Rico Abreu

Rico Emanuel Abreu (born January 30, 1992) is an American professional dirt track and sprint car racing driver. Abreu won the 2014 USAC National Midget Series championship, and previously competed in the K&N Pro Series East in 2015 scoring one win.

Rico Abreu
Abreu at Dover International Speedway in 2016
Born	(1992-01-30) January 30, 1992 (age 32) St. Helena, California
Height	132 cm (4 ft 4 in)
Weight	43 kg (95 lb)
Achievements	2015, 2016 Chili Bowl Winner 2015 Pepsi Nationals Winner 2014 USAC National Midget Series Champion 2013, 2016 4-Crown Nationals Midget Winner 2021 4-Crown Nationals Winged Sprint Winner 2014 Belleville Midget Nationals Champion
Awards	2012 USAC National Midget Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
26 races run over 3 years
2017 position	68th
Best finish	13th (2016)
First race	2015 Lucas Oil 150 (Phoenix)
Last race	2017 Eldora Dirt Derby (Eldora)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 5 0
ARCA Menards Series East career
14 races run over 1 year
First race	2015 Pensacola 200 (New Smyrna)
Last race	2015 Drive Sober 125 (Dover)
First win	2015 NAPA 150 (Columbus)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 8 1
Statistics current as of June 5, 2023.

Racing career

Early career and dirt racing

 

Abreu's 2013 midget at Angell Park Speedway

 

Abreu celebrating after winning his first USAC National midget car race in 2013 at Angell Park

Abreu first began racing dirt bikes,^[1] but after watching an Outlaw kart race in Vallejo, California,^[2] started to race shifter karts.^[1] When he turned 15, he was given his first Outlaw kart.^[2] To support his career, his father built a 1⁄8th-mile asphalt oval in his backyard. On January 24, 2009, Abreu made his Outlaw kart debut at Lakeport Indoor Speedway, finishing fourth, and scored his first Outlaw win at Cycleland Speedway. During the year, local driver Kyle Larson met Abreu at a charity karting event held at Abreu's backyard oval and, in 2011, introduced him to sprint cars.^[1] During the year, he made his Chili Bowl Nationals debut, along with running his first World of Outlaws sprint car race. He would eventually win the 2011 360 Winged Sprint Car Series Rookie of the Year Award. In 2012, Abreu raced in the USAC National Midget Series, clinching Rookie of the Year, while qualifying for the A-main at the Chili Bowl. The next year, he won his first USAC National Midget race at Angell Park Speedway.^[3] Also in 2013, he won the Belleville Midget Nationals, the Johnny Key Classic at Ocean Speedway, the 4 Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway and the USAC Gold Crown at Tri City Speedway. In 2014, he won his first WoO race at the Thunderbowl Raceway^[2] and later won the USAC Honda Midget Series national title.^[4]

On January 17, 2015, Abreu returned to the Chili Bowl. On lap 26 he passed the previous year's winner Bryan Clauson and held off four-time Chili Bowl winner Kevin Swindell to win.^[5] The win was Toyota's first Chili Bowl victory^[6] and the first for owner Keith Kunz since 2002.^[7] The following year, Abreu repeated his Chili Bowl win after defeating Clauson and Zach Daum.^[8]

K&N Pro Series East

On January 20, 2015, Abreu was hired by HScott Motorsports to run full-time in the K&N Pro Series East. He made his stock car debut in the Pete Orr Memorial Super Late Model 100 at New Smyrna Speedway later in the week.^[1] On July 4, 2015, Abreu won his first ever race in the K&N Pro Series East at Columbus Motor Speedway after starting from the pole position, setting a new track record.^[9][10]

Camping World Truck Series

During the 2015 season, Abreu made his Camping World Truck Series debut in the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway, driving the No. 31 Chevrolet Silverado for NTS Motorsports.^[11] In 2016, he signed a full-time drive for ThorSport Racing, replacing Johnny Sauter who left for GMS Racing.^[12]

Abreu almost won his first career NCWTS race at Texas on June 10. He was within a car length of race leader William Byron with 2 laps to go, but scraped the wall and ended up cutting a tire, all but riding the wall for the last lap and a half. He still ended up finishing a career-best 9th place.

