Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Scelzi quits Johnson team, may return to Top Fuel

Thursday, May 30, 2002 | 9:53 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

Two weeks after stepping out of Alan Johnson's Toyota Celica Funny Car in favor of teammate Bruce Sarver, Gary Scelzi has left the team to pursue other opportunities in drag racing.

Scelzi, who won all three of his NHRA Top Fuel championships while driving for Johnson, made the switch with Johnson from Top Fuel to Funny Car this season with mixed results.

"This was a very tough decision for both of us," Scelzi told NHRA.com. "But some recent developments with the team and the way things have played out versus what I was told would happen forced me to re-evaluate my career.

"To a certain extent, I feel that my hand was forced so I'll just pack up and move on and wish Alan and his family the very best."

Scelzi said he would not rule out the possibility of returning to the Top Fuel ranks with another team.

In two races since taking over for Scelzi, Sarver has piloted the White Cap Toyota Celica to a final-round appearance in Englishtown, N.J., and was the No. 1 qualifier last weekend in Topeka, Kan., before being eliminated in the first round.

"Ever since (team owner Joe Amato) hired Wayne Dupuy to be our crew chief and he took over this team in Las Vegas, our performance has been increasing at a real strong clip," said Russell, who defeated Top Fuel points leader Larry Dixon in the final. "The team has come together and worked through some very difficult transitions but we never lost sight of our main goal -- to bring honor and victory to Joe Amato Racing.

"Joe built a dynasty over the course of his career. Five championships and 52 national event wins are marks that won't be broken for a long time. I'm still humbled that he picked me to drive his car a year and a half ago and I still try to do everything in my power every lap to convince him that he made the right choice."

Russell, the reigning NHRA Rookie of the Year, was winless in seven meetings with Dixon prior to Sunday's final.

"When I rolled through the water (to do my burnout), it only got the tire partially wet," Bernstein said. "Bottom line, the tire was dry and started to hook the track. I tried to back up quickly because I thought there was time to do another burnout.

"I was backing up with quite a bit of speed and the front end started to wobble. When it does that, it tries to break your hands off the steering wheel and its so violent you can't hold on. In the process of wrestling the steering wheel, I brushed the parachute release button and deployed the parachutes. Basically, it was a major catastrophe everywhere."

Bernstein, who trailed Dixon by 143 points entering the weekend, now is 187 points behind Dixon after nine of 23 events.