SCELZI HEATED ON TUBING ISSUE

Chassis builder Brad Hadman, a long time friend of both Gary Scelzi and his former Top Fuel boss, Alan Johnson, has confirmed that he is building a completely Condition N tubing Funny Car chassis for the seven-time NHRA champion (five with Johnson in Top Fuel, two in Funny Car). Although the project is not yet under way, Hadman says, “He will be ready to test with it for next season.” Hadman also confirmed that Scelzi “commissioned this chassis himself.”

Hadman went on to say Scelzi “believes what I say and trusts what I do. We’ve been friends too long and doing it together too long. He only drives what his owner puts in front of him. That’s what he’s paid to do, but he’s read the information (on chassis construction), and understands what it says, and he knows how I feel about it. I told him I didn’t want to see him (drive his current car), but I knew what his obligation is. He has to drive the next two races in it.”

We caught up with Scelzi in his motorcoach on his way to Las Vegas and asked him the same question. “Brad built all of the dragsters I drove in Top Fuel with Alan Johnson,” he said. “He’s a personal friend of mine and has been since the 80s. I’ve got a lot of faith in him. I can trust him, and I can talk to him the way I can to my brothers. I can yell and scream at him, and I think we can come up with something that’s going to be better than anything than anyone else can make.”

Chassis builder Brad Hadman, a long time friend of both Gary Scelzi and his former Top Fuel boss, Alan Johnson, has confirmed that he is building a completely Condition N tubing Funny Car chassis for the seven-time NHRA champion (five with Johnson in Top Fuel, two in Funny Car). Although the project is not yet under way, Hadman says, “He will be ready to test with it for next season.” Hadman also confirmed that Scelzi “commissioned this chassis himself.”

Hadman went on to say Scelzi “believes what I say and trusts what I do. We’ve been friends too long and doing it together too long. He only drives what his owner puts in front of him. That’s what he’s paid to do, but he’s read the information (on chassis construction), and understands what it says, and he knows how I feel about it. I told him I didn’t want to see him (drive his current car), but I knew what his obligation is. He has to drive the next two races in it.”

We caught up with Scelzi in his motorcoach on his way to Las Vegas and asked him the same question. “Brad built all of the dragsters I drove in Top Fuel with Alan Johnson,” he said. “He’s a personal friend of mine and has been since the 80s. I’ve got a lot of faith in him. I can trust him, and I can talk to him the way I can to my brothers. I can yell and scream at him, and I think we can come up with something that’s going to be better than anything than anyone else can make.”

Scelzi says that he spoke with team owner Don Schumacher a couple of weeks ago and told him what he wanted to do, and he agreed. Scelzi says that the team had a Hadman chassis built a few years ago, but, in his words, “We never gave it a chance. I liked the way it drove. We just never put enough runs on it to see if it was better or not. We always worried about the points thing, and knowing that if we had two other cars matching mine, if we got lost we could figure things out easier. There was always an excuse why we couldn’t (run the Hadman car).

“I spoke with Don, and I spoke with Todd Okuhara, and told them, Look, I really want to give this (new Hadman car) a chance. I feel confident Brad can build us a better race car.

“I’m going to own the chassis and Don will supply all of the parts that will go on it, and the body. Hopefully, as soon as the Phoenix or Vegas test sessions we’ll be able to start running it. Actually, I’m hoping that maybe in December or early January we could maybe go to Gainesville, but until NHRA ultimately decides what they’re going to let run and what they’re not going to let run (next season), we’re just kind of waiting for the flag to drop.”

Scelzi is one of a growing number of drivers who is outspoken about the use of heat treated tubing. “I don’t think they ever should have started doing that,” he says. “I don’t think they ever should have heat treated the back half of a Top Fuel car, but I have a lot of beliefs. That’s one of the reasons I left Top Fuel, because I believe, and I’ve had this conversation with Ray Alley and Graham Light, that we’re too dependent on the rear wings of a Top Fuel dragster. That they need to be made smaller and lowered into the ‘dirty’ air, and building some ground effects or some type of Canard wings next to the driver to where it’s like an additional ‘crush zone’ so that if we do lose a tire, or have an engine explosion – and that’s going to happen, it’s inevitable – for whatever reason, that these things are going to take the rear wing off the car. We’re too dependent on the wings for downforce. I couldn’t get anyone to listen to me. They didn’t even want to hear it, so I said screw it, I’m going to go Funny Car racing because there’s no flying through the air, they don’t break in half. They don’t do all these things.

“Well, now we’ve reached the point where they do those things, and I’m livid over it. There’s no reason (John Force’s) car should have broken in that spot where it broke, whether the tire came apart, whether the stars lined up, regardless, that car never should have broken in that situation. I don’t like the ‘fix’ we put (on the cars). If that’s the kind of ‘fix’ we have to put on these things, then how bad was it before? That’s my question. I’m actually livid about it, and I can’t wait to get out in Pomona so I don’t have to drive it again.

“I know those are pretty strong words, but I understand what we do is dangerous, and I understand the comment that a certain someone made from the sanctioning body (about fatalities),and I’m going to tell you something: We don’t wear leather helmets any more, and things can always be better. I understand that we have to deal with fatalities, but there’s no reason we can’t look forward to making these things safer and having less fatalities. I think there are several things we can do, and I wouldn’t stop with the chassis. I’d move the scoreboards (further away from the track surface), I’d fix the lighting or not run at night. I would move the light poles away from the guardwall after the finish line. There’s a lot of things that can be done with very little cost that I’m going to be very vocal about here shortly, because I don’t see anything happening through PRO, and I’ve been vocal about it through them. You know, I probably don’t handle it right because I’m passionate about it, and my passion has turned to anger. I don’t want to visit my friend John Force, or any other friend in the hospital, watching them all bandaged up and hurt, and I certainly don’t want to do it myself.”

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SCELZI HEATED ON TUBING ISSUE