From Peterson Media
King of the West Series championship point’s leader, Rico Abreu, continued to show consistency with the series over the weekend as he scored two more top fives during the weekend double header at the Thunderbowl in Tulare, CA.
“This just goes to show how strong my guys are both at the shop and at the track,” Abreu said. “Each night I get in my car knowing it is going to be a strong piece, and I don’t have to force anything, and that helps a ton as a driver.”
Though both nights were good for the Rutherford, CA driver, Saturday night was statistically better, as he opened his night up by timing the Abreu Vineyards/ButlerBuilt/FK Rod Ends backed No.24 machine in fourth quickest, putting him in the first heat with the three heat format in place.
A third place finish in his heat, put him in the six-lap dash, where he would draw the seven pill, and line up in the back of the pack.
Hoping to advance a few positions, and earn a better feature event starting spot, Abreu worked his way to a sixth place finish, putting him in the third row of the feature event.
On the loud pedal when the race got underway, Abreu quickly moved into the fourth spot as he chased after Kyle Hirst, who had slipped back to third.
On a track that provided some awesome racing, Abreu got up beside Hirst a few times, as Jonathan Allard joined the party, and began challenging Abreu and Hirst for the third a fourth spots.
In what was action packed racing, Allard and Abreu began swapping the fourth spot, until the red flew for Allard who got upside down behind Abreu on the 19th lap.
On the ensuing restart, Abreu got the edge over Willie Croft to take over the third spot, as he closed in on the lead duo of Jason Meyers and Kyle Hirst.
As the duo began sliding each other for the top spot, Abreu kept them within striking distance, hoping for an opening, as he looked to steal another win.
With the leaders racing clean, and never bobbling Abreu held strong, and finished in the third spot.
Back in action on Sunday night, Abreu opened his night up by qualifying his Abreu Vineyards Racing machine in fifth quickest, putting him in the second heat, where he scored a second place finish.
The ‘Grudge Draw’ saw Abreu score the five pill, and during the dash, he finished in the sixth spot, keeping him in the third row for the feature event.
In the feature event, Abreu was able to grab the fifth spot on the start of the race, but he wasn’t able to get any momentum to challenge the leaders.
When the dust settled on the feature, Abreu ended his weekend with a fifth place finish.
“Overall it was a great weekend for the Abreu Vineyards Racing team,” he said. “The track was awesome all weekend, now hopefully I can take the success I have had out here all month long back east with me while I pilot a Keith Kunz midget.”
Rico and his team would like to thank Abreu Vineyards, ButlerBuilt, FK Rod Ends, Schoenfeld, Keith Kunz Motorsports, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, and Willwood for their support.
2013 BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-36, Wins-3, Top 5’s-15, Top 10’s-20
ON TAP: Rico will now change gears as he will travel out to Indiana for the next month and compete with Keith Kunz aboard one of his potent midgets. His we will be in action this Friday night in Pontoon Beach, IL.
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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