World champ taps the brakes on drag racing career

Courtesy photo

National Hot Rod Association Funny Car driver Gary Scelzi spins out during a recent drag race.

Friday, Oct. 31, 2008 | midnight

Courtesy photo

Four-time National Hot Rod Association Funny Car driver Gary Scelzi is teetering on retirement as the NHRA rolls in to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend.

Courtesy photo

Gary Scelzi, 47, became the first Funny Car driver to break the 333 mph barrier and he remains on of the top competitors in the sport.

National Hot Rod Association Funny Car driver Gary Scelzi will refer to his future in racing as just about anything. He will call it a sabbatical, leave of absence or personal time off.

But one word is strictly off limits -- retirement.

"I'm just going away for awhile," Scelzi said. "I didn't do this so we could break out the retirement T-shirts and take money from the fans. As of now, I'm leaving for a year. It might be more than a year, it might be permanent. I really don't know at this point. I'm leaving the door open."

If it turns out Scelzi leaves racing for good, Sunday could be the last chance for fans to see the four-time world champion driver. He will be participating in the ACDelco NHRA Nationals Thursday through Sunday as part of the POWERade Series at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Looking at Scelzi's resume, one could see why walking away might be difficult. The 47-year-old is a three-time Top Fuel champion and claimed the Funny Car crown in 2005.

In 2004, Scelzi was the first Funny Car driver to break the 330 mph barrier. He is also the only NHRA driver with wins in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car divisions.

"You take a look at Gary's career and he's won national titles, divisional titles, at this point he has nothing left to prove," said Jack Beckman, Scelzi's teammate from Don Schumacher Racing. "When you enter professional racing, you're trying to go out and show what you're capable of doing. When that feeling isn't there anymore, it has to be enjoyable. Gary is in a position to sit back and see if racing is fulfilling what he needs it too in his life right now."

Scelzi had actually announced he was stepping away last year, but changed his mind when an NHRA team owner offered to fly him to and from races so he could spend more time with his family in Fresno.

Even with the deal, though, Scelzi said spending so much time away from his wife and two boys has been a factor in his decision to leave.

"Four or five years ago, I was in Houston and my son Dominic called me," Scelzi said. "And he told me, 'Dad, I can read!' And he started reading me a book while I was standing in between trailers with tears in my eyes. That really hit it home. They only know their dad as a race driver. I've only ever been able to spend time with them once or twice a month since they were born and they don't know any better. But now they're getting older and it's taking it's toll."

In addition to devoting more time to his family, Scelzi said he plans to pursue some business ventures.

Scelzi Enterprises, a custom truck body design company he founded with his brothers, needs his attention.

"I've been a professional driver for the last 11 years, so I haven't been involved with the day-to-day things," Scelzi said. "When we started the company we had 75 employees, now we have 175. I'm looking forward to getting back to work and wrapping my arms around the company again."

While Scelzi says it's his family and business, other NHRA drivers have speculated additional reasons as to why the driver is putting on the brakes.

"He's not fooling me, and I've got a feeling we haven't seen the last of Gary," said 2007 Funny Car World Champion Tony Pedregon. "I kind of think he wants to own his own team. I think it's something he's been pursuing. "As drivers, you set modest goals at the start, you just want to qualify. After you qualify, you want to win, and after that, you want to win 10 more. Gary wants to step back and see what the next step in racing is. And of course, family is good therapy for that."

Scelzi's supposed swan song won't be the only thing luring race fans to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend.

Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher is going for his 15th win of the season and only needs to qualify to clinch his division. Thanks in part to a new scoring system, five Funny Car drivers enter the race with legitimate shots at taking the crown. The group includes Beckman, Pedregon and his brother, Cruz, as well as leader Tim Wilkerson and last year's POWERade runner-up, Robert Hight.

Although Scelzi enters the weekend in 14th place, he offered a unique challenge to fans.

"If you come, I guarantee you'll have a good time or someone will give you your money back," Scelzi said. "I'm not saying it will be me, but someone will."

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or brett.okamoto@lasvegassun.com.