Rico Abreu the Strongest Man in Ironman 55 Win
Becomes the sixth different event winner and 16th series winner of the season
PEVELY, Mo. – Aug. 6, 2016 – Rico Abreu proved to be the strongest man Saturday night at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 as he powered forward and battled to the lead scoring his first World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series victory of the season and the Federated Auto Parts Ironman 55 presented by Walker.
Abreu, a NASCAR Truck Series regular, slipped back to fifth early but battled back into the top three after a lap 26 restart. He worked his way around the No. 9 of Daryn Pittman then set his sights on the No. 49 of Brad Sweet. Sweet bobbled coming off of turn four and Abreu raced past him onto the front straight.
Through traffic, the then leader Kerry Madsen lost ground to Abreu and Sweet. On lap 38 Abreu threw a slider on Madsen through turns three and four, but Madsen held. What commenced though was a two-lap, three-way battle for the lead. Abreu eventually got around and through restarts, traffic and a brush with the wall on the final lap, Abreu cruised to the Ironman 55 win.
“It’s really important. These big ones is what it comes down to. All that hard work all year that these guys have done,” Abreu said. “I raced my ass off. It’s fun, it all pays off.”
Abreu is the 16th different winner of the season and the sixth different driver to score the Ironman 55 title. Since 2009, Craig Dollansky is the only driver to repeat.
Sweet kicked off the night with his second straight quick time award in qualifying. His 11th quick time made him the season’s leading qualifier, surpassing Joey Saldana who held the distinction through much of the year.
Madsen, the 2014 Ironman 55 winner, started on the feature pole with 2015’s Ironman winner, Shane Stewart, on his outside.
When the green flag fell, Sweet, who started fourth, battled forward, taking over third on the initial start and then racing Stewart, side-by-side on lap 10 for second. Two laps later, as Madsen worked his way through traffic, Sweet closed the gap on the leader and began challenging him for the lead.
A caution flew and on the restart Madsen pulled away, this time maintaining his top spot through the traffic. When the next caution flag fell on lap 26, Madsen had lapped up to 16th position.
Abreu, who had been sitting in fourth through much of the feature, got his chance on the restart, as he took over third from Pittman and then took advantage of Sweet’s mistake on the exit of four to take over second.
On lap 39, again slowed by traffic, Abreu caught Madsen and slid him through turns three and four. It was not enough that lap, but setup a three-way battle for position with Sweet mixing it up, nearly side-by-side-by-side across the line on lap 40. Abreu displayed masterful maneuvering across the track as he took over the lead and, in spite of the strong challenge from Madsen and near disaster at the end, crossed the finish line in first.
To chants of, “Rico, Rico, Rico,” from a packed Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55, Abreu hoisted the coveted dumbbell trophy and claimed the $20,000 prize.
“We started off pretty tight in the beginning of the race. The tighter our car is, it tends to bog our engine which makes it confusing to know what to do,” Abreu said. “I was just trying to maintain my tires underneath me. When I got to those guys I made sure I didn’t race them too hard. You can get in an intense battle and heat your tires up and end up running fifth or sixth. I just made sure I hit my marks. The restarts were really important tonight.”
Abreu ended the two-year run of Kings Royal winners also taking the Ironman victory. The win is his fourth career series win.
Madsen, who looked to become just the second repeat winner of the Ironman 55, led the first 40 laps of the grueling 55-lap feature. In the end, though, Abreu had the edge.
“The guys gave me a fantastic racecar. Just got into traffic there and I just – guy had been running the top and I thought I had him and then he chopped the front and Rico was there to take advantage. This race is always one of our favorites of the year – the fan interaction is fantastic.”
Stewart battled past Sweet through the closing laps and took home the final spot on the night’s podium. He said the podium finish was needed for his Larson Marks crew as their performance has not been where they want it to be.
“We’ve been on struggle street really badly lately,” Stewart said. “It was a really great race. Normally you try to pace yourself a little but there was no pacing. This is a great event, it’s a special race to win. Hats off to Rico, he does a great job.”
