Tony Stewart Racing has signed 2014 USAC National Midget Series champion Rico Abreu for the 2026 Sprint Car series, confirming the news on the Dale Jr. Download podcast.
Abreu currently leads the Kubota High Limit Racing standings after securing nine victories so far this season.
“Rico has proven to be a tremendous talent behind the wheel, but also a great ambassador for the sport,” said Tony Stewart, owner of Tony Stewart Racing.
“Rico and I have been good friends for a long time, and I’ve always admired the way he races. He competes with passion, and he is the gold standard for the way he represents his partners and the sport.
“Rico is the complete package, and we’re genuinely excited to have him join our program.”
Abreu shared his excitement about joining “one of the most respected programs in all of racing.”
“Driving for Tony Stewart Racing is a dream come true,” Abreu commented. “Tony has built one of the most respected programs in all of racing, and having the chance to represent TSR feels like a huge reward.
“Tony has been a friend and mentor to me for many years, and to go racing with him in High Limit Racing is a surreal opportunity that I’m excited to begin.”
Abreu opened up about his upcoming move during a separate interview with FloRacing.
“I see it as tying myself to a top-tier establishment. Like, I don’t know if you find anything bigger or better than Tony Stewart Racing in our industry,” Abreu said.
“If you really break it all down, resource-wise, when it comes to data and dissecting Sprint Cars on the mechanical side and infrastructure internally, like, I can’t provide my team with what he has built over 25 years.”
The 33-year-old driver is set to bring his entire race-day crew with him to Tony Stewart Racing.
“There’s a place for everybody. I don’t really put titles on my employees or with these guys just because they all can do every single job on the cars,” Abreu added.
“I hate, like, diverting to a tire guy or car chief, but Ricky’s a crew chief … Todd can be a crew chief … Ricky essentially is the leader of the pack. And then we kind of work underneath him.”
He also confirmed that he is planning on keeping his No. 24, despite Tony Stewart Racing usually not straying from either Nos. 14, 15 or 20.
“I thought about the No. 14, but I would rather do something around an occasion, a special event, a possible throwback car … maybe you leave all that stuff open to doing cool things,” Abreu said.
“The fans, they love that s—. I think it’s important you build campaigns. We built some really exciting stuff around our partnerships with Whiskey Myers and Kubota, and I’d love to bring that to them, if it’s Carquest or Advance (Auto Parts), they have some incredible partners (at TSR).
“I would really love to do some cool stuff … that brings excitement, that brings great energy. These events have incredible energy. To be able to add to that with a special car that has a story, and then brand the car, I feel that’s the s— that separates us, the activation side of the business.”