PETERSEN MEDIA: After coming from the ‘B’-Main Friday night during the Taco Bravo versus Civil War Series event at the Ocean Speedway, 19-year-old rookie, Rico Abreu, was one of the most exciting drivers on the track to watch as he scored a fifth place finish.
After timing in his Abreu Vineyards/Kaeding Performace/Shaver powered entry with the 11th fastest lap during qualifications, Abreu lined up in the third heat.
In heat race action, Rico slipped up a touch early, and his Stadlehofer Construction/Factory Kahne Shocks/Maxim fell back into the fifth spot, and Abreu missed a transfer and was relegated to the B.
In the loaded B, Abreu was able to work his way into the fourth spot early, and maintain the position through various caution flags. Abreu was able to hold the position and transfer into the feature.
Gridding the field from the eight spot, the St. Helena, CA native would waste no time putting his Swift Metal Finishing/Santomauro backed entry on the top of the race track as he rode the cushion and worked his way into the top five.
As Rico raced into the fifth spot by the ninth circuit, he began working on fourth running Ronnie Day, as sixth running, Tim Kaeding, began to show Abreu his nose.
Kaeding was able to slide under Abreu exiting turn two, but the youngster answered back with a daring high-side pass on both Kaeding and Day to put him in the third spot, only to have the pass negated by the caution flag.
When the race resumed, the best race on the track was for the fourth spot, as Rico and TK continued to race each other hard, as the duo exchanged slide job, after slide job, as they continually swapped positions.
As the top three scooted away, the duo continued to entertain the crowd.
TK was able to win the battle, but Abreu was able to hold strong in the fifth spot, capping a solid night with the star-studded field.
“Tonight was a blast,” said Abreu. “The track was awesome, and had a huge cushion that you had to be careful with, and racing with TK like that was awesome. I think if we would of concentrated on getting to the front, rather than racing each other we could of ran top-two but that’s how it goes. I can’t thank my guys enough for giving me an awesome car. I’m excited for Placerville tomorrow.”
Abreu would like to thank Abreu Vineyards, Kaeding Performance, Stadlehofer Construction, Factory Kahne Shocks, Sprint Car Components, Santomauro Racing Products, and Swift Metal Finishing.
ON TAP: Up next for Rico will be his first attempt at running the high-banked Placerville Speedway. Abreu will compete Saturday, September 24, 2011 during the Civil War finale.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay updated with Rico by visiting his website at www.ricoabreuracing.com, ‘liking’ him on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/PetersenMedia#!/pages/Rico-Abreu/210823515602256, or following him on twitter @RicoAbreu24.
MERCH: Don’t forget to stop by and visit with Rico after the races and pick up a 2011 Rico Abreu T-shirt!
PETERSEN MEDIA: Petersen Media specializes in motorsports media constructing news releases, both pre and post race, as well as constructing email lists to keep sponsors, and fans up to date. Petersen Media also utilizes today's Social Media networks to provide trackside updates to fans and sponsors, and can customize packages to fit your teams needs.
For more information contact sales@petersenmediainc.com, by phone at 916-342-3424, visit www.petersenmediainc.com, www.facebook.com/PetersenMedia, or follow www.twitter.com/petersen_Media.
- Petersen Media on Sep 24, 2011
- Article Date: 9/24/2011