Rico Abreu achieved a long-sought win at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday night, narrowly defeating Kyle Larson in the 35th running of the Xtream Powered by Mediacom 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank. Since first competing at Knoxville in 2013, Abreu had aimed to capture one of the track’s most prestigious trophies, and his persistence finally paid off against the NASCAR Cup Series star in this intensely contested event.
Abreu’s Journey and Strategy Leading to the Win
Abreu, 33, from St. Helena, California, has consistently entered the 410 Sprint Car NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals since his debut, continuously refining his performance on the famed half-mile oval. This year, he chose to also compete in the 360 Sprint Car event, a strategy aimed at gaining extra track time ahead of the 410 Sprint Car main event scheduled for the following week. Dominating 28 of the 30 Feature laps, Abreu confirmed his capability to win the world’s most esteemed dirt open-wheel race.
Race Developments and Key Moments Between Abreu and Larson
Abreu started on pole position and maintained control for the majority of the race, leading nearly unchallenged for the first 22 laps. The dynamic shifted after a caution on Lap 23, when Larson, starting fourth, gained momentum and overtook Abreu coming out of Turns 3 and 4 to take the lead. Abreu described the challenge, stating,
“My car just kept getting a little bit tighter and tighter as we got those restarts. I knew that I wanted to cover the bottom lane just to block [Larson’s] run if he was taking off with me. I didn’t really know how he was taking off. I got tight that one corner and it allowed him to get wound-up and get ahead of me.”
—Rico Abreu
Larson detailed his advantage on that restart, mentioning,
“I was able to, honestly, just take off before he did on that one restart. I was to his outside, and [my engine] was stumbling, and [Abreu] took off. I was close enough to be able to be there when he missed the grip there a little bit in (Turn) 2 and then got outside of him and ran a decent 3 and 4. I was just hoping it would stay green from then on because I knew I’d be in trouble with a caution.”
—Kyle Larson
Final Restart Drama and Abreu’s Decisive Move
After another caution brought the field together, Abreu seized the moment on the final restart. With a decisive slide job through Turns 1 and 2, he reclaimed the lead from Larson and held on to cross the finish line first. Abreu explained,
“I tried to just take off with him. The restart before that, I got super tight on the entry to (Turn) 1 and it allowed [Kyle] to get to my right-rear. I had to slow the pace down so much to not miss the grip with how fine the moisture was in 1 and 2. I just knew that it was so difficult to get it wound-up down there.”
—Rico Abreu
Teamwork Behind Abreu’s Success
Beyond Abreu’s driving skill, the role of crew chief Ricky Warner proved vital to his victory. A National Sprint Car Hall-of-Fame inductee, Warner has guided multiple 410 Knoxville Nationals winners and now adds a 360 Nationals championship to his accolades. Abreu noted the personal significance of winning an event important to Warner:
“I told Ricky at the beginning of this year that I’d like to run this race. I know it’s an important one for him, and now one that he can knock off his list of accomplishments.”
—Rico Abreu
Race Results and Podium Finishers
Kyle Larson finished second, achieving his best result in the 360 Nationals since a third-place finish in 2013. Indiana’s Parker Price-Miller took third place behind the wheel of the Indy Race Parts No. 71P for the second night in a row. Oklahoma’s Ryan Timms finished fourth in the Shane Liebig-owned No. 10 car, while Justin Peck rounded out the top five driving the Rudeen Racing No. 26.
What’s Next for the American Sprint Car Series
The series will continue its racing schedule on August 15 and 16 at WaKeeney Speedway and El Paso County Raceway. Fans can purchase tickets at the track on race days or watch all the action live via the DIRTVision streaming service, ensuring no laps will be missed as the championship moves forward.