KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Giovanni Scelzi is a Californian by birth but now calls Iowa home. KCP Racing, the team he drives for, is located roughly an hour’s drive from Knoxville Raceway.
The pairing has won the 360 Nationals and sat on the pole of the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s. They’re hungrier than ever for a Knoxville Nationals.
And they made a big step toward that goal on Wednesday’s BRANDT Professional Agriculture Qualifying Night at The Sprint Car Capital of the World.
Scelzi lined up sixth for the 25-lapper and put on a show with a charge to the front. After an uneventful first half of the race, Scelzi got up on the wheel to move forward. On lap 17, he took second. Then he sealed the deal with a daring move between leader Jacob Allen and the lapped car of Matt Juhl entering turn one
“I don’t even know what to say. I’ve never run a prelim night. I’ve run second. This definitely sets us up good for Saturday,” Scelzi said. “Living just outside Des Moines now in Grimes, this is kind of a home for me. The first time I came here in I think 2016 or 2017 I got to work for Aaron Reutzel. And you know, Danny Lasoski being my idol was one that was obviously super successful here. And I think sometimes when you really put your mind to something at a place you want to be successful at, it makes you work harder to really do that. It’s the best race track in the world. Best fans in the world. There’s no question.
“Best racing surface you get all year long. Whether the track is a little bit wetter like it was tonight or it’s super dry, you almost have three lines of racing every time you come here. My guys did an incredible job. Hats off to Adam (Clark), Bob (Curtis), and Aaron (Beiler).”
Scelzi’s victory was his first in a 410 at Knoxville since topping a local show in 2019. But perhaps more important than the prelim win itself is where it’s currently slotted him for championship Saturday. A tally of 471 points has him atop the table after the opening night, nearly guaranteeing he’ll be starting in the first couple rows for the 50-lap finale.
The feature was led to green by Jacob Allen and Justin Peck. Allen inched ahead of Peck and narrowly led the first circuit. Peck built up momentum on the top and looked as if he may challenge Allen for the top spot on lap two, but Allen got the bottom rolling and scooted away.
Allen checked out as the opening portion of the race unfolded. Back behind Scelzi looked to begin his march forward but met a tough challenge in the form of Brent Marks. Even when Scelzi got by him the first time, the yellow flag waved before the lap was completed, giving the spot back to Marks.
Scelzi managed to escape Marks on the 11th circuit, and then the real fun began. Two laps later he drove past Chase Randall to grab third. And then in four more rotations he wasted no time wheeled around Justin Peck for second.
Then the pursuit of race-long leader Allen began. Up front the Shark Racing No. 1a navigated traffic which allowed Scelzi to close in. The first attempt at the top spot was thwarted by Allen as he protected. But only a few laps later Scelzi made a magnificent move for the lead.
A big run off the exit of turn four allowed Scelzi to dip under Allen heading down the front straightaway. With Allen to his outside, the 22-year-old was also faced with Juhl directly ahead. Scelzi had just enough momentum to clear Allen entering turn one and slice ahead of him to get to the cushion and clear the traffic in the set of corners.
And that was all she wrote.
“What an incredible job by my guys,” Scelzi said. “Normally yellows are my kryptonite. And I just got by Brent Marks and the yellow came out of course. But man, the bottom got easier and easier to run as all of those crumbs got thrown up in the middle. Thank you, fans, for coming out. This is the busiest I’ve ever seen a Wednesday night. I hope everyone goes to Dingus because they can serve all of you.”
Allen held on for second wheeling his father, Bobby Allen’s, sprint car. It was a strong night for the Hanover, PA native as he sits eighth in points and likely on the bubble of locking into Saturday’s finale after Thursday’s prelim. Despite losing the lead late, Allen showed no signs of disappointment.
“Honestly, I think I ran a pretty good race, a race that I’m pretty proud of running,” Allen said. “I felt like my race car was really good. We didn’t go through much lapped traffic, but I made a nice pass that I thought would maybe be a defining move on Blake Hahn. But obviously Gio had a really good car as well. There’s honestly nothing to hang our heads about. Last year I didn’t even race this race and took some time off. To come back, lead my prelim night, and run second is a huge accomplishment.”
Rounding out the Knoxville Nationals opener podium was Justin Peck aboard the Buch Motorsports machine.
“I feel like we’re pretty close, just need to find a little bit more speed,” Peck said. “I think our straight-line speed or straight-line grip is pretty good. I’m struggling kind of getting in the corner, and then depending on how that goes maybe struggling through the rest of the corner. Like I said, we’ll keep working. It’s cool to put it on the podium on a prelim night of the Knoxville Nationals.”
Chase Randall and Brent Marks completed the top five.
