Scelzi on Pole in Joliet

[punishum]

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2007 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 9 of 23
TORCO RACING FUELS ROUTE 66 NHRA NATIONALS
ROUTE 66 RACEWAY
Joliet, Ill.
June 8-10, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SCELZI HANGS ON TO NO. 1 IN JOLIET

JOLIET, Ill. (June 9, 2007) - Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car
driver Gary Scelzi held on as low qualifier through two more rounds of
qualifying for the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals today,
collecting his second No. 1 of the season and the 44th of his career.

His other No. 1 came in the season-opener at Pomona, Calif., which he
translated into his first victory of the season.

Scelzi struggled in both of today's qualifying attempts, posting two sub-par
tire-smoking runs of 9.539/82.07 and 9.865/83.26 on a hot and unforgiving
race track.

"Basically, one out of four runs is not the kind of car we had in Pomona,"
said the four-time NHRA world champion. "In Pomona it went down the race
track every run. I'm actually a little surprised that it didn't make it this
last run. We had it backed down enough, we thought, and it just went out and
shook the tires. We just downloaded the computer right now, so I'm not sure
what's wrong.

"The car's had a vibration today, for whatever reason. We changed tires,
we've done some different things, and the vibration is in the burnout and
it's on the run and I'm not sure where it's coming from. I don't really like
going into Sunday with that kind of a race car and I'm not sure what that
problem is. Hopefully, tonight we'll find something. I don't know what, but
we're going to change a lot of things. But, I know we can run, I know we can
run on hot tracks."

Scelzi faces No. 16 qualifier Bob Gilbertson in first round of Sunday's
eliminations.

***

[punishum]

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2007 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 9 of 23
TORCO RACING FUELS ROUTE 66 NHRA NATIONALS
ROUTE 66 RACEWAY
Joliet, Ill.
June 8-10, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BECKMAN COLLECTS NO. 6 IN CHICAGO QUALIFYING

JOLIET, Ill. (June 9, 2007) - "Fast" Jack Beckman collected the No. 6 Funny Car qualifying position for this weekend's Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals, recording his quickest lap of 4.769 seconds at 317.42 mph on Friday night.

His other laps produced a 6.810/130.43, a 5.964/157.17 and a solid 4.871/318.02 in the final pass, in the heat of the day.

"Awesome," said Beckman. "This is what we need to do. This is exactly what we need to do. You hate to make it sound like a cliché, but you have to qualify. Look at today, Robert Hight had never had a DNQ and he had one today, Mike Ashley won the last race and DNQ'd, not to mention Brandon Bernstein, who won Top Fuel in Topeka and he DNQ's. We've got to qualify to start clawing our way back up into the Skoal Showdown and into the Countdown to the Championship.

"We're in the top half, which is awesome, although I'm not sure if that matters here. We're ready to start winning rounds. I think every lap I get I'm feeling more comfortable in the car. I think the MTS Dodge crew is seeing that confidence in me and it feeds off of it. I hope we're going to see a snowball effect in the next few weeks.

"This is the acid test, this next six-race swing after this weekend. Can't wait."

Beckman squares off against Scott Kalitta in first round of eliminations on Sunday.

***

[punishum]

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2007 NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 9 of 23
TORCO RACING FUELS ROUTE 66 NHRA NATIONALS
ROUTE 66 RACEWAY
Joliet, Ill.
June 8-10, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAPPS TAKES THE NO. 2 SPOT IN CHICAGO QUALIFYING

JOLIET, Ill. (June 9, 2007) - NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car points leader Ron Capps qualified No. 2, behind teammate Gary Scelzi, for the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals today, and watched his closest competitor in points, Robert Hight, fail to qualify, as Capps had done last weekend in Topeka, Kan.

Steering the Brut "Test Drive" Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, Capps recorded runs of 5.442/192.08, his quickest of 4.755/326.87 Friday night, a 5.281/201.70, and a 4.860/317.79 in today's final pass under a hot sun.

Other top drivers who failed to qualify this weekend include Topeka Funny Car winner Mike Ashley and Topeka Top Fuel champion Brandon Bernstein.

"We're coming off a DNQ, so it's unbelievable," said Capps. "I had a week to think about it. And you get here and we're hoping we have everything that we had prior to putting the new car together for Topeka. And, of course we did, we qualified No. 2, which is great. The Brut "Test Drive" Dodge is going down the track in the heat of the day.

"That was a great run, an .86," he said of the last pass, "but to see the list of those teams that didn't qualify is really a surprise. As I've said before, it just tells you how tough it is out here. Just qualifying is a major, major feat. We were real worried. We didn't say so last week - we did have a new chassis, but we didn't want to blame it on that - so we were a little apprehensive. And I've never seen Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch) as nervous as he was Friday before the first run. I gave him a hug Friday night. I knew he felt better after that run Friday night. We're just having a good time right now."

Capps faces Tom Wilkerson in the opening round of eliminations on Sunday.

***