Rico Abreu, driver of the No. 98 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra, made his track debut at Talladega Superspeedway in Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Fred’s 250. Starting 24th, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender worked his way through traffic, and overcame damage from the “Big One,” at lap 61, to finish fourth in the 94 lap event. The top-five result was Abreu’s second top-five finish of 2016 and the second of his young career.
Starting 24th, Abreu maintained a position inside the top-20 through the races first 60 laps. Newly appointed crew chief, Bud Haefele, brought the No. 98 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra down pit road, under caution, at laps 15, 37, and 44 for four tires, and fuel, and at lap 52 for fuel only. Unfortunately, Abreu received right-side damage to his Toyota Tundra on lap 61, following the “Big One,” which collected 14 trucks. Haefele brought the No. 98 machine to pit road for a final stop, for two tires and fuel, and Abreu restarted inside the top-15 at lap 68. Over the final 26 laps, the ThorSport Racing driver worked his way through traffic, and crossed the stripe in the fourth position behind race winner, Grant Enfinger.
Rico Abreu Quote:
“It was a good race. I just maintained there. My spotter worked me through all the crashes, and we made it through a majority of the big wrecks, although we got a little bit of damage there around lap 60. That’s just speedway racing though. I’m just happy to get a solid finish for this team, and everyone at Safelite AutoGlass.”
Thorsport PR
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