BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Giovanni Scelzi won his second World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series feature during a span of two weeks Friday night at Bakersfield Speedway.
The return of the series to the third-mile track for the first time since 2018 offered an unpredictable share of chaos at the front and dramatic storylines at the end.
Driving the KCP Racing No. 18, Scelzi used the “I’d rather be lucky than good” method to score his fifth career World of Outlaws win at 20 years old.
Scelzi was running fourth early on when mayhem struck as top-three runners Spencer Bayston, David Gravel and Rico Abreu were all collected in a turn-three crash with Sheldon Haudenschild on lap eight. Scelzi narrowly missed joining the carnage and escaped to assume the lead, knowing he had to finish the job at that point.
“It’s one thing to be in the dash and put yourself in the hunt, but when something that lucky happens with all three of those guys crashing you have to take advantage of it,” Scelzi said. “These races are hard enough to win as they are, so when you get the opportunity essentially thrown in your lap you have to seal the deal. I’m still baffled at how that happened. I’ve never had something go that far my way that quickly.”
Scelzi’s score didn’t come without an ironic challenge, though, as he was forced to battle Corey Day, who would’ve broken Scelzi’s record for being the youngest winner in World of Outlaws history had he won.
In his fourth-ever appearance and second start with the series, Day timed in fourth, ran second in his heat, made the dash, and capitalized when it mattered most.
The teenage prodigy of two-time World of Outlaws champion Jason Meyers officially led Lap 10 and hounded Scelzi for much of the race while battling off other champions like Brad Sweet and Donny Schatz. He ultimately finished second and joined his father Ronnie Day as a podium finisher with the series.
Giovanni Scelzi battles Corey Day (14) Friday at Bakersfield Speedway. (Tom Macht photo)
At 16 years, 3 months, 27 drivers, Day became the youngest runner-up and podium finisher in the storied 45-year history of the World of Outlaws.
“It’s a dream to be here racing with the Outlaws,” Day said. “My goal for the past five years or so has to one day beat Gio’s record for the youngest winner in history and this is a step in the right direction. Things definitely fell our way, but nonetheless, I think we proved we can compete with these guys tonight.”
Sweet, 36, was the veteran mainstay keeping one extra young gun off the podium at Bakersfield. He charged from eight-to-third for a third-straight podium finish aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 49.
“These kids are getting younger and younger, yet still doing better and better,” Sweet said. “It’s cool to watch this next generation develop, you know I used to be these kids up here. As far as myself, a bit disappointed. We need to figure a few things out be it car or driver and get back to our winning ways. We avoided a lot of carnage, though, so there’s always a positive.”
The finish:
Feature (35 Laps): 1. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [3][$10,000]; 2. 14-Corey Day [6][$6,000]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [8][$3,500]; 4. 41-Carson Macedo [9][$2,800]; 5. 83-James McFadden [22][$2,500]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [12][$2,300]; 7. 26-Cory Eliason [11][$2,200]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart [10][$2,100]; 9. 83JR-Kerry Madsen [13][$2,050]; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen [5][$2,000]; 11. 17W-Shane Golobic [18][$1,600]; 12. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7][$1,400]; 13. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [17][$1,200]; 14. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [14][$1,100]; 15. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [20][$1,050]; 16. 5-Spencer Bayston [1][$1,000]; 17. 24-Rico Abreu [4][$1,000]; 18. 20G-Noah Gass [21][$1,000]; 19. 88-Austin McCarl [15][$1,000]; 20. 19AZ-Tanner Thorson [16][$1,000]; 21. 21-Mitchell Faccinto [19][$1,000]; 22. 24X-Chase Johnson [24][$1,000]; 23. 2-David Gravel [2][$1,000]; 24. 88N-DJ Netto [23][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: Spencer Bayston 1-8; Giovanni Scelzi 9, 11-35; Corey Day 10. KSE Hard Charger Award: 83-James McFadden[+17]
Keyword: Scelzi Scores In WoO Battle Of Youth