From Peterson Media
Returning to the seat of his Abreu Vineyards Racing Sprint Car for the first time in nearly a month, Rico Abreu put together quite the weekend, as he tallied a third place finish at the 42nd Annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup.
Getting underway on Friday night after a weather system postponed Thursday night’s festivities; Abreu laid down the ninth fastest lap during qualifications.
Heat race action saw Abreu pick up valuable points, as he picked up the win, putting him 10th in the feature event, as he sat sixth in event points.
On an extremely racy track, Abreu showed he had no rust after spending a few weeks in a midget, as he went toe-to-toe with the region’s best, and carved his way forward.
Abreu was able to race his way past Carson Macedo, Josh Dewitt, Jesse Whitney, and Roger Crockett, en route to a fifth place finish, leaving him third in event points heading into the Saturday double-header.
“It felt really nice to get back in the winged car,” he said. “We were pretty good all night, and had a really good points night.”
After taking part in the Kick-it Kickball event Saturday, Abreu was back in action for a busy Saturday as he timed his Abreu Vineyards/ButlerBuilt/FK Rod Ends backed machine in eighth quickest.
Starting third in his heat, Abreu would slip back to a fourth place finish, and miss out on a transfer, and was forced to run in what was a very long, and eventful ‘B’ feature.
After a second five car pile up in the race, officials elected to throw a red flag, and re-do the track, as the day show had taken it’s toll on it.
After over an hour delay, racing resumed, and Abreu scored a second place finish, putting him 17th in the feature event.
Rolling out for the feature event, the track was still in decent shape, and the Rutherford, CA driver was able to claw his way to an eighth place finish, and sat third in points, heading into the night show.
Running in the A scramble, Abreu started in the second row, and scored a fifth place finish, to put him in the third row for the 40-lap feature event.
When the feature went green, Abreu took off, and sat in the fifth spot, as he chased after Roger Crockett, and Shane Stewart.
Sticking his nose under the battling duo, Abreu took advantage of the duo making contact in front of him, and he over took the third spot, as the lone caution flew.
Lining up behind a lapped car on the restart, Abreu was able to clear him with ease, and set his sights on second running, Peter Murphy.
Abreu was able to get around Murphy and over take the second spot for a pair of laps, but Murphy came back, and put Abreu back in the third spot, but he did not go away easy.
At the stripe, Murphy was able to hold off Abreu, and he closed his weekend with a third place finish.
“It is awesome to end our weekend up on the podium,” he said. “I can’t thank Paul Silva and my family enough for putting this car together, and making it so strong on a nightly basis.”
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-47, Wins-3, Top 5’s-21, Top 10’s-29
ON TAP: Abreu and his Abreu Vineyards Racing team are now set for a two-month trip in the Midwest kicking off this Friday night in Cameron, MO, Saturday in Knoxville, IA, and Sunday in Brandon, SD.
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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