April 20, 2025 | By Bill Wright

Rico Abreu Holds Off Larson at Knoxville

KNOXVILLE, Ia. — Rico Abreu cashed in $12,000 by taking the Premier Chevy Dealers Clash featuring the NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Sprint car Series at Knoxville Raceway Saturday night in the Rico Abreu Racing #24. The St. Helena, California driver’s win was his eighth at the Knoxville Raceway and his eighteenth with the World of Outlaws.

Aaron Reutzel shot out to the early lead in the 25-lap main event from outside row one, ahead of Logan Schuchart, Abreu, Tyler Courtney and Giovanni Scelzi. Abreu worked the low side of turn four to pass Schuchart for second on lap two. Kyle Larson entered the top five on lap six.

Abreu reeled in Reutzel and took the point using the low side of turn two on lap nine. Abreu was into lapped traffic at that point. Larson passed Courtny for fourth on lap ten, before a lap twelve caution for Donny Schatz and Parker Price-Miller.

Abreu took the inside lane on the double-file restart, ahead of Reutzel, Schuchart, Larson, Courtney and Scelzi. Fourteenth running Carson Macedo slowed on the restart and was done with front end issues. Once back green, Larson continued forward, sliding by Schuchart for third with ten to go, and two laps later, he passed Reutzel on the low side of turn four for second. Schuchart worked by Reutzel for third with six to go.

Larson slowly reeled in Abreu, but with two laps to go, stumbled in turns one and two. A late bid at the leader came up .214 of a second short. Abreu’s win came ahead of Larson, Schuchart, Courtney and Reutzel. David Gravel, Scelzi, Austin McCarl, Brad Sweet and Emerson Axsom completed the top ten.

Abreu and Reutzel set quick time in their respective groups. Daison Pursley and Daryn Pittman won the Non-Qualifier heats. Abreu, Axsom, Schuchart and Scelzi were heat race winners. Kyle Bellm took the D main and Zach Hampton claimed the C. Schuchart won the Dash and JJ Hickle conquered the B main. Local Tasker Phillips timed in well, but crashed violently down the backstretch after contact with Brad Sweet in his heat race. He was uninjured, but done for the night.

“I knew someone was coming,” said Abreu to Larson’s late charge. “I was trying to process dissecting with my car in lapped traffic. I had some issues with my wing ram. I had to push it forward down the straightaways and really hit my marks. I knew somebody was going to be coming, just by how much I had to move around on the racing surface. Knoxville Raceway has definitely become one of my favorite tracks in the world. The exits on the bottom were getting tricky. I wanted to set a fast pace, and the gear was giving us momentum up top. I just wanted to hit my marks. When you get (in traffic) you just have to be patient and concentrate on foot work. When you race against the best, you can’t make any mistakes to beat them.”

“I wish I wouldn’t have had to try the ‘Hail Mary’,” said Larson of his drive in the Paul Silva #57. “I wish I would not have made so many mistakes once I got to second. I could put a couple good laps together, and then push too hard and mess up. The bottom, if you could hit it, was really fast. If you missed it, it was probably worth more than you could gain. I lost touch with (Abreu), but I was able to piece together a really good one and two on the last lap. Good job to Rico there. I was able to steal one from him in August, so I’m sure he was glad to get one back on me. I was happy with the car once again at Knoxville. To come from ninth, that run was great.”

“We weren’t as good as what we needed to be,” said Schuchart of his run in the Shark Racing #1s. “I wish I would have gotten to the top at the very beginning and just ripped it around there. It’s hard as the leader up there to know where to go. We were able to actually start catching them the last few laps in traffic. To get a podium finish here at Knoxville with almost 70 cars…as good as the field as you’re going to see in August. We’re happy to be here at Knoxville, the greatest place in the world for a sprint car fanatic. We’re just happy to be here!”

Join us on Saturday, April 26 for the CraigFord.com Season Opener featuring the 410 Class, the Randall Roofing 360 Class and the Pro Sprints! For more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!


Premier Chevy Dealers NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Sprint Cars Results

