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West Coast Produces Top Sprint Car Racers
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The West Coast has produced some of the world’s best sprint cars racers.
Gary Paterson, Johnny Anderson, Jimmy Oskie, Brent Kaeding and Bubby Jones are a few names that come to mind. The sprint car movement in California is on the rebound despite losing strong hold tracks such as Ascot and The Baylands. Touring groups such as the King of the West Sprint Car Series and the Civil War Sprint Car Series are giving racers a solid season schedule, decent purses and a diversity of dirt ovals to hone their talent. KWS runs 410 ci engines, while the Civil War series uses 360 engines. Both groups have events scheduled at tracks ranging from Silver Dollar Speedway in Northern California to the fairgrounds in Hanford in the south.
The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series makes two annual swings through the state. The AMSOIL USAC-CRA Sprint Car Series and the USAC West Coast Series feature non-winged sprint cars. Their races are also sprinkled throughout the state.
Here are a few drivers who make up the young faces of the “California Crew.”
D.J. NETTO
Netto turned 20 years old on March 1 and is a student at Fresno State University studying Agriculture Business.
He drives the No. 88n Maxim out of Hanford. It was when his dad first took him to a sprint car race as a kid that Netto fell in love with racing. Netto first drove a sprint car in 2012 and has raced one ever since. He drives for a team owned by his father Frank and uncle James Netto. His crew chief is Matt Britt and Brian Matherly calls the shots on the car. Crew members are Gary Padalaro and Nate Matherly. Speedway and Shaver engines provide the power.
Netto won two KWS races last year, one being his first series victory. He added a 360 triumph later in the year. The 2015 season was highlighted by his 410 win and also running third in the World of Outlaw feature during the opening night of the Gold Cup at Silver Dollar. He felt he could have had a better season, but was plagued by mechanical failures.
This season he hopes to continue to learn things and become a smarter race car driver. He looks forward to the Peter Murphy Classic July 22-23 at hunderbowl Raceway.
“It’s been such a great event the last two years and also it honors even a better guy. It’s at my favorite race track, so I’m pretty excited for that,” Netto explained.
He opened this season by competing in the Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Okla. He qualified for the A-Main on his preliminary night, but did not finish the feature.
“I believe racing the Chili Bowl does help us in a sprint car because it keeps you on your toes and keeps you in the seat during the winter. Also it’s such a cool event where you get to race with people from different forms of motorsports,” said Netto.
SHANE GOLOBIC
When he was 10 days old, Golobic watched his father, John, race a winged 360 sprint car. He has been hooked on racing ever since. Golobic drives the Keith Day’s No. 22. His Kent Performance Chassis sponsors are Keith Day Trucking, Gabilan Ag Series, Sturdy Oil, Pacific Coast AG, Riley Collins Body Shop, Keizer Wheels, DMI and LRB Manufacturing. The 360 car is powered by Gaerte Racing Engines and S&S Automotive supplies his 410 engines. Rick Bragg is his crew chief.
Golobic won six combined sprint car and midget features last year.
“Last year we seemed to have a consistent year, beginning to end. I would say our strongest runs came late in the year at races like the Trophy Cup,” Golobic said. “It was a good feeling to have such strong races with some of the best 360 competition in the country.”
He holds bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and lives in Fremont, Calif. He finished 12th in the KWS standings and third in the Civil War standings.
“2016 is shaping up to be a fun year,” he said. “I plan on running a strong schedule of 360 and 410 winged sprint car races throughout California and Oregon with the Keith Day Trucking No. 22. I will also be running a 15- to 20-race schedule in the Matt Wood Racing No. 17 midget. I always make it a personal goal to win 10 races throughout the year, so hopefully we can reach or surpass that goal.”
Golobic won the March 19 Shamrock Classic at the Southern Illinois Center in the Wood No. 17.
“As always I am looking forward to the Trophy Cup and the Louie Vermeil Classic. This year I am very excited to have the opportunity to head to Indiana to race the Indiana Midget Week for the first time. I am also looking forward to competing with the World of Outlaws at my home track, Ocean Speedway,” Golobic noted.
He also competed in this year’s Chili Bowl, starting the A-Main and finishing 14th.
“The Chili Bowl is something I always look forward to. It helps keep me sharp through the offseason,” Golobic said. “I believe it takes similar driving styles to be successful in wing sprint cars and midgets. Plus, it’s the most exciting week of racing, year in and year out.
