PETERSEN MEDIA
Rico Abreu would simply like to forget the weekend he just had, as the youngster was in action in a pair of events and saw a strong run Friday get cut short in lapped traffic, and mechanical gremlins ended his night Saturday.
Friday night saw the Abreu Vineyards team check into the Ocean-Watsonville Speedway for a night of action with the Taco Bravo 360 Sprint Cars, and Abreu simply put on a show early.
Lining up in the 13th spot, the reigning track Rookie of the Year thrilled the large crowd as he began working his way up through the field rapidly.
“We got going pretty good at Watsonville last year, and my guys threw some similar stuff at the car for the feature and it was awesome,” said Rico.
Abreu and his Outlaw Wings/Kaeding Performance/Stadelhofer Construction backed entry capitalized on a pair of early yellows, and he was into the top five by the 12th circuit.
The youngster was able to get around Brad Furr and Nick Green and grab the third spot, until his night came to an abrupt end on the 16th lap.
While in the third spot, and lapped car began slowing in front of Abreu, and with no where to go he made contact with him, knocking him out of the race.
“It is disappointing our night ended like that,” he continued. “We had a great car and my guys deserved a solid finish.”
The weekend continued on Saturday night for Abreu as his team headed to the Placerville Speedway, but the 20-year-old driver’s bad luck continued.
Kicking off his night with an 11th quickest effort, a fifth place finish in his heat lined him up in the fifth spot for the feature event.
During the feature, Abreu was forced out of the race early, as he had issues with his rear-end and he was credited with a 20th place finish.
“It was one of those weekends that you hate to have happen, but they do happen and you move on,” said Abreu. “We’ve had some great runs the past couple weeks and these nights just humble you. I have to thank all of my guys and my partners who help make this possible.”
Rico and his team would like to thank Abreu Vineyards, Toyota, ButlerBuilt, Kaeding Performance, Stadelhofer Construction, Outlaw Wings, Swift Metal Finishings, and Petersen Media for their partnership.
ON TAP: Rico will pick up some frequent flyer miles this week as he will be in action at the Night before the 500 event at the Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis on Saturday night, before flying home to wheel his 410 winged car at his home track, The Calistoga Speedway on Sunday against the Cancen Oil King of the West Series presented by Goodyear.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay updated with Rico by visiting his website at www.ricoabreuracing.com, ‘liking’ him on facebook at www.facebook.com/ricoabreuracing or following him on twitter @RicoAbreu24.
VIDEO: Be sure to check out http://www.youtube.com/ricoabreuracing for video of Rico, as content is constantly being uploaded!