Time Trials Group #1 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 24A-Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA 00:15.202[3]; 2. 27-Emerson Axsom, Franklin, IN 00:15.208[8]; 3. 57-Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA, 00:15.269[9]; 4. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN, 00:15.295[14]; 5. 2C-Cole Macedo, Lemoore, CA, 00:15.300[1]; 6. 10-Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, OK, 00:15.413[2]; 7. 21-Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO, 00:15.425[10]; 8. 14-Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN, 00:15.463[5]; 9. 2M-JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA, 00:15.487[4]; 10. 55V-Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust, 00:15.542[31]; 11. 78-Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust., 00:15.543[12]; 12. 2KS-Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA, 00:15.591[11]; 13. 71-Parker Price Miller, Kokomo, IN, 00:15.591[25]; 14. 41-Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA, 00:15.610[27]; 15. 9R-Chase Randall, Waco, TX, 00:15.631[20]; 16. 3-Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO, 00:15.641[23]; 17. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH, 00:15.642[16]; 18. G5-Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN, 00:15.646[6]; 19. 21T-Tanner Holmes, Jacksonville, OR, 00:15.650[17]; 20. 6-Zach Hampton, Plainfield, IN, 00:15.664[13] / 21. 13-Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, OK, 00:15.679[21]; 22. 99-Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can., 00:15.699[29]; 23. 31-Kyle Bellm, Nixa, MO, 00:15.837[7]; 24. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 00:15.840[15]; 25. 15-Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND, 00:15.841[28]; 26. 19-Kevin Thomas Jr, Cullman, AL, 00:15.842[32]; 27. 24-Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA, 00:15.859[22]; 28. 23L-Jimmy Light, Pittsboro, IN, 00:15.958[24]; 29. 8H-Jacob Hughes, Hartford, SD, 00:16.197[30]; 30. 80P-Jacob Peterson, Hartford, SD, 00:16.260[26]; 31. 7B-Ben Brown, Marshall, MO, 00:16.305[19]; 32. 27B-Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO, NT [18]

Time Trials Group #2 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX, 00:15.717[23]; 2. 27M-Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA, 00:15.752[6]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA, 00:15.780[13]; 4. 18-Giovanni Scelzi, Fresno, CA, 00:15.796[7]; 5. 2-David Gravel, Watertown, CT, 00:15.817[21]; 6. 1-Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 00:15.886[8]; 7. 22-Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA, 00:15.890[3]; 8. 88-Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA, 00:15.918[1]; 9. 4W-Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA, 00:15.977[9]; 10. 7S-Chris Windom, Canton, IL, 00:15.985[17]; 11. 17B-Bill Balog, Hartland, WI, 00:16.005[5]; 12. 49-Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA, 00:16.009[24]; 13. 6K-Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD, 00:16.034[11]; 14. 44-Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA, 00:16.076[26]; 15. 23-Garet Williamson, Kingdom City, MO, 00:16.137[16]; 16. 83-Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, CA, 00:16.164[28]; 17. 12X-Kameron Key, Warrensburg, MO, 00:16.166[4]; 18. 1K-Kelby Watt, Adel, IA, 00:16.170[15]; 19. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO, 00:16.171[14]; 20. 4-Cameron Martin, Ankeny, IA, 00:16.327[22] / 21. 3L-Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK, 00:16.357[32]; 22. 71W-Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA, 00:16.398[2]; 23. 09-Matt Juhl, Tea, SD, 00:16.400[29]; 24. 6X-Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA, 00:16.517[19]; 25. 28M-Conner Morrell, Bradenton, FL, 00:16.540[27]; 26. 39-Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA, 00:16.827[30]; 27. 44X-Scotty Johnson, Melcher-Dallas, IA, 00:16.842[18]; 28. 45X-Landon Crawley, Benton, AR, 00:16.876[31]; 29. 121-RJ Johnson, Knoxville, IA, 00:17.096[12]; 30. 36-Jason Martin, Lincoln, NE, 00:17.168[20]; 31. 15JR-Cole Mincer, Burlington, IA, 00:17.699[25]; 32. 32B-Brandon Spithaler, Butler, PA, NT[10]; 33. 17A-Jack Anderson, Newton, IA, NT[33].

Non-Qualifier #1 (started), 8 laps, 2:21.7: 1. 13-Daison Pursley[1]; 2. 99-Skylar Gee[2] / 3. 15-Donny Schatz[5]; 4. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[4]; 5. 19-Kevin Thomas Jr[6]; 6. 7B-Ben Brown[9]; 7. 31-Kyle Bellm[3]; 8. 8H-Jacob Hughes[7]; 9. 23L-Jimmy Light[8]; 10. 80P-Jacob Peterson[10]; DNS - 24-Terry McCarl, 27B-Jake Bubak

Non-Qualifier #2 (started), 8 laps, 2:16.4: 1. 3L-Daryn Pittman[1]; 2. 36-Jason Martin[7] / 3. 09-Matt Juhl[3]; 4. 45X-Landon Crawley[5]; 5. 71W-Brandon Worthington[2]; 6. 28M-Conner Morrell[4]; 7. 32B-Brandon Spithaler[9]; 8. 15JR-Cole Mincer[8]; 9. 121-RJ Johnson[6] DNS - 6X-Dustin Selvage, 39-Lynton Jeffrey[6], 44X-Scotty Johnson, 17A-Jack Anderson

Heat one (started), 8 laps, NT: 1. 24A-Rico Abreu[1]; 2. 21-Brian Brown[4]; 3. 57-Kyle Larson[2]; 4. 2C-Cole Macedo[3]; 5. 71-Parker Price Miller[7] / 6. 9R-Chase Randall[8]; 7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[9]; 8. 78-Scott Bogucki[6]; 9. 21T-Tanner Holmes[10]; 10. 2M-JJ Hickle[5]; 11. 13-Daison Pursley[11]