“I am lucky to have had the opportunity to race with so many great people,” he continued. “I would not be where I am today without them. The friendships that I have made in the sprint car world are a big part of why I love the sport so much.”
DOMINIC SCELZI
Dominic Scelzi attended his first sprint car race in Sedalia, Mo., when he was 5 years old. The event showcased the World of Outlaws and included a celebrity modified race involving his father Gary, a multi-time NHRA drag racing champion.
“I saw my first sprint car race when I was 5 and fell in love,” he explained. “The sound, the smell, the way they looked made me want to drive one. From that point on, I’ve loved sprint car racing and always dream of winning a World of Outlaws main event.”
He drives the black No. 41 for Gary Scelzi Motorsports. It is a Schnee chassis powered by a Speedway Engine. They also own a Pace chassis with Moles Racing Engines and a KPC chassis with a Panella powerplant.
The Fresno, Calif., native had an up and down season last year during which he was injured twice.
Racing at Thunderbowl Raceway in March, Scelzi suffered second- and third-degree burns on his left leg and foot. He rebounded and win the KWS stop at the Stockton Dirt Track. But while leading the KWS points going into the late-season Peter Murphy Classic, he crashed and suffered a compression fracture in his back, sidelining him for six weeks. He returned to the cockpit for the Gold Cup at Silver Dollar and won the following week at Hanford. Toward the end of the season, Scelzi and crew chief Kyle Kenoyer journeyed to the Midwest to compete for George and Danny Lasoski in the National Sprint League finale at Nebraska’s I-80 Speedway. He finished eighth and third in two nights of competition. His performance got him a ride in the same car during the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
“Racing is a sport you have to be mentally and physically tough,” Scelzi said. “It owns you nothing and success doesn’t just appear. It comes from hard work, dedication, sacrifice and a will to never give up.”
Scelzi’s goals for this season are to win four KWS features and two CW mains. He plans to return to the Midwest, but this time with the family’s sprint car and win a main event in their madden voyage out of California.
GIOVANNI SCELZI
The younger brother of Dominic Scelzi, Giovanni Scelzi grew up at the micro midget and drag races. He won the 2015 Tulsa Shootout, beating nearly 200 cars in his class. He finished second there in the A class this year. On the local scene, the younger Scelzi has a handful of micro wins at Visalia and Lemoore Raceways.
“I always knew I would be a racer,” he said. “I love all forms of racing from F-1 to pavement midgets, to drag racing and the World of Outlaws. When I first started I was unsure about driving, but the more I did it the more I loved it.”
As part of his goals “Gio” hopes to capture the Plaza Park Super 600 Championship as well as defend his home state and conquer the California Speedweek micro sprint title. He plans to also compete on a national level at events at Oklahoma’s Port City Raceway and Southern Illinois Raceway.
“If you aren’t working to make yourself, your motors and your cars faster, you’re becoming slower. Every team is looking for that next edge to better themselves,” Scelzi noted. “You have to continuously better your team.”
Both Giovanni and Dominic Scelzi were baseball and football players before high school.
Giovanni is expected to make his 360 sprint car debut later this year and will be competing at Hanford in the Roth Motorsports No. 83jr and will race a select few races in the family car at Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway.
CORY ELIASON
“I just love to race as I feel there is no better feeling than being able to control something that is uncontrollable,” said Selma, Calif., racer Cory Eliason.
Eliason started racing junior sprint cars when he was 9 years old. He got into racing through his dad, who helped a few local racers before Cory was old enough to race.
He drives the white and orange No. 00 GF1 chassis with a Rider engines. He’s both the driver and the crew chief. His primary sponsor is Eliason Racing Composites, which is the carbon-fiber business he started to help pay his racing bills. He also gets support from Reitz Almond Harvesting, Driven Performance, Prime Towing and RE Technologies.
His goal this year is to run as many races as possible, including his first venture to the Knoxville Nationals at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway.
“I look forward mostly to the Trophy Cup,” Eliason said. “It’s what we race all year for. To be good at that race.”.
His biggest win to date was the Cotton Classic at Hanford.
He started his season off at the Chili Bowl, which was his first time driving a midget car.
