7/11/2015
IRA Interstate Racing Association
RICO ABREU NETS STORY BOOK VICTORY WITH WRECKERS TO CHECKERS WIN IN 16TH ANNUAL RICK SCHMIDT MEMORIAL RACE!
REINKE BACKS UP LAST WEEKS VICTORY WITH CHARGE FROM 20TH TO SECOND AT DODGE COUNTY FAIROUNDS!
July 10, 2015; Beaver Dam, WI – There are some nights where a racing event exceeds expectations with an amazing display of speed such as last weeks non-stop A main at the Harbor Town Showdown, and there are other nights where dramatic events take place and the intensity is so high that you will tell your grand children about the event, and they will look at you in disbelief.
That is the kind of night which took place at the Dodge County Fairgrounds, as the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprints presented the 16th annual Rick Schmidt Memorial Race.
Though not yet a household name Rico Abreu of Rutherford, CA, has been exciting fans across the country with his talent. The diminutive racer presented a storybook charge through the field after flipping his car in the opening laps of the A-main.
Aided by the teams of several of his competitors, Abreu was able to rejoin the field from dead last, charge through the field, and take advantage of a late race caution to score an extremely popular victory in front of a near capacity crowd.
Abreu had raced his way up to third when a caution appeared for a cone, which got knocked onto the racing surface with three laps to go in the contest. Under the caution Scotty Thiel who had seemed destined for victory ran out of fuel turning the lead over to series title contender Bill Rose. Thiel had paced all 20 laps to that point in the 23 lap main event.
On the restart Rose started to have mechanical issues that slowed his pace, and Abreu charged into the lead to the approval of the crowd. He paced the final three circuits for a dramatic victory winning by a dozen car lengths over Mike Reinke who had won in a non-stop feature just last weekend. On this evening Reinke charged from a 20th place starting berth, all the way up to second, advancing the most positions from the original starting order of any driver. Don Droud Jr. from Lincoln, NB, piloted car a car owned by Hans Lein. Seven-time series champion Bill Balog normally drives the machine. Droud’s long haul was rewarded with the final podium spot.
For Abreu whose schedule this season will surpass over 100 events on both dirt, and asphalt the stop at the Dodge County Fairgrounds was a memorable one. “Wow, holy cow! it’s pretty cool to see this place packed, it’s my first time here”, exclaimed Abreu upon exiting his car in victory lane. “I hope it was a pretty good show. I was having a lot of fun driving out there”, Abreu stated to a round of applause from the fans.
“I have to thank my crew, they do so much in the background behind the scenes. It was a lot of fun coming here.. I was waking back to my trailer getting ready to take off my gear and then we fixed the car and got back in it, and had a lot of fun racing”, said Abreu of his surprise reentry into the contest after his flip.
“Nights like tonight don’t always happen you really cherish these kind of moments”, Abreu concluded.
Reinke’s efforts did not go unnoticed by the fans, which gave him loud cheers during his interview. “We were a bit behind all night, a chunk of mud knocked a spark plug wire off in qualifying. I might have been able to get a little better starting spot”, stated Reinke of his 20th position start.
“Not sure if that would have mattered as Rico started behind me, and he went by me like I was tired to a post”, Reinke said with a laugh. “We had a really good car, and kept our nose clean. I’m going to try, and get more races in and be around when we can” as Reinke indicate he will try and be at more events as the season goes on.
The 23 lap A-main whose distance was set in honor of the late Rick Schmidt’s car number, saw Thiel on the pole with Droud Jr. to his outside.
Thiel got the jump on the start taking and opening up a small gap while Droud Jr. and Ryan Bunton exchanged the second spot. Rose had worked into fourth just ahead of Aberu when the caution appeared on lap three when Brandon Thone came to a rest against the wall in turn four.
On the restart Thiel went back to setting the pace but before a lap was complete a wild melee occurred among the leaders. Bunton had slide wide in turn two, and began to spin across the entire field, he clipped Abreu who then began to flip. Series point leader Ben Schmidt attempted to clear Bunton’s errant machine, but instead climbed over the front wheels taking a nasty roll down the backstretch severely damaging his car. None of the drivers were injured in the red flag producing incident, though both Schmidt, and Bunton were done for the evening.
Abreu meanwhile had his car pushed to the work area, and with the help of several teams contributing to the repair efforts Abreu was able to return to action at the tail of the field.
