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That is Gary Scelzi, climbing into the cockpit for the Johnson family.
How about Cristen Powell, 18 year old rookie
She goes off against Kenny Bernstein. Winternationals, Round 2, First race of the year.
Bernstein at 4.62, 299 miles per hour showing what kind of pace that is going to be set for the season.
This would be a classic
You will see an E.T. record for Amato
A speed record for Shelley
4.56 the time, Shelley runs 316.90
Going into the semifinals, Amato staying alive.
Would run down Kenny Bernstein at the stripe and another 4.50 elapsed time, he's been there all day long.
That set up the final round
The 5 time champ far side, the rookie near side,
Count how many time they stand on the gas.
(Scelzi) I kept waitin' for him to come by me
and I mean it blew the tires off so hard I couldn't believe it.
You had to be wondering if the engine was gonna stand that kind of a fuse.
I didn't think so. I just kept hittin' it, it kept going, I never seen him.
it kept hittin, I thought I was John Force out there.
Those cars get a little hard to control when you're doing that.
rocking back like that
I needed a Mac Truck steering wheel in there to drive it
but we didn't hit anything and I think the win light come on that's why you're here huh.
and you're looking at a superstar of the future.
The first thing Gary said when he got out of the car was I hope Alan's not mad at me.
Joe Amato round 1 at the second stop on the tour,
Amato wasn't even qualifyed until the last ditch effort Saturday night, then he made the field.
and then he got beat by Tony Schumacher in round 1.
The finals came down to Kenny Bernstein, the reigning champ near side
Gary Scelzi, the rookie, far side, this would not be a tire smoker.
Just a pretty good ol' drag race
Gary Scelzi, the first rookie, to every win his first two.
Gary Scelzi, 8 and 0.
Oh my God, are we lucky or what? That was awesome!
Lucky? A .428 light and a 4.62
Oh, A.J. power and we used it up
I tell ya, we had a little guy riding with me today
and we did it for him.
If he's lucky, Bernstein figures he's unlucky
He's averaged 4.62 for the first 2 races, no wins, and 2nd in the points.
On to Gainesville, The Mac Tools Gatornationals
Semifinals, Gary Scelzi has now won 10 consecutive rounds without a loss in his pro career.
Faces off against Mike Dunn in the Mopar car
So now he's 10 and 1 that's still not bad.
Mike Dunn would go into the championship round against Amato, watch Dunn's car in the far lane.
Great driving job, but not enough to stop Joe.
(Amato) We're back and we got a win, and we're ready to make a run at the championship
Number 6 is on the way, we need us a sponsor out there.
Somebody needs to replace the Keystone logo with something good.
send money, money.
The Slick 50 Nationals at a very fast Houston Raceway Park
Connie Kalitta in the near lane,
and Bob Vandergriff, one of the few 4.50 cars out there, check out the numbers
and Vandergriff goes into the semifinals.
This is one of the semifinals Scelzi near side, Amato far.
Joe and Jimmy Prock showing 'em they also can run 4.50s
still holding the record from out in Pomona, this one at 317.
Amato would win this thing with a sweep, he was No. 1 qualifier, low e.t. top speed of the meet.
and best wheelstand.
Amato continues to pour it on he wins his 2nd race in a row
and in the points, Joey, out in front now by two points over Gary Scelzi.
The only time this year, Team Winston would'nt be in the points lead.
It was wheels up and outta here.
That's fun to drive these cars when you can have a ride like that, you know.
On to Rockingham, final round
Kenny Bernstein, the No. 8 qualifier, took out Team Winston in round 1,
Met Joe Amato in the Final.
The winner gets $100,000 and you can tell which team won it.
The guys in the red and white, the guys for the King.
You know they celebrate because they get bonus bucks out of that.
Here we are in Atlanta, the Fram Nationals, Amato, Jim Head, the close call entry Round Number 1.
The Round 1 woes continue for Joe, smokes 'em and Jim Head at 4.82 would advance.
Connie Kalitta in the near side, Kenny Bernstein far.
Bernstein takes the win and Connie went into retirement
yet again we wouldn't see him in a race car for the rest of the season.
That would take us to the finals again it's the two red cars.
On board with the King and Kenny Bernstein gets the win
and the crowd, goes wild.
(Bernstein) Great racing those guys, they're awful good
I'm just really happy for obviously Bud and Prolong, Mac Tool, and, ***, NGK, all our people.
Cause without them we couldn't do it
But for the fans, It was a tough day. Tough weekend for the Bud King believe me.