Giovanni Scelzi Already Racking Up Wins in the Jr. Sprints

Giovanni Scelzi celebrating a win on top of his Sprint Car at Jr. Sprints

Giovanni Scelzi is no stranger to the racetrack. His Dad Gary Scelzi was a four time World Champion in the NHRA Drag Racing series where he raced for 11 years. His older brother Dominic started racing go-karts at age 6, then moved up to a faster class when he was 8. Due to a crash, their mother forbid any form of racing unless it included a roll cage and seat belts. So at 6 when Giovanni was able to choose his sport, he chose Jr Sprints. During those NHRA days of his dad’s, the family was on the road and they would attend Outlaw Sprint Car events. “The atmosphere at a Drag Race is a lot like a Sprint Car race”, stated Giovanni. “While growing up watching Sprint Cars, we would go to tracks like Charlotte and Las Vegas, which are very big tracks and these Sprint Cars carry a lot of speed and the sound is unreal. From that moment on I knew I wanted to drive Sprint Cars.”

“By the time I was 8 years old, I had won the championship 2 years in a row and moved up to the Micro Sprints 600cc Yamaha’s” stated Giovanni. “After winning the championship in the restricted class in the first year, I stayed in that class till I was 10. At that time, I moved to the stock 600 class where I won my third race and then moved to the Super 600 class in which I became the youngest to win in that class at 11 years old.”

In fact at 8 years old in the Jr Sprint class, Giovanni won a record 24 races in one season. He was the youngest to win in the stock 600 class at age 10, and at age 11, the youngest to win in the Super 600 class.

Today he continues his racing in an Outlaw Micro Sprint Car. Just last month he captured a signature win at Plaza Park Raceway where he pulled off a last-corner, last-lap pass to secure the outlaw micro sprint victory, which marked his second of the season. "That was a pretty fun one to win," he said. "I stood on top of the wing and saluted the crowd."

“My dad, Gary Scelzi, is a 4 time NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car World Champion” continued Giovanni. He used K&N on his dirt bike in the 70’s when he was just a kid. In 2005, he owned a Ford Focus USAC midget that Michael Faccinto won the national championship with using K&N products. So we have used K&N from the beginning. There is no air filter or oil filter that keeps an engine as clean as K&N. We can use any product on the market but we use K&N and have from day one! Other people have tried to offer us special deals but my dad will not hear of it. He said, ‘we’ve always won with K&N and there’s no reason to change.”