On January 11, 2017, it was reported that Abreu would not return to ThorSport Racing due to sponsorship issues.^[13] However, he returned to the team for a one-off at Eldora.^[14][15]

Personal life

Born to a Portuguese father and Italian mother,^[16] he currently lives in Rutherford, California.^[17] His father, David, is a vineyard manager.^[1] He has a brother a sister and a dog named Gus. Among Abreu's hobbies is fishing.^[2]

Abreu is 4 ft 4 in (1.32 m) tall and weighs 95 pounds (43 kg). He was born with achondroplasia, a genetic disorder that is the most common cause of dwarfism. Due to his short stature, he needs special modifications to the cockpit area of his race cars, such as foot blocks to help him reach the throttle.^[1][6][18] The car is also modified for Abreu, such as the pedals and the steering column being lengthened, with the powertrain and a-frame moved 6 inches (15 cm). For stock cars, the steering column, pedals, and switches are moved, while the remainder of the cockpit remains the same.^[1]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	NCWTC	Pts	Ref
2015	NTS Motorsports	31	Chevy	DAY	ATL	MAR	KAN	CLT	DOV	TEX	GTW	IOW	KEN	ELD	POC	MCH	BRI	MSP	CHI	NHA	LVS	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO 28	HOM 13	53rd	46	^[19]
2016	ThorSport Racing	98	Toyota	DAY 29	ATL 11	MAR 10	KAN 22	DOV 22	CLT 20	TEX 9	IOW 18	GTW 14	KEN 15	ELD 3	POC 6	BRI 26	MCH 13	MSP 27	CHI 19	NHA 17	LVS 20	TAL 4	MAR 24	TEX 12	PHO 11	HOM 13	13th	395	^[20]
2017		89a		DAY	ATL	MAR	KAN	CLT	DOV	TEX	GTW	IOW	KEN	ELD 26	POC	MCH	BRI	MSP	CHI	NHA	LVS	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	68th	14	^[21]

K&N Pro Series East

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	NKNPSEC	Pts	Ref
2015	HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks	98	Chevy	NSM 17	GRE 9	BRI 10	IOW 30	BGS 11	LGY 9	COL 1	NHA 10	IOW 4	GLN 12	MOT 2	VIR 16	RCH 11	DOV 3	5th	492	^[22]

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

References

1. McGee, Ryan (January 20, 2015). "Rico Abreu eager to make next step". ESPN. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
2. . Alpinestars. Archived from the original on January 21, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
3. "IRA/All-Star Circuit of Champions at Angell Park Speedway". IRA and All-Star Circuit of Champions. June 6, 2021. Event occurs at 20:02. FloRacing.
4. Bruce, Kenny (January 20, 2015). "Rico Abreu Hopes to Follow Path of Nascar Standouts". NASCAR. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
5. Pennell, Jay (January 18, 2015). "Rico Abreu wins 29th Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals". Foxsports.com. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
6. Hembree, Mike (January 18, 2015). "Rico Abreu wins Chili Bowl with bold pass". USA Today. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
7. "Rico Abreu, all of 4-foot-4, is a big hit by winning prestigious Midget race with a bold pass". Fox News Channel. Associated Press. January 18, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
8. "Back-to-back: Rico Abreu earns second Chili Bowl Nationals win". Foxsports.com. January 17, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
9. ESPN.com new services (July 5, 2015). "Rico Abreu gets 1st stock car win in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East". espn.go.com. Columbus, Ohio: ESPN. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
10. "2015 NAPA 150 at Columbus Motor Speedway - NASCAR K&N Pro Series East". YouTube.com. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
11. "ABREU, BYRON TO MAKE TRUCK DEBUTS AT PHOENIX". NASCAR. November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
12. "Abreu lands full-season deal in NCWTS". Motorsport.com. January 14, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
13. Spencer, Lee (January 11, 2017). "Rico Abreu will not return to full-time NASCAR competition in 2017". Motorsport.com. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
14. Spencer, Lee (June 30, 2017). "Rico Abreu to make NASCAR Truck return at Eldora". Motorsport.com. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
15. Sessa, Bill (July 5, 2017). "Abreu returns to NASCAR truck series". Napa Valley Register. Napa, CA: Lee Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
16. "About". Rico Abreu. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
17. Estrada, Chris (January 20, 2015). "NASCAR: Sprint car standout Rico Abreu to enter K&N East Series in 2015". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
18. Moody, Dave (January 20, 2015). "Rico Abreu Set For K&N Pro Series East Challenge". godfathermotorsports.com. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
19. "Rico Abreu – 2015 Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
20. "Rico Abreu – 2016 Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
21. "Rico Abreu – 2017 Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
22. "Rico Abreu – 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 12, 2023.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rico Abreu.

• Official website
• Rico Abreu driver statistics at Racing-Reference