Competing in his first Pennsylvania Sprint Speedweek race of the year, Rico Abreu started first and finished first on Tuesday night.
Abreu led all 35 laps to capture his first Thunder on the Hill Racing Series Hodnett Cup at Grandview Speedway, which served as the fifth scheduled race of the 10-race Speedweek series.
“It’s really special,” Abreu said. “This place just never disappoints, and it’s cool to be No. 1 here.”
After drawing the pole position, the former NASCAR Truck Series driver and California native fought off Brent Marks, Anthony Macri and NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell to win the $10,000 prize. The win marks Abreu’s third career Speedweek series victory.
“Track position was key,” Abreu. “Getting down to the bottom at the end was really (a) good move on my end.”
The first caution of the feature came on Lap 7 when Dylan Norris spun out. Another caution was thrown on Lap 23 for Zach Hampton, who also spun out.
The lone red flag came on Lap 14 for Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, who had his car’s rear end break while coming around Turn 3, causing his No. 57 winged 410 sprint car to tip on its side. The accident paused the race and ended Larson’s night, as he finished last in 24th. Larson had won four of the last five Speedweek races at Grandview, including last year.
Brett Kressley won the 358 modified feature, taking home $3,000. The feature win is Kressley’s second consecutive victory at Grandview and fourth of the season at the track.
“It’s a neat deal to do these midweek shows, and Thunder on the Hill does a great job putting up the money and putting on a show for us,” Kressley said. “(I) hope the fans enjoyed the good show.”
Kressley, an Orefield resident, started fifth and passed Jared Umbenhauer for the lead in the second half of the 30-lap feature to secure the win. The only caution of the race came on Lap 26, when Ron Kline came to a stop with a flat tire.
“Tonight, the starting spot helped,” Kressley said. “Momentum is everything and (helps build) confidence, so it definitely keeps us in stride.”
35-lap 410 sprint car feature: 1. Rico Abreu. 2. Anthony Macri. 3. Brent Marks. 4. Danny Dietrich. 5. Christopher Bell. 6. Tanner Thorson. 7. Justin Peck. 8. Ryan Smith. 9. Lucas Wolfe. 10. Freddie Rahmer. 11. Kyle Moody. 12. Austin Bishop. 13. Tyler Ross. 14. Brandon Rahmer. 15. T.J. Stutts. 16. Skylar Gee. 17. Jeff Halligan. 18. Ryan Taylor. 19. Mark Smith. 20. Dylan Norris. 21. Chad Trout. 22. Devon Borden. 23. Zach Hampton. 24. Kyle Larson.
30-lap modifieds feature: 1. Brett Kressley. 2. Duane Howard. 3. Jared Umbenhauer. 4. Alex Yankowski. 5. Billy Pauch Jr. 6. Jeff Strunk. 7. Mike Lisowski. 8. Craig Von Dohren. 9. Craig Whitmoyer. 10. Rick Laubach. 11. Doug Manmiller. 12. Timmy Buckwalter. 13. Ryan Watt. 14. John Willman. 15. Jimmy Leiby. 16. Kyle Smith. 17. Nate Brinker. 18. Kevin Beach. 19. Ron Kline. 20. Brad Brightbill. 21. Bobby Trapper Jr. 22. Jim Housworth. 23. Brett Gilmore. 24. Justin Grim.