By Judy Stropus

Gary Scelzi and the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car team are coming on strong. The reigning Funny Car champion snared his second semifinal finish in three events (the other was a runner-up) at the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals near St. Louis.

Scelzi advanced to the semis at Gateway International Raceway by defeating Cruz Pedregon and Robert Hight. Unfortunately, the four-time NHRA world champion lost to Tony Pedregon in the semifinal. Reaction time was the difference: .107 for Scelzi, .090 for Pedregon.

"The good news is we had two semifinals and a runner-up in the three-race swing, and we've been waiting for that for a long time," said Scelzi. "So, now that we have a car that we know that can win, we just have to wait for it to happen."

Scelzi's Mopar and Don Schumacher Racing teammate, Ron Capps, held his points lead in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car class, despite a first-round loss to No. 2 qualifier Whit Bazemore, the third member of the Mopar and DSR trio. Capps' lead over second-place John Force, who knocked off Bazemore in the quarterfinals, was trimmed to 44 points. Bazemore is eighth in the points battle. Don Schumacher Racing did come away with one win at the event, as Tony Schumacher, the defending Top Fuel champion, piloted his Hemi-powered U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster to a victory, his first of the year.

Next up, the trio will attempt to bring home a victory for Mopar at the 27th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Denver, Colo., July 14-16. Look for a special preview edition of Mopar Speed in the days leading up to the event, with info on activities such as the Mopar Big Block Party in Golden, Colo. For more info on Scelzi, Capps, Bazemore or the NHRA, log on to shoeracing.com or nhra.com.

Team Mopar driver Richie Stevens Jr. continued to move up the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock standings, with a quarterfinals finish at the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals, held at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis. The event also saw a finals appearance by Larry Morgan in his Hemi-powered ZMax Dodge Stratus R/T.

Don Schumacher Racing's Stevens Jr. drove his Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T to a first-round win over No. 3 qualifier Jim Yates, posting a run of 6.771 seconds at 204.11. Stevens Jr. went down in the quarters on a holeshot loss to Mike Edwards, but his third straight quarterfinals appearance moved him up two spots in the Pro Stock points, to 11th.

"We are definitely making big improvements here in the Team Mopar/Valspar pits," Stevens Jr. said. "We made two good runs today and it feels good."

Morgan used Hemi-power to advance to the finals, but his first-round win came against fellow Mopar Pro Stocker Allen Johnson. For the sixth race in a row, AJ qualified his J&J Racing Team Mopar Dodge Stratus R/T in the top half of the field, with a No. 4 spot at St. Louis. Despite AJ's better reaction (.029 to .050 for Morgan), Morgan grabbed the win. Morgan's finals appearance was his first since the 2004 Mopar Mile-High Nationals.

The 2006 edition of the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals, scheduled for July 14-16, is up next for the Mopar Pro Stockers. Look for a special preview edition of Mopar Speed in the days leading up to the event, with info on activities such as the Mopar Big Block Party in Golden, Colo. For more info on Stevens Jr., Johnson or the NHRA, log on to shoeracing.com, allenjohnson.com or nhra.com.

It was with heavy hearts that the National Sprint Tour Series resumed action June 21 at the Missouri State Fair Speedway, as the series returned to action after the tragic passing of series promoter Fred Brownfield. Paul McMahan, Tyler Walker and Joey Saldana participated in the event, which paid tribute to the series' fallen leader. Saldana and the No. 9 Kasey Kahne Racing team took top qualifier honors and drove to a solid fifth-place finish.

McMahan and the No. 20 Tony Stewart Motorsports team won the third heat race en route to the A-main, posting a 12th-place finish. Walker and the No. 5 Forbrook Motorsports team won the first heat race and finished 17th in the A-main.

Saldana carried the momentum from Sedalia to the World of Outlaws Sprint Series event at Knoxville Raceway on June 23-24. He took the lead on lap 10 of the A-main and never looked back, picking up the victory. Rain washed out the second night of the event, and Saldana was awarded his third A-main feature event win of the season. Walker also competed and was credited with 21st place.

McMahan and the No. 20 team will compete in the Ohio Speedweek events this week, with the All Star Circuit of Champions Series. The team kicked off the run with a seventh-place finish at K-C Raceway on June 24 and followed it up with an eighth-place finish at Attica Raceway Park on June 25. The team will hit Muskingum County Speedway on June 27 and Sharon Speedway on June 28, before returning to National Sprint Tour Series action on July 1. Saldana and the World of Outlaws Sprint Series will return to action on June 30 at 81 Speedway.

