From Peterson Media
Rutherford, CA shoe, Rico Abreu, made the most of his final event in Australia for the 2012/2013 season as he rose to the occasion of the Grand Annual Classic, and charged from 18th to 7th, earning Hard Charger honors.
“We had some terrible luck, and bad runs in Australia this year, and to end it with a strong run at The Classic is great, and hopefully gives us some momentum in the states for 2013,” Abreu said.
Heading into the final night of the 41st Annual Grand Classic, the California youngster sat 27th in points with a pair of heat races on tap to set lineups for the nights feature events.
A pair of second place finishes in preliminary heat races shot him up the point charts, as he narrowly missed out of the feature, as he sat 17th in points, and started on the pole of the B main.
Scoring a second place finish in his Abreu Vineyards/ButerBuilt/Outlaw Wings No. 89 Abreu earned the transfer into the 40-lap finale as he started in the 18th position.
On the ultra slick Premier Speedway at the Sungold Stadium, Abreu carved through traffic like a savvy veteran and earned a seventh place finish, ending what was a tough trip to Australia.
“Our car was really good all weekend,” he said. “We raced well on Saturday, but I made a mistake in the B, and that set us back in the points. It was awesome again on Sunday, and I have to thank Paul Silva, Trevor Canales, and everyone who helped us.”
The Classic kicked off on Saturday night and with 100 cars checked into the pits, Abreu timed in 58th fastest, scored a heat win and a fifth place finish before making contact with the wall in the B, and ending his night.
Abreu also took part in a pair of big races to kick off his week, the President’s Cup and the King’s Challenge.
Kicking his week off on Wednesday at the Avalon Raceway for the President’s Cup, Abreu timed in 27th quickest during qualifications before scoring second and fifth place finishes in heat race action, putting him 14th in the feature.
Like he ended his week, the youngster began it in the same fashion as he worked from the back of the field to score an eighth place finish after mixing it up with fellow American Tim Schaffer, and Terry McCarl.
Moving on to the King Challenge on Friday night, Abreu’s had a rough night.
With 60 cars in the pit area, Abreu timed in 17th quickest in qualifications, before scoring a sixth place finish in his first heat.
During his second heat, things went south for the Californian. Starting in the 10th spot and riding the cushion, a pair of cars collided in front of him and pushed up the track and shoved Abreu into the wall, and he was done for the event putting him in the C main.
After re working the track, it was extremely fast, and Abreu went to the high side hoping to make something happen, but with everyone equally as fast he was unable to transfer.
“Overall it was a fun trip back down here,” he said. “We raced much better then we did at Sydney, so that’s a plus. On the other side of things, the fans down here are great, so hopefully we get a chance to see them next year.”
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-9, Wins-0, Top 5’s-0, Top 10’s-2
ON TAP: Rico will head back to the United States and finish preparing for the 2013 season, stay tuned for a schedule announcement.
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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