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Rico Abreu Storms to Capitani Classic Win at Knoxville!

(Paul Arch Photos)

Rico Abreu Storms to Capitani Classic Win at Knoxville!
by Bill Wright

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 4, 2024) – Rico Abreu won a duel for the lead with Daryn Pittman and went on to win the Avanti Windows & Doors Capitani Classic Presented by Great Southern Bank Sunday night at Knoxville Raceway. The win was the St. Helena, California driver’s seventh at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World” and was worth $13,000 aboard the Rico Abreu Racing #24.

Pittman who won the $2,500 Pole Shuffle to earn the pole position in the 25-lap main event, led early over Brian Brown, Gio Scelzi, Abreu and Carson Macedo. Abreu made a move in turn two on lap two to shoot by both Scelzi and Brown and take over the runner-up spot. Scelzi would work by Brown for third on lap five. Macedo moved into fourth on lap seven.

Abreu reeled in Pittman, utilizing the high side of the track. On lap eight, Abreu slid by Pittman to take the point in turn four. Pittman flew back under Abreu to lead lap nine, and Abreu got a run off of turn two to take command again on lap ten.

Abreu stretched the lead in traffic from there. Scelzi used lapped traffic to get by Pittman at the halfway point for second. Macedo would also advance, and battled Pittman back and forth for the show position in the late stages.

Abreu’s final margin was 3.5 seconds over Scelzi ($9,000), Macedo ($5,000), Pittman and Brad Sweet. Spencer Bayston, Austin McCarl, $2,500 hard-charger Corey Day, Donny Schatz and Brown rounded out the top ten. The 82-car field was a record for the Cappy topping an 81-car showing in 2013. Buddy Kofoid and Brown set quick time over their respective groups. Scott Bogucki, Aaron Reutzel, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Emerson Axsom, Abreu, Bayston and Pittman won heats. Cory Eliason and Kraig Kinser won the C mains and Kofoid and Justin Peck claimed the B mains. Pittman won the $2,500 “Pole Shuffle” two-lap match races.

“That’s what we’ve been working for all year,” said Abreu. “I’m just really happy for my team. They really put their heads down and work on these things. It’s a special place to be up here on the front stretch. We’ve made it a point to come here a few times this season. Those 25-lap features, when they go non-stop, they can get quite grueling mentally. You get excited catching lapped traffic, because you know that’s where you can get a torrid pace. I know what (Cappy) brought to Knoxville, the history, and it’s important this event continues and the fans support this the week before Nationals.”

“What a great racetrack,” said Scelzi. “This is a Nationals-like racetrack with a treacherous cushion and a narrow bottom. Green to checker races I like honestly. With restarts you tend to struggle and think too much. I was going as hard as I could. I missed the bottom the last four or five laps, but I don’t know that I would have caught him.”

“What a race there,” said Macedo. “There were stages where we were all four grouped together. I thought that my car was definitely competitive enough to get in the right place to get up front. We just got stuck battling there for a while with (Pittman). It was just good hard racing. Hat’s off to this race team. They did a great job.”

Join us Sunday, August 4, for the 12th running of the Avanti Windows & Doors Capitani Classic Presented by Great Southern Bank. For tickets and more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com or on Facebook.

Avani Windows & Doors Capitani Classic Presented by Great Southern Bank Results

Time Trial Group 1 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 83JR, Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, CA (9), 15.637 ($100 from OpenWheel101.com); 2. 69K, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (29), 15.723; 3. 18X, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (5), 15.807; 4. 41, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA (1), 15.833; 5. 48, Danny Dietrich, Gettysburg, PA (7), 15.838; 6. 23, Garet Williamson, Columbia, MO (11), 15.897; 7. 10, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (17), 15.905; 8. 39M, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (16), 15.951; 9. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (3), 15.960; 10. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (6), 15.970; 11. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (25), 16.014; 12. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (20), 16.033; 13. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (36), 16.037; 14. 9, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (10), 16.042; 15. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (21), 16.092; 16. 1C, Brenham Crouch, Lubbock, TX (12), 16.120; 17. 19, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (15), 16.120; 18. 14, Corey Day, Clovis, CA (22), 16.129; 19. 83SR, James McFadden, Alice Springs, NT, Aust. (37), 16.13; 20. 21T, Cole Macedo, Lemoore, CA (24), 16.138; 21. 1, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (2), 16.141; 22. 26, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (19), 16.162; 23. 55C, Chris Windom, Canton, IL (31), 16.168; 24. 58, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (23), 16.171; 25. 24D, Danny Sams III, North Port, FL (4), 16.179; 26. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (8), 16.225; 27. 7BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN (38), 16.231; 28. 2KS, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (35), 16.246; 29. 27B, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (34), 16.259; 30. 52, Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK (40), 16.274; 31. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (32), 16.355; 32. 15JR, Cole Mincer, Burlington, IA (18), 16.379; 33. 55T, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (26), 16.437; 34. 122, Joe B. Miller, Millersville, MO (28), 16.471; 35. 3N, Jake Neuman, New Berlin, IL (33), 16.524; 36. 8, Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA (41), 16.530; 37. 14T, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (14), 16.589; 38. 23M, Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (30), 16.686; 39. 53, Jessie Attard, Landilo, NSW, Aust. (39), 16.894; 40. 10V, Brian Paulus, Six Mile, SC (13), NT; 41. 9H, Landon Hansen, Newton, IA (27), NT

