CHICO, Calif. — It looked as if the story was written and the check was sealed when Brent Marks held a 2.924-second advantage on Lap 34, but then the red flag waved and everything changed at the 72nd Mike Curb Gold Cup Race of Champions presented by NOS Energy Drink.
Creating a dramatic six-lap dash for $100,072, a packed house at Silver Dollar Speedway witnessed Marks slow roll the bottom in his Chase Briscoe Racing, Magical Vacation Planners No.19 while Abreu planted his Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, Waste Connections No. 24 right against the tall cushion.
Abreu took advantage of the slightest Marks mistake to lead Lap 35 and then narrowly edged him out for each of the next six circuits as the crowd rose to their feet – ultimately winning by 0.460 seconds as the double checkered flags waved.
The win puts the 34-year-old St. Helena, California native into elite company as he’s the fifth man to win three Gold Cup titles – joining a list that includes Steve Kinser (12), Al Pombo (4), Jac Haudenschild (3), and Corey Day (3). His previous titles came in 2016 with Paul Silva on his own #24 and then 2018 with Drew Warner working for him, the son of his now crew chief: Ricky Warner.
It’s the third time Abreu has topped a six-figure event, making him the ninth man to reach that mark – following in the footsteps of Donny Schatz (13), Kyle Larson (7), David Gravel (5), Steve Kinser (4), Mark Kinser (4), Danny Lasoski (4), Buddy Kofoid (4), and Brad Sweet (3).
Rico’s first two came at Skagit Speedway in 2024-25, where he’ll return to chase another $126,000 next weekend.
Building a 50-point advantage in the Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing championship chase, Abreu got to enjoy his 31st career win with the series while Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing made their sixth trip to Whiskey Myers Victory Lane this season.
Accepting a bittersweet runner-up result behind Abreu was Marks, who dominated the feature from lap 17 when a nail-biting close call in turn four let him sneak by Dylan Bloomfield & Rico Abreu until lap 34 when the red flag allowed Abreu to restart on his tail. It was a career-best second-place fnish at Silver Dollar Speedway for the Pennsylvanian, but still tough to swallow with his first win since joining Chase Briscoe Racing so close to happening.
Coming home in third after starting eighth was James McFadden aboard the Tarlton Racing No. 21, who hung right with Abreu and Marks on the final restart as all three drivers fought for the gold.
Rounding out the top five in Chico was California’s Shane Golobic in the Matt Wood Racing, NOS Energy Drink No. 17W and Oklahoma’s Daison Pursley in the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts No. 9.
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 24-Rico Abreu[1]; 2. 19-Brent Marks[5]; 3. 21-James McFadden[8]; 4. 17W-Shane Golobic[4]; 5. 9-Daison Pursley[3]; 6. 88N-DJ Netto[17]; 7. 77-Giovanni Scelzi[13]; 8. 5K-Dylan Bloomfield[2]; 9. X1-Chance Grasty[11]; 10. 13-Tanner Holmes[12]; 11. 46JR-Joel Myers Jr[23]; 12. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[10]; 13. W-Kaleb Montgomery[15]; 14. 55-Kerry Madsen[18]; 15. 5-Dominic Scelzi[20]; 16. 2X-Justin Sanders[16]; 17. 87-Aaron Reutzel[25]; 18. 26-Justin Peck[9]; 19. 29-Bud Kaeding[14]; 20. 0-Tim Kaeding[6]; 21. 17GP-Brock Zearfoss[26]; 22. 24D-Danny Sams III[24]; 23. 88-Tanner Thorson[7]; 24. 7-Seth Standley[22]; 25. 2XM-Max Mittry[19]; 26. 42-Sye Lynch[21]
