Rico Abreu is hitting stride at just the right time.
As the inaugural west coast swing for Kubota High Limit Racing came to a close on Saturday night at Washington's scenic Skagit Speedway, Abreu added the richest win of his career to the resume - topping the $102,626.26 Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals.
It was a moment that Abreu and his team - starring Ricky Warner, Zack Middlebrooks, and Brady Forbrook, among others - have been building to for a long, long time. The culmination of years and years of hard work came to a head when the "RICO! RICO! RICO!" chants broke out and a sea of race fans greeted the fan favorite in Whiskey Myers Victory Lane.
Starting from the outside pole, Abreu actually trailed James McFadden for the opening 14 laps, which he admitted was crucial in figuring out his race pace and handling in traffic. He pounced on the Roth Motorsports #83 on Lap 15 and never looked back, surviving a halfway restart and bounds of lap traffic - ultimately crossing the line with a comfortable 1.8 second margin of victory.
The win was Abreu's sixth of the year with High Limit, tying him with Corey Day and Brad Sweet for the most in 2024. Overall, it was his 10th win in his 48th start with Kubota High Limit Racing - stretching his lead as the winningest driver in the series' young history.
Since July, Abreu has won four races and finished runner-up in another three, sending his Rico Abreu Racing #24 skyrocketing up the championship standings into third and now within striking distance of the Clauson-Marshall Racing #7BC for second with another 14 races remaining this season.
James McFadden and Roth Motorsports followed Rico to the line on Saturday, collecting a $30,000 runner-up finish after controlling the opening 14 laps. It completed a perfect 10-for-10 west coast swing for the #83 crew, finishing inside the top-10 every single time they unloaded in California, Oregon, and Washington.
Brad Sweet and Kasey Kahne Racing collected their 20th podium with Kubota High Limit Racing, cashing a $20,000 third-place effort for the NAPA Auto Parts #49 and extending his championship advantage.
Rounding out the top-10 on Saturday at Skagit was Shane Golobic, Jacob Allen, Justin Sanders, Trey Starks, Brent Marks, Jason Solwold, and Kasey Kahne.
THE ALL-IN NOTEBOOK (8/31/24)
Skagit Speedway (Alger, WA)
TJ Forged Heat One Winner - Shane Golobic
DMI Heat Two Winner - Brent Marks
BR Motorsports Heat Three Winner - Corey Day
Winters Performance Heat Four Winner - Trey Starks
FK Rod Ends Dash Winner - Rico Abreu
B-Main Winner - Landon Brooks
Jake's Golf Carts Fastest Lap Award - Rico Abreu (12.295)
Hard Charger - Kasey Kahne +13, 23rd-to-10th
Lap Leaders - James McFadden 1-14; Rico Abreu 15-40.
Kubota A Feature (40 Laps): 1. 24-Rico Abreu[1]; 2. 83-James McFadden[2]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet[5]; 4. 17W-Shane Golobic[4]; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen[11]; 6. 2X-Justin Sanders[8]; 7. 55X-Trey Starks[7]; 8. 19-Brent Marks[6]; 9. 18-Jason Solwold[18]; 10. 9-Kasey Kahne[23]; 11. 21-Cole Macedo[13]; 12. 21S-Jesse Schlotfeldt[17]; 13. 8-Cory Eliason[15]; 14. 21P-Robbie Price[9]; 15. 13-Justin Peck[10]; 16. 5-Spencer Bayston[24]; 17. 9P-Parker Price Miller[20]; 18. 45-Landon Brooks[21]; 19. 26-Zeb Wise[22]; 20. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[14]; 21. 96-Greg Hamilton[19]; 22. 77-Levi Klatt[16]; 23. 88-Tanner Thorson[12]; 24. 14-Corey Day[3]
Updated Championship Standings (After 41/54 Races):
- Kasey Kahne Racing #49 - Brad Sweet (2,435 PTS... -)
- Clauson-Marshall Racing #7BC - Tyler Courtney (2,227 PTS... -208)
- Rico Abreu Racing #24 - Rico Abreu (2,200 PTS... -235)
- Roth Motorsports #83 - James McFadden (2,111 PTS... -324)
- Murray-Marks Motorosports #19 - Brent Marks (2,110 PTS... -325)
- Jason Meyers Racing #14 - Corey Day (2,061 PTS... -374)
- Buch Motorsports #13 - Justin Peck (2,003 PTS... -432)
- PPM Racing #9P - Parker Price-Miller (1,851 PTS... -584)
- CJB Motorsports #5 - Spencer Bayston (1,838 PTS... -597)
- Ridge & Sons Racing #8 - Cory Eliason (1,766 PTS... -669)
- Rudeen Racing #26 - Zeb Wise (1,727 PTS... -708)
- Rod Gross Motorsports #88 - Tanner Thorson (1,721 PTS... -714)
- Kasey Kahne Racing #9 - Kasey Kahne (1,573 PTS... -862)
- Shark Racing #1A - Jacob Allen (1,557 PTS... -878)
- Vermeer Motorsports #55 - Chris Windom (1,484 PTS... -951)
- Crouch Motorsports #1 - Brenham Crouch (1,293 PTS... -1142)
UP NEXT: Kubota High Limit Racing will complete a cross-country drive to head for another crown jewel of Sprint Car Racing with the famed Tuscarora 50 next on the agenda at Pennsylvania's Port Royal Speedway next Thursday-Saturday, September 5-7.
- administrator on Sep 01, 2024
- Article Date: 9/1/2024 by Brian Walker