For more information regarding the National Sprint Tour Series or the World of Outlaws Sprint Series, log on to nationalsprinttour.com or theworldofoutlaws.com.

Team Mopar turned in solid performances in USAC National Sprint Car Series pavement racing action over the weekend at Richmond International Raceway. Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises' Levi Jones and Josh Wise ran well throughout the event, with Jones qualifying third quick. Jones was running in the top-three, but just before the checkered flag flew, oil appeared on the track. Jones was able to gather the No. 21 car back up for a solid sixth-place finish. Wise followed Jones across the line in 11th place to end the weekend.

Hoffman Auto Racing's Tracy Hines also turned in a solid performance, as the NASCAR driver returned to the cockpit of the No. 69 machine for the weekend. Qualifying fifth, Hines took the checkered flag in fifth as well.

Wise and the No. 20 team continue to lead the series points standings, followed by Jones and the No. 21 team in second. Ganassi Racing development driver Bryan Clauson is currently ranked fifth, with Hoffman Auto Racing's Jerry Coons Jr., in eighth place. Clauson, who at 17 years of age cannot compete on the mile or larger tracks, took advantage of a weekend of local racing to pick up two victories with Mopar power. Winning at Bloomington Speedway on Friday night, Clauson followed up the win with a second trip to victory lane at Lawrenceburg Speedway on Saturday.

The USAC National Sprint Car Series will resume action on July 1 at O'Reilly Raceway Park. For more information regarding USAC Racing log on to usacracing.com.

Team Mopar's Josh Wise made his first-ever start in the "new generation" USAC National Silver Crown Series cars at Richmond International Raceway on June 23-24. Wise wasted little time in getting his name in the record books, as he drove the A.J. Foyt owned Mopar-powered No. 14 machine to the pole in qualifying on Friday.

At the start of the 100-lap Richmond Times-Dispatch 100, Wise jumped out to an early lead. The No 14 machine led laps 1-19 before fuel linkage issues caused Wise to fade from the front. He was able to hang on for the remainder of the race and took the checkered flag in a respectable fifth place. The Top-five follows a series victory at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on May 26.

The next USAC National Silver Crown Series pavement race is scheduled for July 7 at the Chicagoland Speedway. Wise is currently ranked 10th in the USAC National Silver Crown Series points chase. For more information regarding Wise or USAC Racing, log on to joshwiseracing.com or usacracing.com.

Steve Francis and the No. 15 Steve Francis Racing team took advantage of a weekend off from World of Outlaws Late Model Series action to compete in the "Night the Stars Came Out" event at K-C Raceway on June 24. Francis qualified the No. 15 machine in fifth place and drove a steady race to take the checkered flag in sixth position.

Francis will resume World of Outlaws Late Model Series competition this week at the Stateline Speedway on July 1. The tour will then move to the Cayuga County Fair Speedway on July 2. "The Kentucky Colonel" is currently ranked fifth in World of Outlaws Late Model Series points, only 22 out of first place. Thus far in 2006, Francis has won six late model series events.

For more information regarding Francis or the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, log on to stevefrancisracing.com or woolms.com.

Tickets for the Mopar Thunder @ the USAC 4-Crown Nationals event are now on sale online at eldoraspeedway.com. Race fans can purchase tickets for the marquee event in advance at the official Web site of Eldora Speedway. Tickets can also be purchased at the racetrack daily, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.

The Mopar Thunder @ the USAC 4-Crown Nationals, which will be held at Eldora Speedway in Ohio on September 22-23, coincides with the 25th anniversary of the historic 4-Crown Nationals. The event will offer an unprecedented $25,000 winner's paycheck to each of USAC's premier divisions (Midget, Sprint, Silver Crown) and $2,500 to the United Midwestern Promoters (UMP) Modified victor.

Intensifying the event is a $100,000 bonus being posted by Mopar, to any driver able to sweep the three USAC non-winged events. Additionally, a $25,000 "Jack Hewitt Bonus" is being posted for a clean sweep victory in all four legs of the Mopar Thunder, a stunning feat accomplished by Hewitt in 1998. The total event purse is over $266,000, making the Mopar Thunder @ the USAC 4-Crown Nationals the second highest paying non-winged sprint car race in history.

For more information regarding Eldora Speedway, Mopar, the Mopar Thunder @ the USAC 4-Crown Nationals event or USAC Racing, log on to eldoraspeedway.com, mopar.com, moparspeed.com or usacracing.com.