“Hopefully, we can carry this momentum, not only into Knoxville, but into the rest of the season.”
Joey Saldana was the KSE Racing Hard Charger, advancing nine positions to finish fifth.
The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series rolls into the biggest week of the season as the series takes on the 5-Hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Store at Knoxville Raceway, Wednesday, Aug. 10 to Saturday, Aug. 13. To learn more about the Knoxville Nationals, visitWoOSprint.com/Knoxville-
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Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 Notebook
RACE NOTES: Brad Sweet picked up his 11th quick time of the season after taking the qualifying quick time at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55. He is now the season’s leading qualifier… Rico Abreu is the 16th different series winner of 2016 and the sixth different winner of the Ironman 55 since the inaugural event in 2009. Craig Dollansky remains the only repeat winner of the event… Joey Saldana was the night’s KSE Racing Hard Charger, advancing nine positions to finish in fifth.
CONTINGENCY WINNERS – MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Brent Marks; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Kerry Madsen; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): Paul McMahan;JE Pistons ($50 cash): Joey Saldana; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): David Gravel;Edelbrock ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; Comp Cams ($50 cash): David Gravel;Morton Buildings ($50 cash): James McFadden; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Logan Schuchart; Super Flow ($50 cash): Jacob Allen; Craftsman/Sears ($100 cash): Rico Abreu; KSE Racing Products ($100 product certificate): Joey Saldana; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Kerry Madsen; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Greg Wilson; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Brent Marks.
SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz – 16 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 4, Stockton Dirt Track on March 18, Stockton Dirt Track on March 19, Silver Dollar Speedway on April 2, Lincoln Speedway on May 19, Weedsport Speedway on May 22, Lincoln Park Speedway on June 8, Knoxville Raceway on June 11, River Cities Speedway on June 17, Rockford Speedway on June 29, Badlands Motor Speedway on July 3, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 9, Attica Raceway Park on July 12, Eldora Speedway on July 16, Ohsweken Speedway on July 26); David Gravel – 7 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 12, Tri-State Speedway on May 14, I-96 Speedway on June 6, Eldora Speedway on July 14, Lernerville Speedway on July 19, Wilmot Raceway on July 30, Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Aug. 5); Daryn Pittman – 7 (Royal Purple Raceway on Feb. 27, Perris Auto Speedway on April 16, USA Raceway onApril 18, New Egypt Speedway on May 24, Jackson Motorplex on June 24, Eldora Speedway on July 15, Williams Grove Speedway on July 22); Brad Sweet – 7(Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Cotton Bowl Speedway on Feb. 26, Ocean Speedway on April 1, Bakersfield Speedway on April 15, Plymouth Speedway on May 13, Badlands Motor Speedway on July 2); Shane Stewart – 5 (Arizona Speedway on March 6, Devil’s Bowl Speedway onApril 23, Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 30, Granite City Speedway on June 15, Brown County Speedway on June 19); Joey Saldana – 4 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 3, Devil’s Bowl Speedway on April 22, Jacksonville Speedway onMay 4, I-80 Speedway on June 22); Lance Dewease – 2 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 20, Williams Grove Speedway on July 23); Kerry Madsen – 2(Eldora Speedway on May 6 and 7);Rico Abreu – 1 (Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Aug. 6); Bill Balog – 1 (Beaver Dam Raceway on June 25);Chad Kemenah – 1 (Fremont Speedway on June 3); Jason Johnson – 1(Placerville Speedway on March 24);Terry McCarl – 1 (Knoxville Raceway onJune 10); Logan Schuchart – 1 (Cedar Lake Speedway on July 9); Jason Sides – 1 (I-30 Speedway on April 26); Greg Wilson – 1 (The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 27).
The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Bad Boy Off Road (Official Side-by-Side Vehicle), Craftsman (Official Tool), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Morton Buildings (Official Building), Sears (Official Home Store), The Kenny Wallace Dirt Racing Experience (Official Racing Experience) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, JE Pistons, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Penske Shocks, and Superflow Dynos; along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo and TNT Rescue.
Sources: Aaron Fiedler/World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series PR