AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Rico Abreu's avid pursuit of extracurricular racing in all forms of motor sports has become his calling card. Should a more steady gig in NASCAR become a reality, Abreu said he'd jump at the chance, knowing that another opportunity might not present itself.
The 23-year-old driver makes another step toward a NASCAR future with his Camping World Truck Series debut Friday at Phoenix International Raceway. He'll drive the No. 31 Chevrolet from the NTS Motorsports camp, aiming to return for the season finale next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Arriving Friday morning at Phoenix in preparation for his truck coming-out party, Abreu said he has no firm plans for 2016, but hopes that NASCAR figures in.
"I'd love to. This is something I enjoy, these stock cars," Abreu said. "I think my whole career from when I started, I've never been really stable in a series. I think this could be it. I just want to be given the right opportunity and make sure you have your shot, because I think you only have one shot at this deal and to be good at it and get in the right equipment. I would love to run whatever next year. Right now we don't have any plans and I basically just fill my sprint car races in when I'm not racing stock cars."
The winding down of the 2015 racing season might be a foreign concept to Abreu, who has rides in various racing disciplines planned for the winter months. On the NASCAR Next driver's busy offseason docket: the Turkey Night Grand Prix in Southern California on Thanksgiving night, the Snowball Derby in Pensacola, Florida, on Dec. 7; and a defense of his prestigious Chili Bowl sprint car title in Tulsa in January.
The immediate task at Phoenix and Homestead is learning the nuances of driving trucks, building on his successful first season of competition in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. Both stock-car series have given him a taste of driving heavier vehicles than sprint cars, but the transition to trucks also means longer races and the need for pit stops, a new experience for the short-track ace.
Simulating pit stops was part of Abreu's Thursday prep work as he turned the second-most laps in the series' lone practice, working on finding reference points on the 1-mile track and getting better acquainted with the Bob Newberry-owned team.
"If I can just take my time getting through there and just have a solid weekend, it'd be fun," Abreu said. "It's going to be fun."
Should a full schedule materialize as a result of the two-race audition with NTS, Abreu said he'd maximize his focus for an all-in effort, hinting that only select drivers are afforded second chances to make a splash in the sport.
"I just think there's another one coming behind you, a competitor, and they're all filling seats," Abreu said. "I feel like you have one shot at this and if you miss your opportunity, you're going to be sitting in the dust because there's so many young, talented kids coming up through the ranks that are hungry for their opportunity.
"It's something that I've really got to think about over the last few years, just because I see a lot of kids get left out that are very talented and don't get that opportunity, so just makes me really thankful for this situation I'm in, and you've just got to take advantage of it."