The 13th running of the Capitani Classic took center stage Sunday at Knoxville Raceway (IA) ahead of Knoxville Nationals race week.

Along with Rico Abreu emerging victorious for his first Cappy triumph, Daryn Pittman's reminder he can still contend, Knoxville Raceway's peculiarities, Carson Macedo's bounce back and Gio Scelzi's encouragement are additional storylines from the special Sprint Car event leading into Knoxville Nationals race week.

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For five takeaways from Sunday's Capitani Classic at Knoxville Raceway, read below.

Rico Abreu 'The Car To Beat This Week'?

No driver appeared more convincing than Rico Abreu on Sunday. The St. Helena, Calif., fan favorite not only emerged as the $13,000 winner, but no other driver won a heat race starting fourth.

Furthermore, it took the 32-year-old just two laps to go fourth-to-first in the heat. The 25-lap feature was no different. Abreu snuffed out the semi-retired Daryn Pittman’s return to the limelight to lead 17 laps and notch his first Capitani Classic victory.

“That’s what we’ve been working on all year right there,” Abreu said in victory lane. “Just really thankful for my team.That’s what it’s going to take to be up here Saturday night. I feel like this is the best we’ve ever come preparation-wise into this event. Really, really special to be up here.”

Strong showings like Sunday vindicate why Abreu’s raced five of his 18 non-High Limit Racing events this year at Knoxville. Abreu ran three events at Knoxville in 2023 prior to the Nationals and didn’t feel as prepared, which perhaps showed in his backslide from second to seventh during last year's Saturday night finale.

"Anytime you get seat time at this place is really important as a team to go through setups and understand the format of the weekday stuff and the inversion,” Abreu said. “I think that really sets you up for your qualifying night. And adapting to racing a little bit differently in the heat races. I think you seen some of that tonight as well. The track was beautiful tonight for the feature.

"Usually they till the top and pack it, and fix the lip with the cushion up top. I think it changed the race pace for sure from the bottom to the top. You just have to study that stuff and understand.”

With multi-time Knoxville Nationals championship crew chief Ricky Warner calling the shots, Abreu’s eager to apply everything he’s learned. For instance, when Pittman “ran down down in one and two and up (the banking) in three and four,” Abreu knew exactly what to do.

“I was really focused on my footwork and keeping clean air on my nose so I can get to the center of the corners really aggressively,” Abreu said. “And I’d slow everything down exiting” because “judging pace of the lapped cars can really disrupt your car.”

Pittman even pegged Abreu as “the car to beat this week” — a mirrored storyline that eventual 2023 champion Kyle Larson dished out last year — adding that “you might have to go through him to win.” Granted, red-hot David Gravel and two-time reigning Nationals champ Kyle Larson were among those not racing Sunday, Pittman's observation carries weight.

“There’s a lot of really good cars, but Rico looked super solid all night tonight, I thought,” Pittman said.

Race Highlights from @Dirtvision! @Rico_Abreu has a great race with Daryn Pittman at the Avanti Windows and Doors Capitani Classic presented by @Great_Southern Bank!#AvantiWindows#CapitaniClassic#988Lifeline pic.twitter.com/4SGFJpk22B

— Knoxville Raceway (@knoxvilleraces) August 5, 2024

Don’t Count Out Daryn Pittman

What semi-retired racer can go pound-for-pound with three throttle-smashers in their primes? Daryn Pittman, of course.

Although the 45-year-old aboard the Kreitz Racing No. 69K tasted victory Sunday, he got a good laugh — and smile — when asked if he felt young again battling Rico Abreu, Gio Scelzi and Carson Macedo for the win.

“Absolutely. I feel like we went to toe-to-toe with them,” Pittman said. “We got beat, but they’re at the top of their game. It would be a lie for me to say that I am. I know that I’m not. This car is carrying me better than I am doing it any justice.”

The 2013 World of Outlaws champion who retired from full-time racing at the end of ’20 is still competitive in his dozen-or-so race schedule, especially with Kreitz Racing. Pittman led seven laps Sunday where for the fourth time in seven races this year he qualified inside the top-three. One of those was June 15’s quick time on the WoO tour at Knoxville.