On the restart Thiel went back to setting the pace with Rose now taking over the second spot. The lead pair began to separate themselves from Droud Jr., who held down the third position. Rose, looking to capitalize on points began to apply pressure to Thiel as the pair began to encounter lapped traffic on lap eight.
On the next circuit a cone got knocked onto the racing surface from the infield drawing a second caution. The field again bunched up on Thiel for the restart.
Once again Thiel got the upper hand and Rose fell back a few car lengths. Droud continued to hold third with Rick Kelsey in the fourth spot having one of his best showings so far this season.
Further back both Reinke and Abreu were slicing through the field. Reinke reached the fourth spot at Kelsey’s expense on lap 14 with Abreu in tow. Abreu then worked under Reinke on the next lap to reach the fourth spot.
Out front Thiel, and Rose separated themselves from third running Droid Jr., by nearly a straightaway. In traffic Rose would begin to pressure Thiel, but each time a lapped car was passed Thiel would again extend his lead.
On lap 18 both Abreu, and Reinke powered past Droud into third, and fourth respectively but they were still well behind the lead pair.
The race changed dramatically on lap 20. Once again a cone had been knocked onto the surface, and the caution flag waved once more. The huge margin Thiel, and Rose had built was erased as Abreu, and Reinke were now in position to battle for the win.
Under caution Thiel suddenly came to a stop in turn two as his car sputtered to a halt having run out of fuel. This gave the lead to Rose, and elevated Abreu, and Reinke to second, and third respectively.
On the restart Abreu wasted little time working to the outside of Rose whose machine didn’t come up to speed. Abreu shot into the lead and began to pull away from the field. It was found after the contest that Rose had developed a fuel pickup problem, and that in spite of having six gallons of fuel left his car was starving for fuel in the turns.
Rose continued to fall back as Reinke motored by into second, and Droud Jr., advancing to third. Over the final laps no one was able to close on Abreu who took the win convincingly. Reinke had to settle for second after a brilliant charge with Droud Jr. earning third. Droud had shut his car off immediately after crossing the line as his engine began to falter.
Kelsey had earned the fourth spot after putting on one of his best showings of the 2015 season. Steve Meyer passed Jeremy Schultz after the final restart to earn his first top five run of the year.
Schultz earned the sixth spot followed by Scotty Neitzel who gained ground in the point chase with a seventh place performance. Dave Uttech earned the eighth spot just ahead of his cousin Scott Uttech. Russel Borland completed the top ten finishers.
16 of the 24 starters were still on the track at the finish of the contest.
Earlier in the night, the balance of the 24 car starting field was set through the B-main which was captured by Bill Wirth who took the lead in the contest on the final lap from Jason Johnson. Johnson crossed the line in second followed by Jereme Schroeder, Wayne Modjeski, Borland and Kurt Davis as the top six cars transferred.
Heat faces were captured by Phillip Mock, Scott Biertzer and Dave Uttech.
Abreu started the night setting the fastest lap in qualifying, orbiting the half-mile clay oval. 17.056 seconds. That effort established a new track record erasing the mark which had been set by Bill Balog in 2013. Schmidt was second quick this evening with a lap of 17.283 seconds. Rose was third fast with a lap of 17.387 seconds.
Next weekend the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprints are back for a double dose of 410 sprint car action. On Saturday night tour will make it’s lone appearance at the high banked 3/8 mile Eagle Valley Speedway in Jim Fall, WI. The on Sunday it’s off to the historical Angell Park Speedway for another round of open-wheeled action on the third-mile clay oval.
For more information on the IRA Outlaw Sprints check out the tour website at www.irasprints.com or by logging onto the series Facebook page at www.facebook.com/irasprints the series is also on twitter at #IRA_sprints.
The IRA Sprints are presented by its long time supporting series partners. The series support is led by title sponsor Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts & Service Centers, and associate series partners Osborn & Son Trucking, TW Metals, Hoosier Tire, Cedar Creek Motorsports, Cummins Onan, and Carriage Auto Body.
2015 Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprints Upcoming Events:
7/18/2015 Eagle Valley Speedway – Jim Falls, WI
7/19/2015 Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, WI
7/24/2015 Oshkosh Speedzone Raceway – Oshkosh, WI
7/25/2015 Wilmot Raceway – Wilmot, WI
Article Credit: Jeffrey Sachse
Submitted By: Jeffrey Sachse
