Two years ago, Rico Abreu started second at the Knoxville Nationals but finished seventh, leaving with a weight of disappointment that his best chance of winning Sprint Car’s ultimate Crown Jewel had gone by the wayside.

In this year’s installment, the St. Helena, Calif., fan favorite quite literally flipped those positions — starting seventh and finishing second — bringing home his best-ever Nationals finish. The 33-year-old was never within striking distance of winner Ryan Timms — nobody really was — as Abreu didn’t move his way into second around Carson Macedo unto four laps.

Still, Abreu, now in his fourth year with 10-time Nationals-winning crew chief Ricky Warner, had nothing to be ashamed of. His team just keeps getting closer and closer to their breakthrough triumph in The Granddaddy of Them All.

“I think anytime you run on the podium at the Knoxville Nationals, you have a successful run,” Abreu said. “I know my time’s coming. I work hard enough for it. I really think you really have to earn these wins, and it allows us to continue to come back each year and build our team up. I’m looking forward to next year.”

Despite coming second, it was @Rico_Abreu’s best #KnoxvilleNationals finish.

Two years ago he started second and faded to seventh, his best run to that point.

Gotta love Rico’s optimism and the way he praises Ryan Timms, whose car he called “a Cadillac.” pic.twitter.com/cSEivns3kJ

— Kyle McFadden (@ByKyleMcFadden) August 10, 2025

Abreu made most of his moves after the scheduled open red at the lap-25 halfway break, only passing two cars — fourth-starting Brad Sweet and fifth-starting Sheldon Haudenschild — the opening 25 laps. As Timms eventually busted out to a four-plus-second lead, Abreu noticed the race "was just a fast, torrid pace,” even giving credit to Timms’s Shane Liebig-owned team for “an unbelievable job getting their car prepped right.”

“When you get into that position to get our front and log laps, Ryan can’t see in his rearview mirror, but it was a dogfight back there to get to those podium spots,” Abreu said. “I think my team did an unbelievable job just execution at the break. We continued to pass cars, that’s that we come here to do is position ourselves.”

In the second half of the feature, Abreu quickly passed Corey Day and Logan Schuchart to get into third by lap 30, but rode there until he got around Macedo with four laps remaining. Abreu did attempt to pass Macedo via slide job on the lap-32 restart, but couldn’t complete the pass.

“I’m more than happy for my team, and congratulations to Ryan, what an incredible career,” Abreu said, “I just sit back and watch his success with the team that’s put together for him, you can see in those guys’ eyes the belief they have in him and for him just to drive a Cadillac around there is pretty cool to watch.”

As Abreu approaches his mid-30s, he keeps improving results and Crown Jewel-winning prospects. This year he’s on pace for his winningest season yet, compiling 11 feature victories in 45 features for a 24.4 percent win rate. Last year he won 11 times in 71 races and in 2023 he put forth his best season to date with 13 wins in 71 events.

Should Abreu finish the year at his winning rate and log 70-plus events again, he’ll be on pace for close to 20 wins. And with Tyler Courtney and Aaron Reutzel on the mend, he’s essentially second in the Kubota High Limit Racing standings at 29 points behind Brad Sweet.

“I just focus on the consistency of the team and the employees, and the infrastructure of the direction we take our cars and our engines,” Abreu said. “You know, we’re always dealing with obstacles in the sport of Sprint Car racing.”