“I don’t think a lot of people gave us a lot of potential to run well,” Pittman said. “I think we’re at least proving we can contend. I don’t know if we’re threat to win in most people’s minds, but after that race, even though we backed up from first to fourth, I really feel we are a few minor changes away from having the car to beat or at least contend with Rico I’m optimistic about that.”

Knoxville Raceway's New Dirt

The peculiarities of this year’s Knoxville Raceway surface caught the attention of Sunday’s podium finishers Rico Abreu, Gio Scelzi and Carson Macedo.

Abreu brought up the topic immediately in his opening remarks, saying “with the circumstances of the racetrack and the new material they put on it, I feel like it’s taken them a few races to get the surface right.”

The changes Abreu speaks of is really just new batches of black dirt applied on the legendary half-mile over the offseason. According to a Knoxville staffer, the raceway had to use black dirt from a new piece of land for the first time in roughly two decades.

In other words: The complexion of Knoxville’s newer dirt has forced teams, in the words of Abreu, "to work on mechanical grip on our race cars.” Abreu also acknowledged that rainouts, the new one-inch wicker bill ruling, and shifts in temperament depending on the season should be considered too.

"These places change as they go through seasons (and) these surfaces as they develop,” Abreu said. “The material wears out over the years, so I'm sure they have to change it. It's no different them working on the racetrack than us working on our race cars to get better. You just have to pick up on things quicker and that, I think, is going to separate you and your team from the other teams."

Macedo also recalls the berm being “a lot steeper” last year “and I feel like you could ride up on it and not have it disrupt your car too much” opposed to this year’s layout.

But Macedo echoed Scelzi sentiments of “with the Duncan family doing (track prep around) this place forever, I feel like they put the most time and effort than I’ve ever seen into a racetrack” and that the racing product will once again flourish this week.

Abreu’s following statement Sunday backs that: “The track was beautiful tonight in the feature.”

Carson Macedo's Important Bounce Back

In 43 World of Outlaws events to date this season, Knoxville Raceway’s responsible for Carson Macedo’s worst two features finishes.

That’s right, the 28-year-old’s 21st- and 16th-place finishes are outings that left him quite anxious heading this week’s Knoxville Nationals. That makes Sunday’s third-place run all the more relieving.

"It just goes to show you that Sprint Car racing is really tough and that it can change in an instant,” Macedo said.

"We searched around that whole weekend. I just couldn't really hit it,” he added. “It seems like tonight we hit on something that was really good. I felt like we had a lot of speed, not only in the feature, but in the shuffle and in the heat race. I just felt pretty solid. I'm really happy with that.


“Obviously running as bad as we did, I was a little nervous coming into tonight. But I'm pretty confident now. Rico and I were talking ... it's arguably one of the toughest races of the year.”

With a new race car Sunday, Macedo implied reverting to basics alongside crew chief Philip Dietz is what did the job. Last year, Macedo turned in his best finish of fifth at the Nationals.

"A lot of times, you can go back to box-stock standard and get yourself back in the window,” Macedo said. “I feel like that's what we try to do when we get in slumps. But also, you never rule anything out either.”

An Encouraged Giovanni Scelzi

He couldn’t run down Rico Abreu in open racetrack, but in the handling department, Giovanni Scelzi could put his KCP Motorsports No. 18 machine anywhere he wanted Sunday.

“I could run everywhere on the racetrack: Top, bottom, middle,” Scelzi said. “And my car worked everywhere. We made pretty good changes for the feature and pole shuffle, and they all worked. It’s good when the changes you make acts the way you expect it to.”

The 22-year-old has gotten a little better each time he’s touched Knoxville Raceway this year, so that bodes well the rest of the week. In a pair of June visits on the WoO tour, he finished eighth and 12th. He finished third at Knoxville’s Mid-Season Championship on July 6 and Sunday placed runner-up.

Last year Scelzi tied his best finish at the Nationals, fourth, with 2021’s performance where he led 10 laps. If the half-mile is anything like Sunday the rest of the week, Scelzi seems to be in a favorable position.

“This is a Nationals-esque racetrack for sure: Big cushion, kind of treacherous, and a really narrow bottom,” Scelzi said. “Green-to-checkered races, I like them better, honestly. Restarts I seem to struggle and think too much honesty. I was going as hard as I could.”