By Tyler Altmeyer
PLYMOUTH, Wis. (June 3, 2023) – It was a special evening in the Badger State for Rico Abreu and Rico Abreu/Curb Agajanian Racing, not only being presented with the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Award for Abreu’s contributions and dedication to sprint car racing and the Rayce Rudeen Foundation, but the St. Helena, California, native will leave Wisconsin as a Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 winner, securing the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race title at the Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wisconsin, on Saturday, June 3. The score, resulting in a $26,000 payday, was the 12th All Star victory of Abreu’s career, simultaneously increasing his season’s overall win total to five.
Relatively unchallenged despite a few conflicts with slower traffic, Abreu, driver of the ShopRico.com/Curb Records/The Wiser Agency No. 24 sprint car, led all 35 circuits of the annual blockbuster, officially becoming the fifth different winner of the prestigious event.
Surviving a late-race restart, and a late-race tango with “Big Daddy” Chris Windom and the “Concrete Kid” Anthony Maci, Myerstown, Pennsylvania’s Brent Marks held on to finish second, followed by Windom, Macri, and two-time and defending All Star champion, Tyler Courtney.
“Man, hats off to this team. Every decision they made paid off,” Rico Abreu said. “We hit our marks all night long. The car was comfortable and I was confident. A big thanks to Kevin Rudeen and everyone from the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race. They work so hard in putting an event like this together and I’m very proud to be a part of it.
“We are blessed to race in front of such loyal fans,” Abreu added. “I love coming to Wisconsin.”
Marks ran second for much of the program, that until positions two through four shuffled following the aforementioned restart on lap 26. Macri joined the mix and quickly moved to second, eventually getting re-attacked by Marks the following circuits. The two would eventually make contact allowing a fast closing Chris Windom to capitalize, racing into second briefly on lap 34. Marks would power back into second on the final circuit.
ON DECK:
June’s slate will lead right into the 41st edition of Ohio Sprint Speedweek on June 9-17 featuring eight events in nine days concluding with the $22,554-to-win Dean Knittel Memorial at Portsmouth Raceway Park. Speedweek action will take the All Star Circuit of Champions to Attica Raceway Park on June 9, Fremont Speedway on June 10, Wayne County Speedway on June 11-12, Sharon Speedway on June 13, Atomic Speedway on June 15, Eldora Speedway on June 16, and Portsmouth on June 17. Wednesday’s open date will act as a potential rain date should any event prior need to utilize it.
For those who can not witness the All Star Circuit of Champions live and in person, FloRacing.com, the official media partner and broadcast provider of the All Stars, has you covered. To access live and on-demand racing action from the All Star Circuit of Champions, visit FloRacing.com and become an annual PRO subscriber. Race fans can see all the USAC and dirt late-model action they want in addition to Eldora Speedway’s slate of races and those of the All Star Circuit of Champions. The subscription unlocks access to premium content across the entire FloSports network. Watch the events across all screens by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast. Find subscription here: https://flosports.link/3XJOg5Z
Contingency Awards/Results: Plymouth Dirt Track | June 3, 2023:
Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race | $26,000-to-win
Kistler Racing Products Pill Draw | Entries: 41
Macri Concrete/Nunzi’s Advertising Hot Laps: Rico Abreu | 11.562
Hercules Tires Fast Qualifier: Tyler Courtney | 11.660
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #1 Winner: Josh Schneiderman
Competition Suspension Inc Heat #2 Winner: Tyler Courtney
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #3 Winner: Lachlan McHugh
Kistler Racing Products Heat #4 Winner: Chris Windom
Mobil 1 Heat #5 Winner: Bill Balog
Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts Dash Winner: Rico Abreu
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting and Embroidery B-Main Winner: Jordan Goldesberry
Rayce Rudeen Foundation Contingency Award: Travis Arenz
Tezos A-Main Winner: Rico Abreu
Tezos A-Main Hard Charger: Lance Dewease (+9)
Carquest Perseverance Award: Jack Vanderboom
