From Tyler Altmeyer
ROSSBURG, Ohio (September 25, 2021) – In convincing fashion, nonetheless, St. Helena, California’s Rico Abreu secured his place in sprint car racing history books yet again, doing so by scoring the FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 portion of the annual 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
Abreu, now a three-time All Star winner at the World’s Greatest Dirt Track, led every circuit of the 30-lap contest, forced to withstand an early run in with traffic, as well as a late surge by Sam McGhee Motorsports’ Parker Price-Miller. The 4-Crown Nationals triumph earned the West Coast invader a $6,000 payday, now a ten-time All Star winner over the course of his career.
Gaining four spots on the night, Parker Price Miller hung on to finish second at The Big E, followed by Ayrton Gennetten, Cap Henry, who climbed 11 positions, and Zeb Wise, who climbed an impressive 17 positions. Wise’s performance also earned the Angola, Indiana-native the evening’s Hard Charger Award, given to the driver who gains the most feature positions.
“I’m just so thankful for our supporters this year,” Rico Abreu said, driver of the Rico Abreu/Curb-Agajanian Racing/Rowdy Energy/Curb Records/Lucas Oil Products/XYZ Machining/Self Made Racing/No. 24 sprint car. “We’ve been battling through some inconsistent runs. We ended up making a lot of changes to this car tonight…having to change motors last night kinda put us behind on being ready for tonight. But I have to thank all of my guys. It’s an honor to be standing in victory lane again at Eldora Speedway…this place is so special to me. The fans, too…I get to see all of these faces and spend time with you guys. I enjoy every minute that I get to race here.”
Lining up second on the A-Main grid, Abreu earned the initial jump, cruising ahead to a comfortable lead over the course of the first seven circuits. Traffic came into play by lap eight, but Abreu’s line around Eldora Speedway’s notoriously thin cushion proved to be no match for the onslaught of slower cars. The main event’s first of two cautions appeared on lap 17 ultimately snapping Abreu’s near-straightaway advantage.
When action returned, it was Buch Motorsports’ Justin Peck applying the pressure, working the bottom and center of turns three and four with the intent to gain an edge on Abreu’s Rowdy Energy No. 24. Despite his attempts, Abreu scooted away, only to be halted again by a caution on lap 25.
The ensuing restart would see Parker Price-Miller make a jump from fourth to second, simultaneously switching his focus to Abreu. The Kokomo, Indiana-native was able to show Abreu his nose on a few occasions, but suffice it to say, Eldora’s victory lane stage belonged to Abreu.
“I could see (Price-Miller’s) shadow getting into turn one, but I knew he wasn’t getting a better run than me on the top,” Abreu continued. “The entry into the corner kept getting cleaner and cleaner. I knew if I could move down just a bit, I could get the car to stick a little bit better.”
The All Star Circuit of Champions will enjoy a weekend off before returning to competition for the season finale on Friday and Saturday, October 8-9. The two-day Jim and Joanne Ford Classic is next on the hit list, complete with two, full shows awarding $5,000 and $10,000, respectively.
Floracing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
4-Crown Nationals
Eldora Speedway
Rossburg, Ohio
Saturday, September 25, 2021
Dixie Vodka Qualifying
1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 13.096[21]
2. 3-Ayrton Gennetten, 13.132[5]
3. 55V-CJ Leary, 13.164[7]
4. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 13.207[6]
5. 13-Justin Peck, 13.232[11]
6. 5T-Travis Philo, 13.268[19]
7. 11-Parker Price Miller, 13.268[22]
8. 24-Rico Abreu, 13.270[17]
9. 26-Cory Eliason, 13.270[18]
10. 5-Ian Madsen, 13.278[10]
11. 19-Chris Windom, 13.291[16]
12. 70-Sammy Swindell, 13.331[12]
13. 10-Zeb Wise, 13.341[2]
14. 101-Cale Thomas, 13.349[15]
15. 17B-Bill Balog, 13.355[14]
16. 81-Lee Jacobs, 13.390[23]
17. 16C-Robbie Price, 13.413[24]
18. 4-Cap Henry, 13.427[13]
19. 2L-Landon Lalonde, 13.519[1]
20. 11N-Harli White, 13.559[3]
21. 55M-McKenna Haase, 13.605[4]
22. 49-Shawn Dancer, 13.610[20]
23. 39-Tylar Rankin, 13.724[8]
24. 97-Greg Wilson, 13.839[9]
Ford Performance Heat Race #1 (8 Laps)
1. 11-Parker Price Miller[2]
2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[4]
3. 5-Ian Madsen[1]
4. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[3]
5. 81-Lee Jacobs[6]
6. 49-Shawn Dancer[8]
7. 2L-Landon Lalonde[7]
8. 10-Zeb Wise[5]
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat Race #2 (8 Laps)
1. 24-Rico Abreu[2]
2. 19-Chris Windom[1]
3. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[4]
4. 13-Justin Peck[3]
5. 101-Cale Thomas[5]
6. 16C-Robbie Price[6]
7. 11N-Harli White[7]
8. 39-Tylar Rankin[8]
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat Race #3 (8 Laps)
1. 70-Sammy Swindell[1]
2. 55V-CJ Leary[4]
3. 17B-Bill Balog[5]
4. 5T-Travis Philo[3]
5. 4-Cap Henry[6]
6. 97-Greg Wilson[8]
7. 55M-McKenna Haase[7]
8. 26-Cory Eliason[2]
Kears Speed Shop Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 13-Justin Peck[2]
2. 24-Rico Abreu[4]
3. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[3]
4. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[6]
5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[5]
6. 11-Parker Price Miller[1]
7. 70-Sammy Swindell[8]
8. 55V-CJ Leary[7]
FloRacing A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 24-Rico Abreu[2]
2. 11-Parker Price Miller[6]
3. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[4]
4. 4-Cap Henry[15]
5. 10-Zeb Wise[22]
6. 17B-Bill Balog[11]
7. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[3]
8. 81-Lee Jacobs[14]
9. 5T-Travis Philo[12]
10. 101-Cale Thomas[13]
11. 5-Ian Madsen[10]
12. 70-Sammy Swindell[7]
13. 55V-CJ Leary[8]
14. 13-Justin Peck[1]
15. 2L-Landon Lalonde[19]
16. 97-Greg Wilson[18]
17. 49-Shawn Dancer[17]
18. 55M-McKenna Haase[21]
19. 16C-Robbie Price[16]
20. 11N-Harli White[20]
21. 19-Chris Windom[9]
22. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[5]
23. 26-Cory Eliason[23]
24. 39-Tylar Rankin[24]