Rico Abreu picked a good time to earn his first win of the year.
The California native driving his own Rico Abreu Racing No. 24 car showed his full potential on Friday Night at the Knoxville Nationals, pulling away from the field by a notable margin to make the trip to victory lane.
The win earns him the 21st starting spot in the 60th Knoxville Nationals this Saturday.
“I approach every race to go and win,” Abreu said. “That’s the bottom line for me. I don’t ever race for championships or race in a series. Winning is everything to me.”
Abreu, behind the power of his own team controls where he races and what he does on any given weekend.
He’s won the Chili Bowl Nationals in past years, and raced a plethora of times with the World of Outlaws.
However, despite the inconsistencies in the results this season, Abreu has pushed himself to not let the poor runs effect him.
“I just show up to these races to win,” Abreu said. “I’ve really worked on myself to not beat myself up over a poor finish. It’s hard to be consistent in this sport, especially racing with the Outlaws. The last for years, for me, it’s just been really important to focus on myself as a driver and learn from each person I work with.”
That’s something that, as drivers get older and mature, can learn to putting together strong runs and earning those top results.
Shane Stewart, though, said he has kept learning through his career, which is especially necessary given his age.
“It was tough,” Stewart said. “I’m not young anymore. I knew coming in it was going to be tough for me. My goal has always been to come here and make the A-Main (every year I’ve been here). But the speed here has changed so much, especially with the young guys coming in. I’ve been trying to study a little bit of what Kyle Larson was doing on the restarts. You can always learn.”
He’ll start 23rd on Saturday.
For the final transfer spot of the evening, Brock Zearfoss was able to make a pass on Jac Haudenschild with a handful of laps remaining.
He ended the race in fourth, clinching a spot in the Knoxville Nationals, and putting a hold on what has been a season filled with bad luck and hardships.
“It’s everything for our team, morale-wise, confidence-wise,” Zearfoss said. “It’s really rewarding for my team and myself to have speed here all week. We had some speed (on Thursday) so we kind of went back to that setup we had then. It just feels good to get one for them.”
While some drivers took in what it meant, Anthony Macri’s reaction might have had the most significance.
The member of the Pennsylvania Posse teared up as he described making the big show.
“Still kind of speechless, coming into Knoxville,” Macri said. “I’m struggling to find the words, right now. I am in the feature. It’s pretty badass.”
The 60th Knoxville Nationals will kick off with E-Main hot laps at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday night. More information on the schedule and broadcast event can be found here.
Hard Knox Night A-Main Results
1. Rico Abreu
2. Anthony Macri
3. Shane Stewart
4. Brock Zearfoss
5. Scott Bogucki
6. Jac Haudenschild
7. Shane Golobic
8. Bill Balog
9. Kyle Reinhardt
10. Lynton Jeffrey
11. Josh Schneiderman
12. Davey Heskin
13. Daryn Pittman
14. Sammy Swindell
15. Wayne Johnson
16. Hunter Schuerenberg
17. Harli White
18. Tim Shaffer
19. Roger Crockett
20. AJ Moeller
21. Carson McCarl
22. McKenna Haase
23. Ayrton Gennetten
24. Clint Garner
60th Knoxville Nationals Starting Lineup
1. Gio Scelzi
2. Brad Sweet
3. Kyle Larson
4. Brent Marks
5. Donny Schatz
6. David Gravel
7. Kasey Kahne
8. Logan Schuchart
9. Brian Brown
10. Ian Madsen
11. Brooke Tatnell
12. Tyler Courtney
13. James McFadden
14. Justin Henderson
15. Justin Peck
16. Danny Dietrich
17. B-Main Transfer 1
18. B-Main Transfer 2
19. B-Main Transfer 3
20. B-Main Transfer 4
21. Rico Abreu
22. Anthony Macri
23. Shane Stewart
24. Brock Zearfoss
