A Bromance Or A Marriage?
But it would be simplistic and premature to conclude that Scelzi‘s speed and success was the result of the right parts. Championships are not won by bolt-on parts.
Winning at that level requires an almost intangible relationship — an almost unspoken instinctive connection — between driver and crew chief. Think Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham; Steve and Karl Kinser; or Brad Sweet‘s relationship with Eric Prutzman that has been the key to three consecutive World of Outlaws titles.
It‘s a relationship built on unconditional trust.
“We need to treat this as a marriage,” Scelzi said of his relationship with Carr. “I needed someone I could trust, even when maybe you don‘t always agree. I had a lot to learn when we first got together and understanding what he was trying to tell me.”
Initially, that was a slow process.
“Then I figured out that either I‘ve been driving wrong my whole career or I can learn from this guy and that‘s when things began to jell,” said Scelzi.
“At the beginning, he was stuck in his California race driving mentality,” offered Carr. “As soon as he hit the race track, he headed for the dark brown heavy stuff up against the cushion, pulling the motor down. I had to lean on him a bit to get him away from that,” advice based on years of working with Lasoski who was renowned for being successful in the slick bottom groove.
“As I figured out what he was saying, we were growing in spurts,” Scelzi added. “He was able to draw stuff out of me when he sees what I do and once we got on the same page, it was like slowly intersecting lines.
“With Jimmy I feel like I have a driving coach, like a head coach on every successful football team, putting me in a position to win and calling plays, telling me what to look for.”
As a result, Scelzi says Carr taught him how to win races.
“I think I‘ve finally learned how to put myself in the position to win a race,” Scelzi said. “I don‘t need the best car for all 30 laps, I just need it to be good on the last lap.”
Carr believes his perspective, either about car set-up or tactics in a race, come from having driven sprint cars.
“Lasoski always told me the feedback I gave him could only come from someone who has previously driven,” said Carr. “When I told Donny Schatz, ‘This is what the car will do,‘ it‘s because in my mind it‘s what it used to do for me.”
Scelzi credits Carr for giving him outstanding race cars capable of winning.
‘I‘ve
never been remotely as close to consistent or comfortable and just racy as I have this year,” said Scelzi. “‘I feel like I‘ve learned so much more about winning.”
The year has also made Carr feel “racy” again.
“I‘m old,” Carr said jokingly. “When they put you in the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame (Mario Andretti was inducted at the same time), you know you‘re old. I came out here thinking I was going to ride my motorcycle and retire.”
Dominic‘s youth and eagerness to win “sparked a new freaking energy in me, and I love going to the races.”
Gary Scelzi turned the team ownership over to his two sons a year and a half ago and fervently hopes Giovanni will eventually return to California to race and help run the family business as Dominic has.
After suffering some serious health problems during the summer, Gary Scelzi has turned to “farming” to ease up on life a bit. His 29-acre plot is a mere garden patch in an area of corporate farms that cover tens of thousands of acres and he jokingly says he‘s growing a great crop of rocks.
He also adds fervently, “I don‘t want my kids to run with the stress level I did and that I don‘t know how to turn off.”
It‘s a lesson, Dominic Scelzi has taken to heart.
“This is a year I will look back on for the rest of my life,” said Scelzi who during the season also coped with his dad‘s health and became a parent for the first time.
“I‘m happy where I am in life and I‘m in a good place emotionally,” he said. He called Scelzi Enterprises one morning near the end of the season to tell them he would be late to work. He was sitting with his three-month old daughter, Stella, as she enjoyed her first rainfall.
“The first time she laughed, he said, “was better than winning Knoxville.”