DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The fan sensation of NASCAR’s Truck Series stands 4-foot-4, operates from a custom-built cab, possesses an oversized personality, has produced world-class celebratory burnouts and is one of the most promising young drivers in racing.
“I’m a little person,” Rico Abreu said. “Or my name’s Rico. That’d be fine too, if you just call me by my name.”
There’s the last name too, which is pronounced like a synonym for a beer.
“Yeah,” Abreu said with a laugh. “A-Brew.”
No wonder he’s popular around the track. He faced a lengthy line at a fan autograph session here Friday afternoon and drove to huge cheers in that night’s 250-mile season-opening race here at Daytona International Speedway.
Abreu started 16th, ran in the middle of the pack for most of the night before getting caught in a wreck and finishing 29th.
Still, he’s just getting started. He is infectious. He is funny. He is open. He, at age 24, is just so happy to be here, running around an infield near all the major Sprint Cup stars rather than winning on dirt tracks somewhere.
Not that he doesn’t still love dirt tracks. When he won his second consecutive Chili Bowl National in Oklahoma he unleashed an epic burnout that went viral among race fans. He delivered 14 full spins, many of them with the front wheels of his car off the ground, to a roaring crowd that was soon chanting his name, “Ri-CO, Ri-CO.”
He then climbed the fence for good measure.
“I like to show my emotions after winning because I know how emotional fans get, how passionate fans can get,” Abreu said. “Sometimes we need to give back.
“I never really was good at [burnouts],” he said. “Every time I won I tried to do donuts here or there, but I never did them that good. So I stopped. But then I ended up doing that one at the Chili Bowl and it turned out really, really good. It’s just sometimes you get lucky.
“For a second I did get dizzy to be honest. It was pretty cool though.”
This is a sport that has always loved a showman. It is also a sport that loves authenticity and people comfortable in their own skin, and maybe no one does either better than Abreu, who despite looking like no other driver, seems to operate overwhelming self-esteem.
He’s not a novelty. He’s Rico.
“My unique stature, I’ve never let anything like that bother me,” he said.
Abreu was born with Achondroplasia, a genetic disorder that limits bone growth. However, growing up in tiny Rutherford, Calif., in the state’s famed wine country, he was treated like every other kid, especially by his parents. He played sports until they didn’t make sense. He wrestled in high school. He never asked for special treatment.
Mostly he never let anyone else define anything about him or set limits for him. He told the Associated Press that he was fine with coming to the conclusion that not everything was for him, but if someone else made that determination, he’d prove them wrong.
What he eventually found was a passion, and a talent, for racing, first motorbikes, then karts and now all the way to trucks, taking a season-long deal to operate the ThorSport Racing No. 98 Toyota.
NASCAR allowed the cab to be refitted to have a custom-made seat and the pedals and steering wheel set-up to fit his stature. As such, he feels he is on equal footing on the track.
“No disadvantage at all because of how comfortable I am in our cars and obviously NASCAR is allowing us to do all of these adjustments for me to fit in the car,” Abreu said.
If anything, he says his smaller size means he weighs less than other drivers, making the truck slightly lighter. So maybe that’s an actual advantage. He said he’s willing to have some weight put on the truck if necessary, just to make it fair.
(Even that’s not really an advantage, as NASCAR mandates a minimum weight for all trucks.)
“That’s about the only thing they can use against me,” he said with a laugh.
Abreu doesn’t care. He feels good about his chances. He acknowledges he’s inexperienced in trucks and stock cars and is still young and has a ton to learn, but that’s the fun part. He really just wants to have a good time and see what happens.
It’s what got him this far. He understands why his size turns heads, but this is racing, it’s all about finishing first and nothing else.
“I’ve just gone out and raced,” Abreu said. “I’ve been surrounded by a lot of good people. They’ve all put me in the right places at the right time; it’s worked out. Everything is put in place and they just leave it up to me to go out and win.”
Fans love him, are inspired by him, are charmed by him and can’t help but cheer for him. Even the biggest-name drivers are learning to enjoy the new guy – Dale Earnhardt Jr. couldn’t stop raving about him after Rico crashed a press session the other day to take a selfie with the NASCAR legend.
Out of wine country, of all places, comes this guy, of all people, to give the entire sport a blast of energy. It seems unlikely, until you see him drive and smile and celebrate.
Then it all makes perfect sense.
