Gio Scelzi got a win on asphalt tonight, and oh man what a finish it was.
The young, up-and-coming sprint car star took the victory on Friday night with the ARCA West Series at All American Speedway after passing Taylor Gray while coming to the white flag.
The sequence created one of the best ARCA finishes of the year.
Check out the finish and the move that got Scelzi the W. Talk about going for broke. #ARCAWest
🎥 @ARCA_Racing pic.twitter.com/FTDtKpdhPZ
— Connor Ferguson (@cfchangs9) October 24, 2020
Gray ended up finishing the race in seventh, three spots behind series points leader Jesse Love.
Scelzi, however, would get to go to victory lane to celebrate his first ever win with the regional asphalt touring series.
“Yeah, I mean I had such a good car the whole time,” Scelzi said in victory lane after the race. “I can’t thank my guys enough. I’ve never had a car where I can run guys down and pass them like that. It was unreal.”
Scelzi started the race in third after qualifying just off of the pole, but would have to work his way through the field throughout the race.
At one point, he found himself in sixth, but lap by lap, Scelzi kept picking drivers off.
With 20 to go, he made the pass to second to set himself up to make a move for the win.
“I knew he was struggling,” Scelzi said. “Mentally I didn’t know if I was going to get to him, but I kind of just slammed through the door.”
He’ll get a chance to go for a second win this weekend on Sunday, when the tour travels to Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California. The race is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. CT and can be seen on NBC TrackPass.
ARCA West All American Speedway Results
1. Gio Scelzi
2. Todd Souza
3. Trevor Huddleston
4. Jesse Love
5. Blaine Perkins
6. Holley Hollan
7. Taylor Gray
8. Jack Wood
9. Takuma Koga
10. Gracie Trotter
11. Bridget Burgess
12. Mason Diaz
13. Bobby Hillis Jr.
| ARCA West Series Standings | ||||
| 1 | Jesse Love | 355 | -0 | |
| 2 | Blaine Perkins | 339 | -16 | |
| 3 | Gracie Trotter | 324 | -31 | |
| 4 | Gio Scelzi | 311 | -44 | |
| 5 | Trevor Huddleston | 304 | -51 | |
