Rico Abreu captured his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victory Saturday night at Columbus Motor Speedway. Photo by Getty Images for NASCAR
Rico Abreu made a name for himself wheeling an open-wheel car on dirt. It hasn’t taken long to get acclimated to stock car racing on asphalt.
In only his seventh start, the 23-year-old from St. Helena, California, earned his first NASCAR win in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Columbus Motor Speedway in Columbus, OH Saturday night.
With his win in the NAPA 150, Abreu continues his breakout year that saw him with the prestigious Chili Bowl Nationals sprint car event, make his first stock car start in February, sign with HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks and win his first Coors Light Pole Award in the previous K&N Pro Series East event at Langley Speedway.
Abreu captured his second Coors Light Pole Award in a row earlier in the evening at Columbus, but it was the decisive pass for the lead that he made on lap 115 that ultimately delivered his first victory.
Abreu just beat Grant Quinlan to the finish line. In his K&N Pro Series East debut, Quinlan battled for – and swapped – the lead eight times with Abreu throughout the 150-lap event. The final margin of victory for Abreu over Quinlan was 0.103 seconds.
Kaz Grala crossed the line in third with Jay Beasley fourth and Ronnie Bassett Jr. fifth. Dalton Sargeant, Austin Hill, J.J. Haley and Kenzie Ruston brought home the top 10.
Abreu is following the path that his friend and fellow Californian Kyle Larson – now a full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitor – took in transitioning from dirt to asphalt. Larson’s first NASCAR victory came in his sixth career K&N Pro Series East start in 2012 en route to the championship that season.
William Byron, who finished 14th Saturday, retained the championship lead by 20 points over Hill with seven races complete.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will return to action with the Granite State 70 on July 17 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
Columbus Motor Speedway – Columbus, OH
NAPA 150 – July 4, 2015
| Fin | Str | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Points | B/Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 98 | Rico Abreu * | Accudoc Solutions/Go-Pro Motorplex/Curb Records | 150 | 48 | 5 | Running |
| 2 | 3 | 30 | Grant Quinlan * | International Tool & Mold Ford | 150 | 43 | 1 | Running |
| 3 | 4 | 3 | Kaz Grala | Kiklos Toyota | 150 | 41 | Running | |
| 4 | 15 | 42 | Jay Beasley | Special Smiles Pediatric Dentistry Toyota | 150 | 40 | Running | |
| 5 | 7 | 4 | Ronnie Bassett, Jr. | Bassett Gutters Ford | 150 | 39 | Running | |
| 6 | 5 | 51 | Dalton Sargeant * | GALT Chevrolet | 150 | 38 | Running | |
| 7 | 6 | 22 | Austin Hill | A&D Welding/Don Rich Ford | 150 | 37 | Running | |
| 8 | 11 | 44 | Dillon Bassett * | Bassett Gutters Ford | 150 | 36 | Running | |
| 9 | 9 | 5 | J.J. Haley * | Braun Auto Chevrolet | 150 | 35 | Running | |
| 10 | 18 | 4 | Kenzie Ruston | Rev Racing Toyota | 150 | 34 | Running | |
| 11 | 10 | 15 | Nick Drake | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota | 150 | 33 | Running | |
| 12 | 14 | 6 | Devon Amos * | Max Siegel, Inc. Toyota | 150 | 32 | Running | |
| 13 | 16 | 2 | Collin Cabre * | UTI/NTI Toyota | 150 | 31 | Running | |
| 14 | 13 | 9 | William Byron * | Liberty University Chevrolet | 150 | 30 | Running | |
| 15 | 2 | 34 | Scott Heckert | Project Lifesaver Chevrolet | 148 | 30 | 1 | Running |
| 16 | 8 | 27 | Kyle Benjamin * | Eibach Ford | 148 | 28 | Running | |
| 17 | 19 | 12 | Gray Gaulding | Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Toyota | 148 | 27 | Running | |
| 18 | 20 | 94 | Dylan Hoffman * | Killam Const./C. Neer RV Chevrolet | 147 | 26 | Running | |
| 19 | 12 | 31 | David Garbo, Jr. * | Whelen Engineering Chevrolet | 146 | 25 | Running | |
| 20 | 21 | 47 | Mike Senica * | PB2 Chevrolet | 145 | 24 | Running | |
| 21 | 17 | 2 | Sarah Cornett-Ching * | RACE 101 Chevrolet | 65 | 23 | Engine | |
| 22 | 22 | 45 | Christian Celaya * | Farbe Technik Chevrolet | 5 | 22 | Handling |
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RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Rico Abreu *, Time: 14.154 Seconds, Speed: 84.697 mph
Time of Race: 0 hrs., 50 mins, 39 secs Average Speed: 59.171 mph Margin of Victory: .103 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 3-6 (#6 Turn 3 – No FP); 14-17 (#2 Frontstretch – No FP); 39-42 (#31 Turn 3 – FP #2); 44-51 (#12 – Frontstretch – FP #47); 62-65 (#94 – Turn 3 – FP #47); 87-93 (#27 & #15 Turn 2 – FP #44); 109-113 (#9 Turn 2 – FP #15). 7 for 36 laps.
Lap Leaders: Scott Heckert 1, Rico Abreu * 2-7, Grant Quinlan * 8-10, Rico Abreu * 11-18, Grant Quinlan * 19-20, Rico Abreu * 21-42, Grant Quinlan * 43-51, Rico Abreu * 52-65, Grant Quinlan * 66-114, Rico Abreu * 115-150.
Total Laps Led: Rico Abreu * 86, Grant Quinlan * 63, Scott Heckert 1. 9 changes involving 3 drivers.
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