Abreu First, Second, and Third at Gold Crown Midget Nationals

Kyle Larson (71) and Rico Abreu (67) battle for the lead in Sunday night's POWRi main event at U.S. 36 Raceway. - TWC Photo

PETERSEN MEDIA

Competing at the Gold Crown Nationals with both the USAC National and POWRi National series, Rico Abreu turned in quite the weekend as the Rutherford, CA diver scored finishes of first, second, and third.

 

“I can’t thank Keith Kunz and his team for the car they gave me over the weekend,” Abreu said. “It was perfect every time we hit the track, and it was a ton of fun to drive.”

 

Kyle Larson (71) and Rico Abreu (67) battle for the lead in Sunday night's POWRi main event at U.S. 36 Raceway. - TWC Photo

Kicking off on Thursday night, Abreu scored a third place finish in heat race action, lining him up in the second row of the feature event.

 

When the 25-lap feature went green, Abreu flexed his muscle and jumped into the lead on the first lap, as his Keith Kunz Motorsports machine was on a rail.

 

Out front, Abreu was flawless as he clicked off 25-laps in a hurry and was only challenged for the top spot at the end of the feature when Bryan Clauson tried to challenge.

 

Abreu was able to keep him at bay, and picked up his fourth USAC National win of the season.

 

Back in action on Friday night, Abreu again scored third place finishes in Dash action and heat-race action to put himself in the second row of the feature event.

 

On this night, Abreu did not get the same start as the night before, and slipped back to the fourth spot.

 

Abreu ran in fourth for a few laps, before throwing a monster slider to take over the second spot, and resume his battle with Bryan Clauson from the night before.

 

On this night, Clauson was a little better than Abreu, as he was able to keep Abreu behind him, and Abreu continued a strong weekend as he held onto the second spot at the line.

 

With Saturday night being rained out, the finale took place on Sunday night, and Abreu kicked it off by running second in the Dash, putting him on the front row along with Clauson.

 

With Clauson getting the jump, Abreu ran in the second spot, until he slipped to third, by way of  a Christopher Bell slide job.

 

Amidst a 28-lap green flag run, second running Clauson developed an oil lead, handing second to Abreu, as he chased after his teammate, who had encountered heavy lapped traffic.

 

Abreu’s night took a turn for the worse on the 31st lap, as a car slowed on the top of turn four, and with nowhere to go, he got upside down, and was forced to the work area to make repairs.

 

Able to restart, Abeu lined up 11th for the last 19 laps of the feature event, and picked off cars as he was able to cross the stripe in the fourth spot.

 

During post race inspection, third place finisher, Chris Windom, was disqualified, and Abreu took the third spot.

 

“It was such an awesome weekend for this entire team,” Abreu said. “This KKM team has been awesome all year, and its awesome to keep winning races for Keith and everyone.”

 

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-92, Wins-11, Top 5’s-40, Top 10’s-55

 

ON TAP: Abreu will now focus on his winged Sprint Car, as he will be in action at the King’s Speedway on Saturday night for the Cotton Classic.

 

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 @Rico_Abreu.

 

VIDEO: Be sure to check out http://www.youtube.com/ricoabreuracing for video of Rico, as content is constantly being uploaded!