Time Trial Group 2 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (3), 15.883; 2. 24R, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (10), 15.964; 3. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (26), 16.011; 4. 55, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (4), 16.081; 5. 2, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (29), 16.098; 6. 5B, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (13), 16.226; 7. 9P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (23), 16.242; 8. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (31), 16.269; 9. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (17), 16.269; 10. 27A, Emerson Axsom, Franklin, IN (25), 16.310; 11. 4W, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (22), 16.340; 12. 35, Zach Hampton, Plainfield, IN (1), 16.367; 13. 5, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (32), 16.393; 14. 13, Justin Peck, Monrovia, IN (40), 16.440; 15. 88T, Tanner Thorson, Minden, NV (34), 16.475; 16. 70, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (11), 16.481; 17. 24T, Christopher Thram, Sanborn, MN (9), 16.485; 18. 3J, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (16), 16.489; 19. 6, Jimmy Light, West Springfield, PA (12), 16.491; 20. 18T, Tanner Holmes, Jacksonville, OR (20), 16.533; 21. 25, JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA (14), 16.534; 22. 19M, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (18), 16.550; 23. 99, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (8), 16.587; 24. 3, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (38), 16.592; 25. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (19), 16.657; 26. 3Z, Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, PA (33), 16.663; 27. G5, Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN (6), 16.695; 28. 45X, Jace Park, Overland Park, KS (7), 16.716; 29. 42, Sye Lynch, Apollo, PA (24), 16.747; 30. 18, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (2), 16.765; 31. 17GP, Cale Thomas, Fairland, IN (5), 16.811; 32. J2, John Carney II, El Paso, TX (36), 16.854; 33. 36, Jason Martin, Liberal`, KS (39), 16.896; 34. 91, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ (37), 16.920; 35. 19H, Joel Myers Jr., Sebastopol, CA (27), 16.928; 36. 11N, Kasey Jedrezek, Lagrange, OH (15), 16.940; 37. 27W, Weston Olson, Warren, MN (28), 17.085; 38. 101, Kalib Henry, Sacramento, CA (41), 17.254; 39. 44X, Scotty Johnson, Melcher-Dallas, IA (21), 18.267; 40. 7S, Landon Crawley, Benton, AR (35), NT; 41. 6R, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (30), NT

Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:11.6: 1. Scott Bogucki (2); 2. Sheldon Haudenschild (1); 3. Carson Macedo (3) / 4. Buddy Kofoid (4); 5. Riley Goodno (5); 6. James McFadden (7); 7. Brenham Crouch (6); 8. Zeb Wise (8); 9. Chase Randall (10); / 10. Matt Juhl (11); 11. Danny Sams III (9); 12. Joe B. Miller (12)

Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:14.2: 1. Aaron Reutzel (1); 2. Anthony Macri (2); 3. Daryn Pittman (4) / 4. Hunter Schuerenberg (6); 5. Danny Dietrich (3); 6. Kasey Kahne (5); 7. Chris Windom (8); 8. Jake Bubak (10); 9. Cole Macedo (7); / 10. Chris Martin (9); 11. Jake Neuman (11) DNS – Cole Mincer

Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:13.8: 1. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1); 2. Gio Scelzi (4); 3. Terry McCarl (2) / 4. Garet Williamson (3); 5. Corey Day (6); 6. Carson McCarl (5); 7. Kaleb Johnson (8); 8. Tasker Phillips (7); 9. McKenna Haase (11); / 10. Blake Hahn (10); 11. Cory Eliason (12); 12. Tyler Courtney (9)

Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:12.2: 1. Emerson Axsom (1); 2. Brian Brown (4); 3. Parker Price-Miller (2) / 4. Kerry Madsen (3); 5. Justin Henderson (5); 6. Brent Marks (8); 7. Jace Park (10); 8. Sawyer Phillips (9); 9. Kyle Reinhardt (12) / 10. Kraig Kinser (6); 11. Cale Thomas (11); 12. Jimmy Light (7)

Heat five (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. Rico Abreu (4); 2. Brad Sweet (2); 3. Jamie Ball (1) / 4. Lynton Jeffrey (3); 5. Justin Peck (5); 6. Tanner Holmes (7); 7. Christopher Thram (6); 8. Riley Goodno (0); 9. Sye Lynch (10) / 10. Joel Myers Jr. (12); 11. Skylar Gee (8); 12. Brock Zearfoss (9)

