From Peterson Media
California youngster, Rico Abreu, closed out is initial trip to Australia in 2013 with a 12th place finish during the Sydney Speedweek Finale closing a trip that saw tremendous ups and downs.
Kicking off the New Year at the track, Abreu starting things off by timing his Abreu Vineyards/ButlerBuilt/Outlaw Wings machine in 12th fastest, putting him in the fourth heat.
A fifth place finish in the heat, put Abreu in the feature where he would line up in the 15th spot. On the initial attempt at a start, a pile ensued in front of Abreu, and he ultimately gained four spots.
Now up to 11th, the second attempt at a start also had issues, but unfortunately Abreu was involved. As a car checked up in front of him, Abreu made contact and got over, ending his night.
“We had a pretty good car on Tuesday,” he said. “We got into the A, and gained some spots on the first wreck, but unfortunately there was some contact on the second restart, and our night was over.”
Friday night, the Abreu Vineyards returned to action, and Abreu turned in another solid qualifying effort as he was the 13th fastest.
Finishing sixth in his heat, Abreu just missed out on the transfer spot, and was relegated to the B main.
Starting in the third spot, he quickly jumped to the lead as he put his right-rear on the Sydney Speedway cushion and made some strong laps.
As the track continued to slick off, Abreu stayed committed too long to the top, and as the bottom became faster he slipped back to the third spot, and earned the 23rd spot in the feature.
In the feature, Abreu stayed strong as he wasted no time moving forward. From his 23rd spot, he was up to the 15th spot in just three laps, as he again worked the high side.
Pushing the limits a bit too far, Abreu slid off the track, losing all his spots, but was able to gather himself and return to action.
Abreu would rally on to score a 14th place finish.
“It’s no secret that I haven’t gotten to make many laps down here, so it was nice to get in a groove and figure this place out. It was fun tonight.”
Saturday night during the finale, points lined Abreu up in the second row of the third heat, and he would go on to win the race, and line up 12th in the feature event.
From the drop of the green, the Sydney Speedway began to take rubber, and passing was at a premium. Keeping his nose clean Abreu had worked his way into the ninth spot, when a late caution waved, forcing a double file restart.
Getting out of the rubber on the restart, Abreu lost three spots and fell to 12th, where he would go on to finish, and close out his first stint down under for the year.
“It was a fun couple of weeks down here for sure,” Abreu said. “The fans are awesome, and it’s a nice place to visit. Hopefully when we come back for The Classic, we can have some better results.”
Rico and his team would like to thank Abreu Vineyards, Toyota, ButlerBuilt,, Outlaw Wings, and Petersen Media for their partnership.
2013 BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-3, Wins-0, Top 5’s-0, Top 10’s-0
ON TAP: Rico will now head back to the United States and gear up for the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, OK that are set to kick off on January 8th.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay updated with Rico by visiting his website at www.ricoabreuracing.com, ‘liking’ him on facebook at www.facebook.com/
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