Tony Stewart has his new driver for the 2026 Sprint Car campaign — and it’s someone few expected to make a splash this silly season.

Rico Abreu is set to become the latest high-profile driver at Tony Stewart Racing as the St. Helena, Calif., fan favorite’s preparing to merge his No. 24 family-owned team and join forces with Stewart’s Brownsburg, Ind., operation at the conclusion of the 2025 season.

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The 33-year-old Abreu, who’s currently atop the Kubota High Limit Racing standings as Oct. 17’s finale at Texas Motor Speedway nears, is bringing along his entire race-day crew, including former TSR crew chief Ricky Warner, who cemented his National Sprint Car Hall of Fame legacy wrenching for Donny Schatz from 2005-18.

In that 14-year span, Warner guided Schatz's No. 15 TSR team to a staggering 264 wins, 10 titles on the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and 10 Knoxville Nationals crowns. Since joining Abreu’s family-owned team in 2022, Warner’s pointed the High Limit title frontrunner toward 44 feature victories while improving his win percentage each season.

From ushering Warner back into the fold at TSR to inheriting Stewart’s resources and robust assembly of sponsors, Abreu’s excitement is immeasurable. Not to mention he follows a pedigree of drivers that TSR’s employed, like Steve Kinser, Christopher Bell, Paul McMahan, Kraig Kinser, Kerry Madsen and Schatz.

“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 told FloRacing in a phone interview Tuesday before Abreu and Stewart made the announcement official on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s podcast, the Dale Jr. Download. “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.”

What won’t change for Abreu is his allegiance to the High Limit tour as he’s pledged his commitment to the FloRacing-backed series for 2026 and beyond, adding that High Limit “approved the lease of the franchise” owned by Rico Abreu Racing to TSR. Sweetening the deal even more, “he’s going to allow me to manage the team,” Abreu said of Stewart giving him reign over TSR’s revamped day-to-day operations.

Zack Middlebrooks and Brady Forbrook, two of Abreu’s trusted general mechanics, fill out the race-day crew entering 2026. Current TSR crew chief Todd Devnich, who took over head-wrench duties following Steve Swenson’s tenure from 2019-24, will “continue to be part of the team with us under management level,” per Abreu.

The Abreu-charged dynamic will operate out of TSR’s headquarters in Brownsburg, which coincidentally is located two miles from Joey Saldana’s race shop that Abreu’s rented and operated from since 2021.

“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 said. “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.”

Though Stewart’s Sprint Car teams have traditionally employed no other numbers than the Nos. 14, 15 and 20, Abreu intends on keeping his familiar No. 24, stressing that the number “is kind of my identity.” Acknowledging TSR’s heritage, Abreu would like to get creative with some throwback concepts, hinting that he’s already brainstormed paint scheme and marketing ideas for 2026.

“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.”

For more Sprint Car silly season news and updates, including additional stories surrounding Abreu's move to TSR, stay tuned to FloRacing's 2025 Sprint Car Silly Season Updates page.