Finish Flashback: Gio Scelzi Vs. Taylor Gray At All American Speedway

Gio Scelzi will never forget his first win in ARCA Menards Series competition, a victory in the NAPA 125 Presented by CashInTheCan.com for the West Series at All American Speedway in Roseville, California, back in October.

Taylor Gray unfortunately will not forget it, either. At least not for a long time, he says.

RELATED: The 2020 West season in photos

Scelzi, who was 18 at the time, picked up his first victory driving the No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts/Curb Records Toyota for Bill McAnally Racing that night after he passed the 15-year-old Gray coming to the white flag.

Passed in this case is a bit of an understatement.

Below are the final laps of the 2020 All American race, from a restart with four laps to go around the third-mile oval to what might be considered the finish of the year in the ARCA Menards Series West.

A little more than a month after that finish, Scelzi and Gray were reunited on a Zoom call to discuss their encounter in Roseville. Scelzi reinforced his belief that Gray’s slip entering Turn 3 on the penultimate lap was the chance he needed. Gray claimed the space he allowed wasn’t large enough to warrant his rival’s aggression.

And Gray is still bothered by how he ended up finishing seventh as Scelzi coasted to the checkered flag. Who can blame him? Gray, after all, led 116 of the 125 laps at All American.

Below are their recollections of the finish.

Gray went on to win the next ARCA Menards Series West race, which took place a couple days later at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California, as the second leg of a Friday-Sunday doubleheader.

It marked Gray’s first win in ARCA Menards competition, and he noted after the race how sweet the immediate redemption felt.

But Gray made clear in his Zoom chat with Scelzi that he’ll always wish his first victory would have come roughly 48 hours earlier.