NHRA POWERade Teleconference Moments

Gary Scelzi, Hemi Oakley Dodge Stratus R/T

"You've got to be on the edge and have a little horseshoe with you every now and then."

Photo and questions by Dwight Drum
Web Work by Gary Larsen

Webmaster Gary Larsen steps away from his keyboard and up to a phone to ask Gary Scelzi a Zoomster question. Listen in.

"A lot of it is the work that Dan Olson and the team has done and the aerodynamics that the Dodge Stratus gives us. We work well as a team and we know what the car wants to run those speeds. Speed doesn't win races unfortunately; it sure helps the car accelerate the last half of the quarter-mile. We have focused on ET the last half of the season and are able to make it go down the race track. That's the hardest thing with a Funny Car is to make it repeat and to back a car down even if you think the track is a little marginal. We've all had troubles with consistency. Everybody out here in the 16-car field that is going to be running at Indy or anywhere else we go can swing the bat as hard as anybody. Not blowing smoke up Tony's skirt, but he ran 331 mph with a low 70 and it's a new team. That's very impressive to do. Bazemore has run 4.71 and Worsham has run in the 4.70s. I think the Funny Car field is way deeper than Top Fuel. It's incredible. You better go down the race track every time and you've got to be on the edge and have a little horseshoe with you every now and then."