Rico Abreu invariably finds a way to turn adversity into opportunity.

Last year’s pyro-plagued accident in Perth that sidelined the sprint car star from the inaugural High Limit International with a broken wrist was no exception.

Abreu, the athlete, used his road to recovery as motivation to win the High Limit Championship.

Abreu, the marketer, transformed the fireworks frenzy into the “Aussie Bomber collection” at his eponymous online boutique.

“Just a little tribute to my experience last year in Australia,” Abreu said with a laugh. “Just having an injury, an unfortunate injury with fireworks and breaking my ulna.”

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No wonder fans adore him. And Aussies are no different.

Despite Abreu’s absence from the High Limit races last December, the Perth Motorplex still drew a near-capacity 27,000 over the three-day show. But when Abreu turned to Facebook on Christmas Eve to debut his Aussie Bomber die-cast sprint car, the response was overwhelming.

“Rico put a post out at 11 a.m. that he was going to do a pop-up sale of his die-cast cars, and immediately our phones started running hot,” recounts Perth Motorplex marketing coordinator Chris Mitchell. “Fans calling, ‘I'm leaving work right now, I'm coming to the Motorplex. Where do I go? Where do I park? How many cars can I buy?’

“We only knew about it because we saw it on social media and went, ‘Oh, Rico's coming to sell some cars.’ Let's figure this out.”

Although Mitchell parlayed the opportunity into a closed test for the local media, ultimately, fans were the true winners.

“We opened the gate and the line of cars from the competitor gate of fans waiting to buy those cars was out onto the main road," Mitchell added. "Just fans wanting to buy Rico diecast. That was all he was selling, just diecast. 

"So that value, that's what we're tapping into right now.”

Abreu’s four-foot, four-inch frame embodies such a huge personality that fans of all ages are immediately drawn to the driver. Younger, smaller fans just seem to gravitate to Abreu. He believes children can relate to someone their own size.

Regardless of the venue, the St. Helena Californian, who turns 34 next month, attracts a crowd wherever he goes. On Sunday, the line at his merchandise tent wrapped around the next pit.

Mikayla Overly waited patiently to meet Abreu. The 17-year-old from Perth was proudly sporting her “Aussie Bomber” T-shirt as she stood in line between the transporters.

What enticed the teenager to join Rico’s legion of fans? “He’s just that good,” Overly said. “He knows what he’s doing around the racetrack. Every time I watch him, he seems to learn something new.

“He’s a good dude. He’s good at what he does. All the fans love him—not just in America. All of us here do love him. He’s always out amongst the fans, which is really good.”

While the admiration for Abreu has always been high off the track, to earn Driver of the Year honors from the North American 410 Sprint Car Poll voting panel speaks to the commitment to his craft. He was equally proud of the accolades received by his team.

“That's what's most important” Abreu said of the team recognition. “I put everything behind my team and make sure people understand that. The work that goes into these race cars, preparation-wise, I make it a bigger point to understand that it's all about preparation in the sport. These races are won in the race shop.

“I just get the luxury to drive a fast race car and try to navigate it at a very professional level. So, I take a lot of that to heart, the work that gets put into it and the effort. When you see it both ways, that's where you know you get big accomplishments like we did this year.”

Abreu refuses to be complacent in his approach. Using his hands to demonstrate, he describes the “triangle effect.” The driver is just one piece of the equation. Without a successful, competitive program—and continual outreach to the patrons—the fans have no reason to connect.

“It's always been important to me to create an incredible experience for the fans,” Abreu said. “There's that level of engagement. I've always tried to stay steps ahead of everybody else. Just the comfortability of the race fans and the exposure that we've have.

“But, first and foremost, performing well, right? You have to perform well, and that creates a lot of notoriety.”

Abreu watched his popularity swell as he amassed 18 sprint car feature wins throughout 2025. The September announcement that he was joining forces with Tony Stewart Racing, followed by the High Limit title in October, elevated Abreu’s status even more.

“Now, coming over to Australia and allowing the fans to kind of see that, they get to feel that excitement,” Abreu said.” And it's been really, really cool to bring it all together.

“The fans are what completes the circle of the sport of sprint car racing. I really recognize their passion for sprint car racing and my passion for sprint car racing and the excitement High Limit has been bringing to sprint car racing. When it connects, it can be very powerful.”

Abreu will celebrate his 18th season of racing in 2026 as he joins forces with Tony Stewart Racing to defend his High Limit title. Although the champions have been friends for over a decade, Abreu’s role as an ambassador to motorsports is not lost on Stewart.

“I’ve always admired the way he races,” Stewart said after the pairing was announced last September. “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.”