| Rico Abreu | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Abreu at Dover International Speedway in 2016 | |||||||
| Born | January 30, 1992 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) | ||||||
| |||||||
| 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) | ||||||
| |||||||
| Statistics current as of June 5, 2023. | |||||||
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.
YouTube Encyclopedic
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Rico Abreu & J. Allard pull T. Kaeding from car - Trophy Cup - SPEED SPORT - Loudpedal - Racing
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IRA Sprints, Rico Abreu last to first after flip.
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Rico Abreu to the Rescue - Trophy Cup - October 18, 2014
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Rico Abreu SPEED SPOR Challenge Promo
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World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Cars Eldora Speedway September 22, 2017 | HIGHLIGHTS
Transcription
Racing career
Early career and dirt racing
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
- ^ a b c d e f g McGee, Ryan (January 20, 2015). "Rico Abreu eager to make next step". ESPN. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Rico Abreu - Stockton Dirt Track 360 Winged Sprint Car Main Event". Alpinestars. Archived from the original on January 21, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Bruce, Kenny (January 20, 2015). "Rico Abreu Hopes to Follow Path of Nascar Standouts". NASCAR. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ Pennell, Jay (January 18, 2015). "Rico Abreu wins 29th Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals". Foxsports.com. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
- ^ a b Hembree, Mike (January 18, 2015). "Rico Abreu wins Chili Bowl with bold pass". USA Today. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Back-to-back: Rico Abreu earns second Chili Bowl Nationals win". Foxsports.com. January 17, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "2015 NAPA 150 at Columbus Motor Speedway - NASCAR K&N Pro Series East". YouTube.com. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
- ^ "ABREU, BYRON TO MAKE TRUCK DEBUTS AT PHOENIX". NASCAR. November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "Abreu lands full-season deal in NCWTS". Motorsport.com. January 14, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
- ^ Spencer, Lee (January 11, 2017). "Rico Abreu will not return to full-time NASCAR competition in 2017". Motorsport.com. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
- ^ Spencer, Lee (June 30, 2017). "Rico Abreu to make NASCAR Truck return at Eldora". Motorsport.com. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
- ^ Sessa, Bill (July 5, 2017). "Abreu returns to NASCAR truck series". Napa Valley Register. Napa, CA: Lee Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
- ^ "About". Rico Abreu. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Moody, Dave (January 20, 2015). "Rico Abreu Set For K&N Pro Series East Challenge". godfathermotorsports.com. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ "Rico Abreu – 2015 Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
- ^ "Rico Abreu – 2016 Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
- ^ "Rico Abreu – 2017 Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
- ^ "Rico Abreu – 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
External links
- Official website
- Rico Abreu driver statistics at Racing-Reference
This page was last edited on 5 October 2023, at 00:17