“It’s a blast,” he said. “It’s one of the most prestigious races of the year and networking is big. Lots of people to met.”
Gary Paterson, Johnny Anderson, Jimmy Oskie, Brent Kaeding and Bubby Jones are a few names that come to mind. The sprint car movement in California is on the rebound despite losing strong hold tracks such as Ascot and The Baylands. Touring groups such as the King of the West Sprint Car Series and the Civil War Sprint Car Series are giving racers a solid season schedule, decent purses and a diversity of dirt ovals to hone their talent. KWS runs 410 ci engines, while the Civil War series uses 360 engines. Both groups have events scheduled at tracks ranging from Silver Dollar Speedway in Northern California to the fairgrounds in Hanford in the south.
The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series makes two annual swings through the state. The AMSOIL USAC-CRA Sprint Car Series and the USAC West Coast Series feature non-winged sprint cars. Their races are also sprinkled throughout the state.
Here are a few drivers who make up the young faces of the “California Crew.”
D.J. NETTO
Netto turned 20 years old on March 1 and is a student at Fresno State University studying Agriculture Business.
He drives the No. 88n Maxim out of Hanford. It was when his dad first took him to a sprint car race as a kid that Netto fell in love with racing. Netto first drove a sprint car in 2012 and has raced one ever since. He drives for a team owned by his father Frank and uncle James Netto. His crew chief is Matt Britt and Brian Matherly calls the shots on the car. Crew members are Gary Padalaro and Nate Matherly. Speedway and Shaver engines provide the power.
Netto won two KWS races last year, one being his first series victory. He added a 360 triumph later in the year. The 2015 season was highlighted by his 410 win and also running third in the World of Outlaw feature during the opening night of the Gold Cup at Silver Dollar. He felt he could have had a better season, but was plagued by mechanical failures.
This season he hopes to continue to learn things and become a smarter race car driver. He looks forward to the Peter Murphy Classic July 22-23 at hunderbowl Raceway.
“It’s been such a great event the last two years and also it honors even a better guy. It’s at my favorite race track, so I’m pretty excited for that,” Netto explained.
He opened this season by competing in the Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Okla. He qualified for the A-Main on his preliminary night, but did not finish the feature.
“I believe racing the Chili Bowl does help us in a sprint car because it keeps you on your toes and keeps you in the seat during the winter. Also it’s such a cool event where you get to race with people from different forms of motorsports,” said Netto.
SHANE GOLOBIC
When he was 10 days old, Golobic watched his father, John, race a winged 360 sprint car. He has been hooked on racing ever since. Golobic drives the Keith Day’s No. 22. His Kent Performance Chassis sponsors are Keith Day Trucking, Gabilan Ag Series, Sturdy Oil, Pacific Coast AG, Riley Collins Body Shop, Keizer Wheels, DMI and LRB Manufacturing. The 360 car is powered by Gaerte Racing Engines and S&S Automotive supplies his 410 engines. Rick Bragg is his crew chief.
Golobic won six combined sprint car and midget features last year.
“Last year we seemed to have a consistent year, beginning to end. I would say our strongest runs came late in the year at races like the Trophy Cup,” Golobic said. “It was a good feeling to have such strong races with some of the best 360 competition in the country.”
He holds bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and lives in Fremont, Calif. He finished 12th in the KWS standings and third in the Civil War standings.
“2016 is shaping up to be a fun year,” he said. “I plan on running a strong schedule of 360 and 410 winged sprint car races throughout California and Oregon with the Keith Day Trucking No. 22. I will also be running a 15- to 20-race schedule in the Matt Wood Racing No. 17 midget. I always make it a personal goal to win 10 races throughout the year, so hopefully we can reach or surpass that goal.”
Golobic won the March 19 Shamrock Classic at the Southern Illinois Center in the Wood No. 17.
“As always I am looking forward to the Trophy Cup and the Louie Vermeil Classic. This year I am very excited to have the opportunity to head to Indiana to race the Indiana Midget Week for the first time. I am also looking forward to competing with the World of Outlaws at my home track, Ocean Speedway,” Golobic noted.
He also competed in this year’s Chili Bowl, starting the A-Main and finishing 14th.
“The Chili Bowl is something I always look forward to. It helps keep me sharp through the offseason,” Golobic said. “I believe it takes similar driving styles to be successful in wing sprint cars and midgets. Plus, it’s the most exciting week of racing, year in and year out.
