KENNEDALE, Texas — Texas might be known for barbecue sauce, but it was all about “Hot Sauce” on Friday night in the Lone Star State.
Giovanni Scelzi wasn’t about to let victory slip away as the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars kicked off the Cowtown Classic at Kennedale Speedway Park.
Less than two weeks ago he and his KCP Racing team were forced to settle for second at Volusia Speedway Park after leading the opening 14 laps. It was the defending series champion David Gravel prying the win away that night, and a similar situation looked to be shaping up Friday.
But Scelzi wouldn’t let it happen again.
The Fresno, Calif., native led from the pole as the 25-lap main event began, but the second-starting Gravel wasted no time mounting a charge. The driver of the Big Game Motorsports No. 2 found some speed in the middle and began to pressure Scelzi.
Gravel put his nose next to Scelzi down the back straightaway several times, but Scelzi closed the door. Ultimately, Scelzi had just enough to hold on for his first win of 2025.
“I feel like the outside lane was better in (Turns) 1 and 2 than it was in (Turns) 3 and 4,” Scelzi explained. “The bottom of 3 and 4 had so much grip that it was kind of no man’s land to get out of it. I thought I heard someone at one point down the backstretch, but I didn’t know if I should risk it and try to get around him and get hung out or just follow them. Glad it went there from five laps on to the end. I’m just proud of my guys.”
Scelzi’s score bumped him up to 10 career victories with , making him the 51st different driver to reach double digits. KCP Racing climbed to a dozen World of Outlaws wins as a team. It’s the second straight year Scelzi has won in the state of Texas to go along with his Cotton Bowl Speedway checkered flag from 2024.
“Adam (Clark) has worked extremely hard,” Scelzi said of his crew chief. “It’s been I feel like a lot of swings here. We’ve only raced eight or nine times and went from DIRTcar (Nationals) to being fast at Bike Week to then being fast at Magnolia and making mistake and got one back in the heat race. Just super proud of Blake and Harley and getting, I think, both of their first Outlaw wins. Very cool.”
Gravel settled for second as his incredible start to 2025 continued. The Watertown, Conn., native still hasn’t missed the top five, and Friday’s runner-up gave him seven consecutive podiums. His point lead is now at 58 markers.
“I ran hard there for a while on that one restart, and I was really close, and he was using up the whole racetrack,” Gravel said. “He obviously heard and saw me and just was racing defensive and did what he had to do to win the race. We had a couple shots. During the last corner I drove in a little bit too hard and slid up in the middle and thought I was going to be able to try something there at the end. But I didn’t want to risk blowing a tire or risk crashing there.”
Rounding out the podium was Carson Macedo in the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41.
“Hats off to Philip Dietz, Adam Zimmerman, and Robby McQuinn” Macedo said. “I thought we were decent there early. We were able to sweep into third right away and try to transition. It’s tough to know where you’re at, so I started getting my wing back forward because I was getting tight.”
Sheldon Haudenschild and Bill Balog completed the top five.
The finish:
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[1]; 2. 2-David Gravel[2]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo[4]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[5]; 5. 17B-Bill Balog[12]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart[3]; 7. 23-Garet Williamson[6]; 8. 39M-Anthony Macri[8]; 9. 27-Emerson Axsom[7]; 10. 83-Michael Kofoid[10]; 11. 15-Donny Schatz[13]; 12. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[16]; 13. 2C-Cole Macedo[14]; 14. 7S-Chris Windom[15]; 15. 6-Zach Hampton[11]; 16. 28M-Conner Morrell[9]; 17. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[17]; 18. 2KS-Cory Eliason[18]; 19. J2-John Carney II[23]; 20. 99-Skylar Gee[20]; 21. 52-Blake Hahn[22]; 22. 24T-Christopher Thram[21]; 23. 17GP-Landon Crawley[24]; 24. 20G-Noah Gass[19]
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