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Truck Series Rookie Profile: Rico Abreu

Rico Abreu

Birthdate: January 30, 1992
Birth Place: St. Helena, CA
Hometown: Rutherford, CA
2016 Ride: No. 98 ThorSport Racing Toyota
2016 Results:

  • Daytona: Start – 16th; Finish – 29th (DNF – crash)
  • Atlanta: Start – 27th; Finish – 11th
  • Martinsville: Start – ; Finish –

Pre-2016 Results:

DateTrackStartFinish
Nov. 13, 2015Phoenix14th28th (DNF - crash)
Nov. 20, 2015Homestead14th13th

After making a pair of 2015 starts with NTS Motorsports, Rico Abreu signed with ThorSport Racing to pilot the No. 98 Toyota as part of the organization’s expansion to four trucks. Despite the learning curve coming off of a sprint car racing background, Abreu entered this year with clear goals.

“2016, my goal is just to show these guys at ThorSport that I want this and that I’ve got the drive and the will to do it and just to be a great person — I think that’s what it comes down to — and to win them some races,” Abreu said after joining the team. “I think we have a team more than capable of doing it and everyone’s behind me, which is great for me to know that. If you don’t feel that people are behind you, then you’re going to be in some trouble later on and throughout your season. I just feel like this is the best team, they’ve got the best people and their organization and the best car owner.

“It’s something new for me this year and it seems like every year there’s something new for me in my career that I look forward to. That’s what keeps that fire in me burning and that drive, the drive to win races.”

Abreu began his racing career in 2009 in Outlaw Sprint Kart and scored his first victory just seven months later at Cycleland Speedway. The following season, he won nine races in 11 starts in the 500 cc Intermediate Division at the track. Fast forward to 2011, and Abreu was crowned Taco Bravo 360 Winged Sprint Car Series Rookie of the Year after making his first Chili Bowl Midget Nationals and World of Outlaws starts.

From 2013 through 2015, Abreu made over 100 starts each year in Midgets and Winged Sprint Cars, scoring double digit wins each season for a combined 57 victories. This January, the 22-year-old won the 30th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals after winning on the preliminary qualifying race three days earlier.

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