Read More: Scelzi On Top, Schatz On The Outside Looking In
Knoxville Nationals Night One Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (1), 15.431; 2. 39M, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (11), 15.654; 3. 55, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (5), 15.669; 4. 23, Garet Williamson, Columbia, MO (9), 15.707; 5. 18T, Tanner Holmes, Jacksonville, OR (3), 15.737; 6. 14J, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE (2), 15.738; 7. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (35), 15.783; 8. 2, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (21), 15.785; 9. 14, Corey Day, Clovis, CA (28), 15.809; 10. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (4), 15.823; 11. 18, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (31), 15.825; 12. 2X, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (36), 15.828; 13. 10, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Au (24), 15.828; 14. 101, Kalib Henry, Sacramento, CA (10), 15.834; 15. 19, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (29), 15.839; 16. 83JR, Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, CA (30), 15.876; 17. 21T, Cole Macedo, Lemoore, CA (14), 15.878; 18. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (7), 15.898; 19. 1M, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (12), 15.909; 20. 2KS, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (42), 15.953; 21. 13, Justin Peck, Monrovia, IN (37), 15.962; 22. 1A, Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (38), 15.973; 23. 55T, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (40), 15.974; 24. 9, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (41), 15.983; 25. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (33), 15.986; 26. 3Z, Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, PA (45), 16.006; 27. 24T, Christopher Thram, Sanborn, MN (25), 16.019; 28. 48, Danny Dietrich, Gettysburg, PA (19), 16.023; 29. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (23), 16.050; 30. 23L, Jimmy Light, West Springfield, PA (13), 16.060; 31. 70, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (47), 16.062; 32. 52, Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK (15), 16.075; 33. 9P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (18), 16.094; 34. 49X, Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA (22), 16.107; 35. 6B, Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, IN (50), 16.144; 36. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (51), 16.148; 37. 4W, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (52), 16.168; 38. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (43), 16.181; 39. J2, John Carney II, El Paso, TX (44), 16.185; 40. 23M, Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (8), 16.205; 41. 17GP, Cale Thomas, Fairland, IN (17), 16.207; 42. 99, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (48), 16.226; 43. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (20), 16.259; 44. 6W, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (27), 16.263; 45. 45X, Jace Park, Overland Park, KS (34), 16.279; 46. 15JR, Cole Mincer, Burlington, IA (49), 16.424; 47. 19H, Joel Myers Jr., Sebastopol, CA (26), 16.439; 48. G5, Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN (16), 16.459; 49. 11N, Kasey Jedrezek, Lagrange, OH (46), 16.856; 50. 10V, Brian Paulus, Six Mile, SC (39), 16.888; 51. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (32), 17.296; 52. 1, Sammy Swindell, Lakeland, TN (6), NT.
First Heat (started), 10 Laps, 2:46.6: 1. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1); 2. Brock Zearfoss (3); 3. Justin Peck (4); 4. Gio Scelzi (6) / 5. Buddy Kofoid (5); 6. Kraig Kinser (2); 7. Matt Juhl (8); 8. Jack Dover (7) / 9. Cole Mincer (10); 10. Cale Thomas (9)
Second Heat (started), 10 Laps, 2:47.3: 1. Jamie Ball (1); 2. Jacob Allen (4); 3. Blake Hahn (2); 4. Sheldon Haudenschild (7) / 5. Christopher Thram (3); 6. Anthony Macri (8); 7. Cole Macedo (5); 8. Lynton Jeffrey (6) / 9. Joel Myers Jr. (10); 10. Skylar Gee (9)
Third Heat (started), 10 Laps, 2:46.2: 1. Donny Schatz (1); 2. Parker Price-Miller (2); 3. Scott Bogucki (6); 4. Danny Dietrich (3) / 5. Kerry Madsen (8); 6. David Gravel (7); 7. Sawyer Phillips (5); 8. McKenna Haase (4) / 9. Chris Martin (9); 10. Gage Pulkrabek (10)
Fourth Heat (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Aaron Reutzel (3); 2. John Carney II (1); 3. Kasey Kahne (4); 4. Corey Day (7) / 5. Tim Shaffer (2); 6. Garet Williamson (8); 7. Don Droud Jr. (5); 8. Dustin Selvage (9) / 9. Kalib Henry (6) DNS – 10. Kasey Jedrezek
Fifth Heat (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Chase Randall (5); 2. Brandon Wimmer (2); 3. Brent Marks (6); 4. Carson McCarl (4) / 5. Tanner Holmes (8); 6. Jace Park (9); 7. Jimmy Light (3); 8. Riley Goodno (7) / 9. Brian Paulus (10); 10. Lance Moss (1);
C Main (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Cale Thomas (1); 2. Skylar Gee (2); 3. Chris Martin (3); 4. Joel Myers Jr. (5) / 5. Cole Mincer (4); 6. Brian Paulus (7); 7. Gage Pulkrabek (6); 8. Kevin Ingle (8); 9. Sammy Swindell (9) DNS – 10. Kalib Henry; 11. Lance Moss; 12. Kasey Jedrezek (9);
B Main (started), 12 Laps, 3:29.5: 1. Anthony Macri (2); 2. Matt Juhl (1); 3. Garet Williamson (4); 4. David Gravel (7) / 5. Buddy Kofoid (10); 6. Kerry Madsen (3); 7. Tanner Holmes (5); 8. Riley Goodno (8); 9. Sawyer Phillips (12); 10. Jack Dover (6); 11. Don Droud Jr. (13); 12. Lynton Jeffrey (9); 13. Cole Macedo (11); 14. Tim Shaffer (18); 15. Christopher Thram (15); 16. Jimmy Light (16); 17. Chris Martin (23); 18. Jace Park (20); 19. Dustin Selvage (19); 20. Kraig Kinser (17); 21. Skylar Gee (22); 22. McKenna Haase (14); 23. Joel Myers Jr. (24); 24. Cale Thomas (21)
Feature (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Gio Scelzi (6); 2. Jacob Allen (1); 3. Justin Peck (2); 4. Chase Randall (3); 5. Brent Marks (4); 6. Scott Bogucki (5); 7. Brock Zearfoss (11); 8. Aaron Reutzel (13); 9. Corey Day (7); 10. Anthony Macri (21); 11. Parker Price-Miller (15); 12. Sheldon Haudenschild (8); 13. Kasey Kahne (9); 14. Carson McCarl (10); 15. David Gravel (24); 16. Danny Dietrich (12); 17. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (17); 18. Donny Schatz (19); 19. Garet Williamson (23); 20. Matt Juhl (22); 21. Jamie Ball (18); 22. Blake Hahn (14); 23. John Carney II (20); 24. Brandon Wimmer (16).