The final night before the 360 Nationals at the Knoxville Raceway did not disappoint as Clint Garner won the 360 show and Rico Abreu played it patient to go from 3rd to 1st with two laps to go to take the All-Star Circuit of Champions A-Main heard live on KNIA. Garner led from start to finish but had to endure several cautions and beat Aaron Reutzel to the line. With the win, Garner significantly closed the gap on the weekly points race to Terry McCarl, who now unofficially leads Garner by just 18 points heading into the final points race of the season on August 27th. Points are not official until after the close of business at the Knoxville Raceway on Monday. For the All-Stars Abreu waited for his chance and took advantage with two laps to go coming out of turn two when he passed both Tyler Courtney and Kerry Madsen. Abreu told KNIA/KRLS Sports he has hit on something that has the car running good at the right time of the season.
Abreu: “Been hitting on some things and it’s really cool. Thankful to be a part of a solid program. We spend all day in the shop trying to figure out how to make things better, and people have seen the highs and the lows with me and we just have to stay with it and not give up.”
Thursday, the Knoxville Raceway kicked off Southern Iowa Sprint Week with the 32nd Annual 360 Nationals. Live coverage can be heard on KNIA starting with Live Track Side at five and Race Nights Live at seven.
Photo from Ryan Northcote