Heat six (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. Spencer Bayston (3); 2. Austin McCarl (2); 3. Donny Schatz (4) / 4. Zach Hampton (1); 5. Dusty Zomer (6); 6. JJ Hickle (7); 7. Tanner Thorson (5); 8. Jason Martin (11); 9. Tim Kaeding (8) / 10. Ryan Roberts (10); 11. Kasey Jedrezek (12); 12. Gage Pulkrabek (9)

C main one (started), 8 Laps, 2:20.7: 1. Cory Eliason (5); 2. Matt Juhl (1); 3. Chris Martin (2); 4. Blake Hahn (3); 5. Joe B. Miller (6); 6. Danny Sams III (4) / 7. Lance Moss (7); 8. Jessie Attard (9); 9. Brooke Tatnell (7) DNS – Jake Neuman, Cole Mincer, Tyler Courtney, Brian Paulus

C main two (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. Kraig Kinser (1); 2. Joel Myers Jr. (2); 3. Jimmy Light (6); 4. Kasey Jedrezek (5); 5. Ryan Roberts (3); 6. Cale Thomas (4) / 7. Weston Olson (7) DNS – Skylar Gee, Brock Zearfoss, Gage Pulkrabek, Kalib Henry, Landon Crawley

Pole Shuffle 1, 2 Laps: 1. Scott Bogucki 2. Spencer Bayston

Pole Shuffle 2, 2 Laps: 1. Donny Schatz 2. Scott Bogucki

Pole Shuffle 3, 2 Laps: 1. Carson Macedo 2. Donny Schatz

Pole Shuffle 4, 2 Laps: 1. Rico Abreu 2. Carson Macedo

Pole Shuffle 5, 2 Laps: 1. Gio Scelzi 2. Rico Abreu

Pole Shuffle 6, 2 Laps: 1. Brian Brown 2. Gio Scelzi

Pole Shuffle 7, 2 Laps: 1. Daryn Pittman ($2500) 2. Brian Brown

B main one (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Buddy Kofoid (1); 2. Hunter Schuerenberg (2); 3. Corey Day (6) / 4. Garet Williamson (3); 5. Danny Dietrich (5); 6. Kaleb Johnson (11); 7. Kasey Kahne (8); 8. Chase Randall (15); 9. Jake Bubak (13); 10. Riley Goodno (4); 11. Cory Eliason (18); 12. Chris Windom (10); 13. Tasker Phillips (14); 14. Zeb Wise (12); 15. Matt Juhl (19); 16. Brenham Crouch (9); 17. James McFadden (7); 18. Cole Macedo (16); 19. Chris Martin (20); 20. Joe B. Miller (22); 21. Danny Sams III (23); 22. McKenna Haase (17); 23. Blake Hahn (21) DNS – Carson McCarl

B main two (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Justin Peck (5); 2. Zach Hampton (3); 3. Justin Henderson (4) / 4. Tanner Holmes (8); 5. Dusty Zomer (6); 6. JJ Hickle (9); 7. Tanner Thorson (12); 8. Tim Kaeding (17); 9. Kyle Reinhardt (16); 10. Kraig Kinser (18); 11. Christopher Thram (11); 12. Brent Marks (7); 13. John Carney II (14); 14. Jace Park (10); 15. Jason Martin (15); 16. Sawyer Phillips (13); 17. Ryan Roberts (22); 18. Cale Thomas (23); 19. Joel Myers Jr. (19); 20. Jimmy Light (20); 21. Kerry Madsen (1); 22. Lynton Jeffrey (2); 23. Kasey Jedrezek (21) DNS – Sye Lynch

A main (started), 25 Laps, 7:43.9: 1. Rico Abreu (4); 2. Gio Scelzi (3); 3. Carson Macedo (5); 4. Daryn Pittman (1); 5. Brad Sweet (12); 6. Spencer Bayston (8); 7. Austin McCarl (14); 8. Corey Day (23); 9. Donny Schatz (6); 10. Brian Brown (2); 11. Parker Price-Miller (10); 12. Scott Bogucki (7); 13. Justin Peck (20); 14. Aaron Reutzel (15); 15. Anthony Macri (9); 16. Buddy Kofoid (19); 17. Emerson Axsom (16); 18. Sheldon Haudenschild (13); 19. Jamie Ball (18); 20. Zach Hampton (22); 21. Justin Henderson (24); 22. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (17); 23. Hunter Schuerenberg (21); 24. Terry McCarl (11). Lap Leaders: Pittman 1-7, Abreu 8, Pittman 9, Abreu 10-25. Hard-charger: Day ($2500).

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