberts[2]; 7. 17B-Ryan Bickett[8]; 8. 13MJ-Brandon Halverson[7]; 9. 1A-John Anderson[9]; 10. (DNS) 55B-Brandon Anderson
Heat 2 [8 Laps]: 1. 27B-Jake Martens[2]; 2. 94-Jeff Swindell[1]; 3. 27-Carson McCarl[4]; 4. 40-Clint Garner[6]; 5. 56N-Davey Heskin[3]; 6. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[5]; 7. 77X-Alex Hill[8]; 8. 18T-Tanner Holmes[7]; 9. 88-Travis Reber[9]
Heat 3 [8 Laps]: 1. 9X-Jake Bubak[2]; 2. 35P-Skylar Prochaska[4]; 3. 83T-Tanner Carrick[1]; 4. 14-Brooke Tatnell[5]; 5. 7C-Devin Kline[3]; 6. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[6]; 7. 19-Wes Wofford[8]; 8. 21G-Gunner Ramey[7]; 9. 14J-Mike Johnston[9]
Heat 4 [8 Laps]: 1. 5V-Colby Copeland[1]; 2. 64-Ian Madsen[4]; 3. 20-AJ Moeller[2]; 4. 28-Scott Bogucki[5]; 5. 44-Chris Martin[3]; 6. 95-Matt Covington[8]; 7. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[6]; 8. 116-Vance Wofford[9]
Heat 5 [8 Laps]: 1. 13V-Seth Brahmer[2]; 2. 35-Josh Higday[4]; 3. 22L-Connor Leoffler[3]; 4. 15-Christian Bowman[1]; 5. 97-Greg Wilson[5]; 6. 83A-Austin Miller[6]; 7. 11N-Harli White[8]; 8. 75-Tyler Blank[7]; 9. 57B-Boyd Peterson[9]; 10. [DNS] 35S-Jason Schultz

BMRS B-Feature [Top 4 advance to the A-Feature]
B Feature [12 Laps]: 1. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[1]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[2]; 3. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[4]; 4. 56N-Davey Heskin[7]; 5. 97-Greg Wilson[5]; 6. 7C-Devin Kline[8]; 7. 18R-Ryan Roberts[10]; 8. 44-Chris Martin[9]; 9. 95-Matt Covington[19]; 10. 83A-Austin Miller[3]; 11. 17B-Ryan Bickett[16]; 12. 11N-Harli White[20]; 13. 77X-Alex Hill[17]; 14. 21G-Gunner Ramey[13]; 15. 55B-Brandon Anderson[26]; 16. 1A-John Anderson[21]; 17. 116-Vance Wofford[24]; 18. 13MJ-Brandon Halverson[11]; 19. 7M-Chance Morton[6]; 20. 18T-Tanner Holmes[12]; 21. 2C-Whit Gastineau[14]; 22. 75-Tyler Blank[15]; 23. 14J-Mike Johnston[23]; 24. 57B-Boyd Peterson[25]; 25. 88-Travis Reber[22]; 26. 19-Wes Wofford[18]; 27. 35S-Jason Schultz[27]

Sawblade.com A-Feature
A Feature [20 Laps]: 1. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[3]; 2. 27-Carson McCarl[2]; 3. 35P-Skylar Prochaska[1]; 4. 28-Scott Bogucki[4]; 5. 39-Daryn Pittman[8]; 6. 24-Terry McCarl[6]; 7. 14-Brooke Tatnell[5]; 8. 40-Clint Garner[7]; 9. 64-Ian Madsen[9]; 10. 9X-Jake Bubak[13]; 11. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[21]; 12. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[22]; 13. 94-Jeff Swindell[17]; 14. 7-John Carney II[16]; 15. 56N-Davey Heskin[24]; 16. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[23]; 17. 35-Josh Higday[10]; 18. 5V-Colby Copeland[19]; 19. 83T-Tanner Carrick[18]; 20. 27B-Jake Martens[12]; 21. 13V-Seth Brahmer[15]; 22. 15-Christian Bowman[20]; 23. 20-AJ Moeller[14]; 24. 22L-Connor Leoffler[11]

Lap Leader[s]: Carson McCarl 1-18; Giovanni Scelzi 19-20;Hard Charger: Sawyer Phillips +10High Point Driver: N/AProvisional[s]: N.A Combined Event Points: