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As a rookie this year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ranks, dirt-racing standout Rico Abreu knew there would be a steep learning curve in his first season competing on bigger, paved speedways in race trucks.
But Wednesday's truck race at Ohio's Eldora Speedway half-mile dirt track is another story.
And Abreu, 24, would be happy to provide the fairy tale ending.
"Definitely, I'm looking forward to it," Abreu said in a recent phone interview, his voice animated with excitement.
"Just with my dirt experience and my success at Eldora, it's kind of like a plate race but without restrictors and without a superspeedway and you never know who's going to win. I feel like it's an even playing field."
Abreu nearly stood in Eldora's Victory Lane this past weekend, finishing second to Donny Schatz in the Tony Stewart -owned track's famed annual King's Royal World of Outlaw sprint event Saturday. He placed third in races the previous two nights.
But perhaps more important, he collected a vital scouting report on the track for this Wednesday's Aspen Dental Eldora Dirt Derby.
And Abreu has won at Eldora before. He beat the great Dale Blaney at Eldora in the 2014 All Star Circuit of Champions season finale – the same year he won the USAC Midget Series national championship. A year earlier, he won a USAC race there.
Clearly, Eldora is a place on the NASCAR schedule where Abreu feels at home, jokingly conceding the annual one-off dirt race might feel a bit like the Wild Wild West of racing.
"I think it's an advantage [to have raced over the weekend], it's just getting a lot of track time and kind of having the chance to see what the track is going to be like," Abreu said.
And of course, Eldora presents a huge opportunity to win and punch his ticket into the inaugural Camping World Truck Series Chase, too. Six races remain to set the eight-driver Chase field. Abreu currently is 14th in the driver standings.
"It's another chance I have of getting in the Chase," Abreu said. "And if I don't Wednesday night, I'll have another shot then at the next race. I'm not putting too much pressure on myself, not too worried. I'm going to enjoy being at Eldora with all my friends and enjoy the atmosphere."
"There's a ton of people there, a fireworks show and you get to see some asphalt trucks racing on dirt, which is new. For me to be a part of it, I'm really looking forward to it. I had a lot of fun watching last year from up in the spotter's stand and I never knew I'd have a chance to race in it."
The established, two-time series championship ThorSport Racing team signed Abreu to drive the No. 98 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra late this offseason. And with very limited pavement experience – although Abreu won a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Columbus, Ohio in his seventh start – he is a solid 14th in the truck standings with a pair of top-10 efforts. His best was a ninth-place finish on the Texas Motor Speedway high banks in June.
Abreu's longtime friend and fellow Californian, Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Larson , is a big supporter -- and this week at Eldora, a prime competitor.
"Man, Rico ... he almost won Texas a few weeks ago, so that was cool," said Larson, who drives the No. 42 Target Chevy for Chip Ganassi Racing.
"He's only been racing for less than 10 years. … It's always taken him a year or two to get things rolling where he can be consistent and figure out how to win, but once he does, he's as good as it gets.
"In sprint cars it took him three years, probably, and now he's considered a favorite every time he goes to the race track. He'll learn a lot throughout this year of Truck racing, and hopefully by the end of the year he'll be consistently in the Top 10."
Maybe even beginning weekend at Eldora.
"I'm very lucky to be doing all this stuff," Abreu said. "I just wish I was doing better, to be honest. I haven't had the best results this year. But we're close. I just need to put a whole night together, and really feel like Eldora could be the turning point of my season."