Rico Abreu Wins Silver Cup At Lernerville

Rico Abreu in Victory Lane at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pennsylvania. (Photo: High Limit Racing Media)

SARVER, Pa. — After racing their hearts out in the King’s Royal at Eldora Speedway, the High Limit Racing Sprint Cars traveled one state over to Lernerville Speedway for the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup, a 30-lap, $25,000-to-win event.

Tyler Courtney and Corey Day led the 25-car field to the starting zone and upon firing, Courtney shot out to the race lead with Day right behind him. James McFadden carried a ton of momentum in the bottom lane and gained ground on Day. The two of them swapped positions through the corners and straightaways, but it was Day who ended up being victorious.

Eight laps in, Rico Abreu entered the battle for second as he stuck his nose in between McFadden and Day coming down the back stretch. Just as the battle was about to get heated coming out of the corner, Brandon Spithaler went for a wild ride down the back chute, drawing the red flag.

On the restart, McFadden and Day went at it for second once again. McFadden stuck to the inside coming down the back straightaway, but upon entering Turn 1, Day stumbled a little bit, relinquishing the runner-up spot to McFadden.

At the end of Lap 11, Abreu returned to challenge Day. Coming down the front stretch, Abreu stayed right beside Day until they hit the corner. Abreu had more power than Day and was able to sail past, claiming third.

Kasey Kahne competing at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pennsylvania. (Photo: Chad Warner)

Another restart took place with 14 laps to go after Day clipped the lapped car of Sye Lynch, sending him on his back to look up at the Pennsylvania sky. Once the track was clear to race on again, McFadden shot out to the side of Courtney like a rocket and stayed there going into Turns 3 and 4. As they came out of Turn 4, McFadden’s right front hit Courtney’s left front. This caused Courtney to spin out and tag the wall in an effort to keep his wheels spinning, drawing yet another caution. While the caution was out, McFadden went into the pits to get his flat right rear tire changed. 

With nine laps remaining, Abreu had the lead handed to him on a silver platter, while Brad Sweet moved up as well, and was not going to let Abreu win so easily. 

On the other hand, Day was not going to let Sweet challenge Rico that easily either. Day lost some ground after riding on Sweet’s inside down the back chute, but on Lap 24, Day’s momentum returned as he challenged Sweet for second. Coming into Turn 3, Day went to the bottom of Sweet and slid in front of him, grabbing the runner-up position. 

Both Abreu and Day made some mistakes in the last five laps, but Abreu was able to hold onto the lead to win the race, and an extra $4,000 due to a fan rolling an eight for the Durst Dice Roll. The fan also got $4,000 to take home. Day finished in second with Sweet, Anthony Macri and Cory Eliason rounding out the top five.

High Limit Racing takes a break for a while, but returns to action on August 15th on the opposite side of the country at Thunderbowl Speedway in California.