Rico Emanuel Abreu (born January 30, 1992) is an American professional dirt track and

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

driver. Abreu won the 2014

USAC National Midget Series The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapol ...

championship, and previously competed in the

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly known by other names) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Races are hel ...

in 2015, scoring one win.

Racing career

Early career and dirt racing

Rico Abreu 97 USAC Midget at Angell Park Speedway

Rico Abreu celebrating win Angell Park June 2013

Abreu first began racing

dirt bike In the market, there is a wide variety of types of motorcycles, each with unique characteristics and features. Models vary according to the specific needs of each user, such as ''standard'', ''cruiser'', ''touring'', ''sports'', ''off-road'', '' ...

s, but after watching an Outlaw kart race in

Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California, United States, and the second largest city in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the ci ...

, started to race shifter karts. When he turned 15, he was given his first Outlaw kart. To support his career, his father built a th-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 Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. ...

met Abreu at a charity karting event held at Abreu's backyard oval and, in 2011, introduced him to

sprint cars Sprint cars are open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval, circular dirt or paved tracks. Historically known simply as "big cars," distinguishing them from "midget cars," sprint car racing is popular primari ...

. During the year, he made his

Chili Bowl Nationals The Chili Bowl Midget Nationals is an indoor midget car racing, midget car race that takes place in January on a dirt oval track at the Tulsa Expo Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. NASCAR calls it the "biggest Midget ra ...

debut, along with running his first

World of Outlaws World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, originally known as the World of Outlaws (often abbreviated WoO) is an American national touring dirt track racing series. It is owned and operated by World Racing Group, and was rebranded when the World of O ...

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

, clinching Rookie of the Year, while qualifying for the A-main at the Chili Bowl. The next year, he won the Belleville Midget Nationals, the Johnny Key Classic at Ocean Speedway, the

4 Crown Nationals Eldora Speedway (nicknamed "the Big E", "Auto Racing's Showcase Since 1954," and "the World's Greatest Dirt Track") is a high-banked clay dirt oval. Located north of Rossburg, Ohio in the village of New Weston, Ohio, its website claims capacit ...

Eldora Speedway Eldora Speedway (nicknamed "the Big E", "Auto Racing's Showcase Since 1954," and "the World's Greatest Dirt Track") is a high-banked Dirt track racing, clay dirt oval. Located north of Rossburg, Ohio in the village of New Weston, Ohio, its websit ...

and the USAC Gold Crown at Tri City Speedway. In 2014, he won his first WoO race at the

Thunderbowl Raceway The ThunderBowl is owned by Colorado State University Pueblo. Its current tenants are the Colorado State University Pueblo Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) is a public university in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. It is part of ...

and later won the USAC Honda Midget Series national title. On January 17, 2015, Abreu returned to the Chili Bowl. On lap 26 he passed the previous year's winner

Bryan Clauson Bryan Timothy Clauson (June 15, 1989 – August 7, 2016) was an American professional auto racing driver, best known for his achievements in Dirt track racing, dirt track Open-wheel car, open-wheel racing, such as United States Auto Club, USAC Sil ...

and held off four-time Chili Bowl winner Kevin Swindell to win. The win was

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

's first Chili Bowl victory and the first for owner Keith Kunz since 2002. The following year, Abreu repeated his Chili Bowl win after defeating Clauson and Zach Daum.

K&N Pro Series East

On January 20, 2015, Abreu was hired by

HScott Motorsports HScott Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, the K&N Pro Series East and the ARCA Racing Series. The organization was owned by North Carolina busin ...

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 New Smyrna Speedway is a 1/2-mile asphalt Oval track racing, oval racetrack located near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, New Smyrna Beach, Florida, that races the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series every Saturday night. It also has a smaller trac ...

later in the week. 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.

Camping World Truck Series

During the 2015 season, Abreu made his Camping World Truck Series debut in the

Lucas Oil 150 The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race is a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race held at Phoenix Raceway. The 150-lap, 1 mile (1.6 km) race can also be known as the Craftsman 150 as the race winner's (not championship) trophy has the na ...

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway (formerly known as ISM Raceway from 2018–2020, Phoenix International Raceway from 1964–1973 and 1976–2017, and FasTrack International Speedway from 1973–1976) is a dogleg oval track in Avondale, Arizona. The track has ...

, driving the No. 31

Chevrolet Silverado The Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long-running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from the to ...

for

NTS Motorsports NTS Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team was owned by Californian Bob Newberry, coming into its current form after Joe Denette Motorsports merged with New ...

. In 2016, he signed a full-time drive for

ThorSport Racing ThorSport Racing is an American professional stock car racing team competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Founded in 1996 as SealMaster Racing and based in Sandusky, Ohio, the team is owned by Duke Thorson and his wife, Rhonda. Currently ...

, replacing

Johnny Sauter Jonathan Joseph Sauter (born May 1, 1978) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 66 Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing. He has also driven in the NASCAR Cup ...

who left for

GMS Racing GMS Racing was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. GMS Racing previously competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series from 2016 to 2019 ...

. 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 will not return to ThorSport Racing due to sponsorship issues. However, he returned to the team for a one-off at Eldora.

Personal life

Born to a Portuguese father and Italian mother, he currently lives in

Rutherford, California Rutherford is a census-designated place (CDP) in Napa County, California, United States. The population was 115 at the 2020 census. Rutherford is located in the Rutherford AVA (American Viticultural Area) which is located in the larger Napa ...

. His father, David, is a vineyard manager. He also has a brother and a sister. Among Abreu's hobbies is

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

. Abreu is tall and weighs . He was born with

achondroplasia Achondroplasia is a genetic disorder with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance whose primary feature is dwarfism. It is the most common cause of dwarfism and affects about 1 in 27,500 people. In those with the condition, the Rhizomeli ...

, a genetic disorder that is the most common cause of

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition of people and animals marked by unusually small size or short stature. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dwarfism is . '' ...

. 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 A throttle is a mechanism by which fluid flow is managed by construction or obstruction. An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases (by the use of a throttle), but usually decreased. The term ''throttle'' ha ...

. The car is also modified for Abreu, such as the pedals and the steering column being lengthened, with the

powertrain In a motor vehicle, the powertrain comprises the main components that generate engine power, power and deliver that power to the road surface, water, or air. This includes the internal combustion engine, engine, transmission (mechanics), trans ...

and

a-frame An A-frame is a basic structure designed to bear a Structural load, load in a lightweight economical manner. The simplest form of an A-frame is two similarly sized Beam (structure), beams, arranged in an angle of 45 degrees or less, attached a ...

moved . For stock cars, the steering column, pedals, and switches are moved, while the remainder of the cockpit remains the same.

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

Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points

K&N Pro Series East

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abreu, Rico 1992 births Living people Sportspeople with dwarfism NASCAR drivers American people of Portuguese descent Racing drivers from California Sportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area People from St. Helena, California People from Rutherford, California