Tezos A Feature (35 Laps): 1. 24R-Rico Abreu[1]; 2. 19-Brent Marks[2]; 3. 4-Chris Windom[5]; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri[6]; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[4]; 6. 69K-Lance Dewease[15]; 7. 71-Michael Kofoid[11]; 8. 25M-Lachlan McHugh[3]; 9. 26-Zeb Wise[16]; 10. 11-Cory Eliason[13]; 11. 1-Brenham Crouch[10]; 12. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[12]; 13. 45-Tim Shaffer[7]; 14. 70-Scotty Thiel[17]; 15. 17B-Bill Balog[9]; 16. 23-Russel Borland[19]; 17. 97-JJ Hickle[18]; 18. 49-Josh Schneiderman[8]; 19. 9P-Parker Price Miller[14]; 20. 25T-Travis Arenz[24]; 21. 10W-Mike Reinke[23]; 22. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[22]; 23. U2-Jack Vanderboom[20]; 24. 65-Jordan Goldesberry[21]; 25. 87A-Austin Hartmann[25] LAP LEADERS: Rico Abreu (1-35)
Classic Ink USA B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 65-Jordan Goldesberry[1]; 2. 29C-Hunter Custer[3]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[4]; 4. 10W-Mike Reinke[5]; 5. 25T-Travis Arenz[9]; 6. 87A-Austin Hartmann[11]; 7. 26R-Preston Ruh[14]; 8. 28M-Conner Morrell[7]; 9. 4K-Kris Spitz[6]; 10. 24-Scott Conger[15]; 11. 2W-Scott Neitzel[13]; 12. 21-Will Gerrits[18]; 13. 10V-Kurt Davis[10]; 14. 99-Tyler Brabant[17]; 15. 16-Anthony Knierim[16]; 16. 68-Dave Uttech[2]; 17. 29-Sye Lynch[8]; 18. 39V-William Huck[20]; 19. 88-Christopher Flick[19]; 20. (DNS) 79-Blake Nimee; 21. (DNS) 25-Danny Schlafer
Elliotts Custom Trailers and Carts Dash (6 Laps): 1. 24R-Rico Abreu[1]; 2. 19-Brent Marks[3]; 3. 25M-Lachlan McHugh[4]; 4. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[7]; 5. 4-Chris Windom[9]; 6. 39M-Anthony Macri[8]; 7. 45-Tim Shaffer[6]; 8. 49-Josh Schneiderman[2]; 9. 17B-Bill Balog[5]
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 49-Josh Schneiderman[3]; 2. 1-Brenham Crouch[1]; 3. 45-Tim Shaffer[4]; 4. 97-JJ Hickle[6]; 5. 68-Dave Uttech[2]; 6. 28M-Conner Morrell[5]; 7. 26R-Preston Ruh[8]; 8. 99-Tyler Brabant[7]; 9. 39V-William Huck[9]
CSI Shocks Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[4]; 2. 11-Cory Eliason[5]; 3. 69K-Lance Dewease[2]; 4. U2-Jack Vanderboom[7]; 5. 29C-Hunter Custer[3]; 6. 65-Jordan Goldesberry[1]; 7. 87A-Austin Hartmann[6]; 8. 21-Will Gerrits[8]
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 25M-Lachlan McHugh[1]; 2. 71-Michael Kofoid[2]; 3. 19-Brent Marks[4]; 4. 23-Russel Borland[3]; 5. 4K-Kris Spitz[5]; 6. 10V-Kurt Davis[6]; 7. 24-Scott Conger[7]; 8. 88-Christopher Flick[8]
Kistler Racing Products Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 4-Chris Windom[3]; 2. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[2]; 3. 26-Zeb Wise[1]; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri[4]; 5. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[5]; 6. 29-Sye Lynch[6]; 7. 79-Blake Nimee[7]; 8. 16-Anthony Knierim[8]
Mobile 1 Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 17B-Bill Balog[1]; 2. 9P-Parker Price Miller[2]; 3. 70-Scotty Thiel[3]; 4. 24R-Rico Abreu[4]; 5. 10W-Mike Reinke[5]; 6. 25T-Travis Arenz[6]; 7. 2W-Scott Neitzel[7]; 8. (DNS) 25-Danny Schlafer
Hercules Tire Qualifying: 1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 00:11.660[15]; 2. 45-Tim Shaffer, 00:11.732[1]; 3. 19-Brent Marks, 00:11.762[19]; 4. 25M-Lachlan McHugh, 00:11.909[22]; 5. 39M-Anthony Macri, 00:11.910[30]; 6. 1-Brenham Crouch, 00:11.924[2]; 7. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 00:11.940[10]; 8. 68-Dave Uttech, 00:11.948[4]; 9. 69K-Lance Dewease, 00:11.959[13]; 10. 26-Zeb Wise, 00:11.961[29]; 11. 71-Michael Kofoid, 00:11.967[25]; 12. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 00:11.976[28]; 13. 24R-Rico Abreu, 00:11.978[34]; 14. 49-Josh Schneiderman, 00:11.990[3]; 15. 4-Chris Windom, 00:11.998[31]; 16. 17B-Bill Balog, 00:12.000[37]; 17. 29C-Hunter Custer, 00:12.012[17]; 18. 28M-Conner Morrell, 00:12.026[5]; 19. 97-JJ Hickle, 00:12.048[8]; 20. 11-Cory Eliason, 00:12.110[12]; 21. 23-Russel Borland, 00:12.126[18]; 22. 9P-Parker Price Miller, 00:12.168[36]; 23. 70-Scotty Thiel, 00:12.194[40]; 24. 87A-Austin Hartmann, 00:12.195[16]; 25. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 00:12.236[33]; 26. 29-Sye Lynch, 00:12.246[32]; 27. 10W-Mike Reinke, 00:12.288[39]; 28. 79-Blake Nimee, 00:12.350[26]; 29. 16-Anthony Knierim, 00:12.364[27]; 30. 4K-Kris Spitz, 00:12.367[23]; 31. U2-Jack Vanderboom, 00:12.430[11]; 32. 25T-Travis Arenz, 00:12.552[35]; 33. 10V-Kurt Davis, 00:12.617[20]; 34. 99-Tyler Brabant, 00:12.668[9]; 35. 2W-Scott Neitzel, 00:12.680[41]; 36. 26R-Preston Ruh, 00:12.708[6]; 37. 24-Scott Conger, 00:12.769[21]; 38. 21-Will Gerrits, 00:12.849[14]; 39. 88-Christopher Flick, 00:13.020[24]; 40. 39V-William Huck, 00:13.991[7]; 41. 25-Danny Schlafer, 00:59.999[38]
2023 All Star Circuit of Champions DRIVER Standings (As of 6/3):
Tyler Courtney – 1718
Chris Windom – 1618
Hunter Schuerenberg – 1592
Tim Shaffer – 1576
Zeb Wise – 1570
J.J. Hickle – 1510
Scotty Thiel – 1500
Conner Morrell – 1384
Parker Price-Miller – 1202
Sye Lynch – 1194