Early in the Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing season, Central Arizona Raceway was expanded into a three-day Casa Grande special that paired High Limit’s Cactus Classic with NHRA’s Arizona Nationals. The weekend featured additional marquee drivers: six-time national champion Brad Sweet teamed with Paul Silva in Kevin Kozlowski’s W car, and USAC Triple Crown champion Logan Seavey made his High Limit debut in Chad Boat’s CB Industries No. 87, a separate entry from Aaron Reutzel’s Ridge & Sons Racing No. 87.

Rico Abreu won the Cactus Classic opener at Central Arizona Raceway, taking the lead on the final restart at Lap 14 and pulling away to a 2.697-second victory over Tanner Thorson, with Daison Pursley third. The win — Abreu’s first for Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing and the 26th of his career — produced the fourth different winner in as many races this season.

After four of 64 races, Tanner Thorson leads the championship with 272 points and Rico Abreu is second with 263; Thorson’s runner-up finish extended his streak of top-five results. Earlier Las Vegas events produced wins for Kyle Larson, Corey Day and Aaron Reutzel; Reutzel (Ridge & Sons Racing No. 87) finished 10th, 2nd and 1st in the opening three races and briefly held the early points lead — two points ahead of Thorson and 16 ahead of Abreu, with Giovanni Scelzi and Tyler Courtney 24 points back. The Cactus Classic result shifted those early standings, underscoring how the expanded Arizona weekend and added entries have affected the early-season pecking order.

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