“I am lucky to have had the opportunity to race with so many great people,” he continued. “I would not be where I am today without them. The friendships that I have made in the sprint car world are a big part of why I love the sport so much.”
DOMINIC SCELZI
Dominic Scelzi attended his first sprint car race in Sedalia, Mo., when he was 5 years old. The event showcased the World of Outlaws and included a celebrity modified race involving his father Gary, a multi-time NHRA drag racing champion.
“I saw my first sprint car race when I was 5 and fell in love,” he explained. “The sound, the smell, the way they looked made me want to drive one. From that point on, I’ve loved sprint car racing and always dream of winning a World of Outlaws main event.”
He drives the black No. 41 for Gary Scelzi Motorsports. It is a Schnee chassis powered by a Speedway Engine. They also own a Pace chassis with Moles Racing Engines and a KPC chassis with a Panella powerplant.
The Fresno, Calif., native had an up and down season last year during which he was injured twice.
Racing at Thunderbowl Raceway in March, Scelzi suffered second- and third-degree burns on his left leg and foot. He rebounded and win the KWS stop at the Stockton Dirt Track. But while leading the KWS points going into the late-season Peter Murphy Classic, he crashed and suffered a compression fracture in his back, sidelining him for six weeks. He returned to the cockpit for the Gold Cup at Silver Dollar and won the following week at Hanford. Toward the end of the season, Scelzi and crew chief Kyle Kenoyer journeyed to the Midwest to compete for George and Danny Lasoski in the National Sprint League finale at Nebraska’s I-80 Speedway. He finished eighth and third in two nights of competition. His performance got him a ride in the same car during the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
“Racing is a sport you have to be mentally and physically tough,” Scelzi said. “It owns you nothing and success doesn’t just appear. It comes from hard work, dedication, sacrifice and a will to never give up.”
Scelzi’s goals for this season are to win four KWS features and two CW mains. He plans to return to the Midwest, but this time with the family’s sprint car and win a main event in their madden voyage out of California.
GIOVANNI SCELZI
The younger brother of Dominic Scelzi, Giovanni Scelzi grew up at the micro midget and drag races. He won the 2015 Tulsa Shootout, beating nearly 200 cars in his class. He finished second there in the A class this year. On the local scene, the younger Scelzi has a handful of micro wins at Visalia and Lemoore Raceways.
“I always knew I would be a racer,” he said. “I love all forms of racing from F-1 to pavement midgets, to drag racing and the World of Outlaws. When I first started I was unsure about driving, but the more I did it the more I loved it.”
As part of his goals “Gio” hopes to capture the Plaza Park Super 600 Championship as well as defend his home state and conquer the California Speedweek micro sprint title. He plans to also compete on a national level at events at Oklahoma’s Port City Raceway and Southern Illinois Raceway.
“If you aren’t working to make yourself, your motors and your cars faster, you’re becoming slower. Every team is looking for that next edge to better themselves,” Scelzi noted. “You have to continuously better your team.”
Both Giovanni and Dominic Scelzi were baseball and football players before high school.
Giovanni is expected to make his 360 sprint car debut later this year and will be competing at Hanford in the Roth Motorsports No. 83jr and will race a select few races in the family car at Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway.
CORY ELIASON
“I just love to race as I feel there is no better feeling than being able to control something that is uncontrollable,” said Selma, Calif., racer Cory Eliason.
Eliason started racing junior sprint cars when he was 9 years old. He got into racing through his dad, who helped a few local racers before Cory was old enough to race.
He drives the white and orange No. 00 GF1 chassis with a Rider engines. He’s both the driver and the crew chief. His primary sponsor is Eliason Racing Composites, which is the carbon-fiber business he started to help pay his racing bills. He also gets support from Reitz Almond Harvesting, Driven Performance, Prime Towing and RE Technologies.
His goal this year is to run as many races as possible, including his first venture to the Knoxville Nationals at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway.
“I look forward mostly to the Trophy Cup,” Eliason said. “It’s what we race all year for. To be good at that race.”.
His biggest win to date was the Cotton Classic at Hanford.
He started his season off at the Chili Bowl, which was his first time driving a midget car.
“It’s a blast,” he said. “It’s one of the most prestigious races of the year and networking is big. Lots of people to met.”
