ORRVILLE, Ohio — Those chasing glory during Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek will see their path to victory get even more challenging starting Monday night at Wayne County Speedway.
After a night’s rest to rebound from the grueling test of Pennsylvania Speedweek, both fan favorite Rico Abreu and recently-crowned PA Speedweek champion Kyle Larson will be in the field at the three-eighths-mile clay oval in Orrville, Ohio.
Abreu confirmed his participation on Twitter and the Wayne County Speedway Twitter account touted Larson’s appearance for the Monday-night affair before Larson later signed in with the Silva Motorsports No. 57.
Larson is of particular interest, as he’s a nine-time Ohio Sprint Speedweek feature winner and the hottest driver in the country over the past six weeks.
The Elk Grove, Calif., native has 13 wins and 21 podium finishes in his last 23 starts between midgets and sprint cars, with a staggering average finish of 1.74 during that span.
That run of success includes a streak of eight consecutive wins in early June, which began with a trio of All Star Circuit of Champions scores in Oklahoma.
Larson will be taking aim at his fifth All Star victory of the season at a track where he’s known for his success during Ohio Sprint Speedweek. The 27-year-old has two Speedweek victories at Wayne County, topping the All Stars there in 2017 and ’18.
If he does win Monday at Wayne County, Larson would become just the fifth driver in Ohio Speedweek history with double-digit career wins, joining Dale Blaney (32) and 10-time winners Tim Shaffer, Kevin Huntley and Kenny Jacobs.
Abreu enters the Wayne County Speedweek round with some momentum of his own, winning the June 30 Pennsylvania Speedweek feature at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa., in his familiar midnight blue No. 24.
The St. Helena, Calif., driver is also a former Speedweek winner at Wayne County. He won the 2016 Speedweek round at the track, fittingly enough over Larson, who ran second.
When adding Larson and Abreu to a field that already contains 2020 Speedweek winners Cap Henry, Buddy Kofoid and Aaron Reutzel, as well as former Speedweek titlists Tim Shaffer, Paul McMahan and Greg Wilson, one thing becomes clear very quickly.
Whoever wins Monday night’s event at Wayne County will unquestionably have earned the $6,000 winner’s share.
Racing begins at Wayne County for Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek at 7 p.m.
SPEED SPORT’s Ohio Sprint Speedweek coverage is presented by Cometic Gasket Inc., a leading worldwide supplier of gaskets and engine sealing solutions for the automotive performance, powersports, original equipment and remanufactured engine industries. No matter what you ride, Cometic Gasket can seal your machine so you can focus on the finish line.
Since 1989, Cometic has been living, breathing, and eating powersports. As a proud supporters of GNCC, AMA, NASCAR, and other race-teams across the country, Cometic understands what it takes to put everything on the line with one goal in mind. When you earn your living racing at the highest level against the best in the country, engine failures simply aren’t an option. Champions across the world continue to use Cometic Gasket for their engine-sealing solutions. Whether they’re driving a Gen-6 stock car or riding a top fuel motorcycle, Cometic Gaskets are the reliable source in extreme conditions.
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