Heat two (started), 8 laps, 2:21.6: 1. 27-Emerson Axsom[1]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[2]; 3. 10-Ryan Timms[3]; 4. 14-Spencer Bayston[4]; 5. 55V-Kerry Madsen[5] / 6. 41-Carson Macedo[7]; 7. 2KS-Cory Eliason[6]; 8. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[8]; 9. 99-Skylar Gee[11]; 10. 6-Zach Hampton[10]; 11. G5-Gage Pulkrabek[9]

Heat three (started), 8 laps, 2:18.4: 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart[2]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel[1]; 3. 2-David Gravel[3]; 4. 22-Riley Goodno[4]; 5. 23-Garet Williamson[8] / 6. 17B-Bill Balog[6]; 7. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[10]; 8. 4W-Jamie Ball[5]; 9. 6K-Kaleb Johnson[7]; 10. 3L-Daryn Pittman[11]; 11. 12X-Kameron Key[9]

Heat four (started), 8 laps, NT: 1. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[2]; 2. 27M-Carson McCarl[1]; 3. 88-Austin McCarl[4]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet[6]; 5. 7S-Chris Windom[5] / 6. 83-Michael Kofoid[8]; 7. 44-Chris Martin[7]; 8. 36-Jason Martin[11]; 9. 1K-Kelby Watt[9]; 10. 4-Cameron Martin[10]; 11. 1-Tasker Phillips[3]

D main (started), 8 laps, 2:40.5: 1. 31-Kyle Bellm[1]; 2. 32B-Brandon Spithaler[2] / 3. 8H-Jacob Hughes[3]; 4. 15JR-Cole Mincer[4]; 5. 23L-Jimmy Light[5]; 6. 80P-Jacob Peterson[6] DNS - 121-RJ Johnson, 6X-Dustin Selvage, 24-Terry McCarl, 39-Lynton Jeffrey, 27B-Jake Bubak, 44X-Scotty Johnson

C main (started), 10 laps, NT: 1. 6-Zach Hampton[1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz[6] / 3. 4-Cameron Martin[3]; 4. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[8]; 5. 3L-Daryn Pittman[2]; 6. 09-Matt Juhl[7]; 7. 45X-Landon Crawley[9]; 8. 19-Kevin Thomas Jr[10]; 9. 7B-Ben Brown[12]; 10. 31-Kyle Bellm[14]; 11. 32B-Brandon Spithaler[15]; 12. 12X-Kameron Key[5]; 13. 71W-Brandon Worthington[11]; 14. 28M-Conner Morrell[13]; 15. G5-Gage Pulkrabek[4] DNS - 13-Daison Pursley

Dash (started), 6 laps, 1:53.3: 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart[1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel[3]; 3. 24A-Rico Abreu[4]; 4. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[2]; 5. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[5]; 6. 21-Brian Brown[8]; 7. 27-Emerson Axsom[7]; 8. 27M-Carson McCarl[6]

B main (started), 12 laps, 3:45.7: 1. 2M-JJ Hickle[1]; 2. 9R-Chase Randall[2]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo[4]; 4. 17B-Bill Balog[3] / 5. 83-Michael Kofoid[5]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[6]; 7. 2KS-Cory Eliason[8]; 8. 44-Chris Martin[9]; 9. 6K-Kaleb Johnson[15]; 10. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[7]; 11. 15-Donny Schatz[19]; 12. 4W-Jamie Ball[11]; 13. 21T-Tanner Holmes[14]; 14. 78-Scott Bogucki[10]; 15. 1K-Kelby Watt[17]; 16. 6-Zach Hampton[18]; 17. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[12]; 18. 36-Jason Martin[13]; 19. 99-Skylar Gee[16]; DNS - 1-Tasker Phillips

A main (started), 25 laps, NT: 1. 24A-Rico Abreu[3]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson[9]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart[1]; 4. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[4]; 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel[2]; 6. 2-David Gravel[10]; 7. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[5]; 8. 88-Austin McCarl[12]; 9. 49-Brad Sweet[16]; 10. 27-Emerson Axsom[7]; 11. 21-Brian Brown[6]; 12. 83-Buddy Kofoid[25, prov.]; 13. 2C-Cole Macedo[13]; 14. 14-Spencer Bayston[15]; 15. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[26, prov.]; 16. 10-Ryan Timms[11]; 17. 15-Donny Schatz[27, prov.]; 18. 27M-Carson McCarl[8]; 19. 9R-Chase Randall[22]; 20. 55V-Kerry Madsen[19]; 21. 71-Parker Price Miller[17]; 22. 22-Riley Goodno[14]; 23. 2M-JJ Hickle[21]; 24. 23-Garet Williamson[18]; 25. 17B-Bill Balog[24]; 26. 7S-Chris Windom[20]; 27. 41-Carson Macedo[23]. Lap Leaders: Reutzel 1-8, Abreu 9-25. Hard-charger: Kofoid.