Fresno racer Gio Scelzi beats Kyle Larson for second Outlaws win. And he’s just 17
Was that the future passing the present Friday night at Charlotte?
Seventeen-year-old sprint car driver Gio Scelzi of Fresno beat NASCAR star Kyle Larson to win on night one of the World of Outlaws Patriot Nationals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
Last year, Scelzi became the youngest winner in the history of the national touring series. Now, he’s beaten the driver coming off a $1 million victory last week. And it came on one of the biggest stages: the dirt track is next to Charlotte Motor Speedway where NASCAR will line up Sunday for the Coca-Cola 600.
“Man, I’d like to be over across the street at the NASCAR track,” Scelzi said in victory lane, according to a news release from the Outlaws. “But who knows. I’m having a ball racing sprint cars. I’m just happy being here.”
Scelzi could look behind him Friday night for a career path. Larson, 26, grew up in Elk Grove and was a successful open-wheel driver as a teenager before leaping into stock car racing at age 19. Scelzi, the youngest son of former NHRA drag racing champion Gary Scelzi, started barnstorming as a sprint car driver last year and is crisscrossing the country again in 2019. Friday’s win came for Indianapolis car owner Bernie Stuebgen.
It was a study in patience. Larson started from the pole and dominated most of the 30-lap race, while Scelzi settled in from starting second. He briefly slipped to third, but showed his mastery of car and track conditions before catching Larson on lap 25.
“I can’t believe I got by him,” Scelzi said. “Normally when he (Larson) gets away, he’s gone.”
Young guns from Valley
Twenty-two-year-old Carson Macedo of Lemoore finished 15th. Macedo is racing full-time on the Outlaws circuit this season; Larson owns Macedo’s race team.
Gio’s 22-year-old brother Dominic drove the family’s car to a 23rd-place finish.
Those aren’t the only central San Joaquin Valley drivers making waves nationally.
Kingsburg native Kody Swanson, 31, is a Midwest open-wheel superstar whose name might come up during Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 as a driver who should be there. He is a four-time U.S. Auto Club Silver Crown champion, winningest driver in series history. Saturday night he started from the pole in the Little 500, aiming for his third win in four years. The 71st annual sprint car race sends 33 starters onto the quarter-mile paved track at Anderson, Indiana, for 500 laps.
And Cory Eliason, 27, of Kingsburg is among the top drivers on the All-Star Circuit of Champions, the Tony Stewart-owned sprint car series that campaigns mostly in the Midwest and East.