Chili Bowl winner Rico Abreu makes move to NASCAR

The significance of the moment didn’t hit Rico Abreu until the next morning when he was on a flight to Chicago. That was when the pilot announced over the intercom a special guest was aboard the plane: The 2015 winner of the Chili Bowl Nationals, Rich Abreu.

Yeah, the pilot may have gotten his first name wrong, but the intent was there as was the effect on Abreu, who last Saturday won the prestigious Chili Bowl, a Midget race featuring over 300 drivers.

”When we landed they announced on the plane that the Chili Bowl National winner is on this flight, Abreu said during a teleconference Tuesday. “They actually said ‘Rich Abreu,‘ and then they came back and said ‘Rico Abreu’ and everyone started laughing.”

Held in Tulsa, Okla., the Chili Bowl has evolved into one of the biggest races in North America with some of the best sprint car drivers converging on the quarter-mile indoor dirt track. Among the participants this year included the past two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Years, Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., as well as a bevy of big names in attendance -- most prominently Tony Stewart, a two-time Chili Bowl winner (2002, ‘07), Danica Patrick, Kurt Busch and Roger Penske.

But amidst all the star power it was the 4’4 driver who weighs all of 95-pounds that stole the show and garnered the headlines. Completing a daring pass of defending winner Bryan Clauson, Abreu took the lead with 28 laps remaining to grab his first Chili Bowl victory.

It was a victory that was extremely popular. Abreu, who uses foot blocks to reach the accelerator, exited his Midget car to chants of “Rico! Rico! Rico!” from the sold-out crowd.

Immediately on Twitter, Patrick, Stenhouse, Larson, Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne were among those posting congratulatory tweets. Even NASCAR and IndyCar car owner Chip Ganassi, who before Saturday had only posted one tweet, was moved by Abreu’s performance writing (since deleted): “There’s a name you’ll be hearing more of. Stay Tuned!”

Not so coincidentally, Ganassi is playing a part in the next stage of Abreu’s career. On Tuesday it was announced the 22-year-old will be transitioning to NASCAR and running the full K&N Pro Series East schedule in 2015 for HScott Motorsports. Additionally, Abreu will become a Chip Ganassi Racing developmental driver, according to an ESPN report, a deal which was already in place before Abreu’s Chili Bowl triumph.

“When I grew up I played sports and I wrestled in middle school, and all my friends and classmates kind of outgrew me,” Abreu said. “I was limited to the things I could do and I became a big race fan. Well, I didn’t even think I could race until I did it for the first time, let alone be so competitive so quickly in my career.

“It’s just so cool to have the feeling that people really believe in you and would like to see you achieve. I think a lot of people believe in me, and it gives me a lot of confidence and humbles me. I’m glad that people can really see who I am and they don’t judge me for what I look like or why I’m doing it. I’m doing it because I’m a racer and I love the sport.”

The path Abreu now finds himself is similar to the one Ganassi placed Larson on in 2012. Like Abreu, Larson was a dirt sprint car driver with no experience racing on pavement.

Signed to a developmental contract Larson competed in the East Series that season and would go on to win the championship. The following year he moved to the Xfinity (formerly Nationwide) Series and then to Sprint Cup in 2014 where Larson took Rookie of the Year honors.

Abreu and Larson are close friends, with Larson playing an instrumental role in introducing Abreu to sprint car racing just a few years ago:

“I’ve known Kyle for the last six years and I consider him a brother,” Abreu said. “His parents really could be my mom and dad just how close we are or how close I am to his family and him. So Kyle is definitely the one I really look up to and the one I can go to for anything just because our close friendship and relationship we have together.”

Abreu’s stock car debut comes in a Super Late Model race Saturday at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway, the same track the East Series opens its season Feb. 15.

To accommodate for Abreu’s size, his East Series stock car will be configured much like his sprint car. Working closing with NASCAR, Abreu’s team has used spacers to move the seat closer to the pedals

“The pedals are mounted right under the dashboard and the dashboard is moved up closer to me where I can reach all the electronics,” Abreu said. “Everything is correct and nothing is way far off. If you look in my cockpit, it’s hard to tell there is a difference. The only difference is I’m sitting a lot closer and the pedals are closer to me, but the adjustments aren’t that bad.

“NASCAR came and saw all the improvements and they’re fine with it all. They said everything is safe and looks safe, and I feel safe in the race car so I think that is the big first step.”