Rico Abreu had the lead in the closing laps of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series race at Knoxville Raceway on Friday night, but something happened to his car and he slowed down the back stretch and pulled his car into the pit area.

The race ended in an amazing three-car battle between Logan Schuchart, Brent Marks, and Sheldon Haudenschild, with Marks coming out on top and getting the win.

Following the race, Abreu spoke with DirtVision’s Conner Wade about what caused him to slow and ended his night. Wade shared that there was a report that his engine expired and asked if that was the case. Abreu responded, “Yea, with a few, kinda 10 to go there I was having to change my lines up quite a bit. Just happy for this Tony Stewart Racing team. Just continuing to dissect this race car and get it really comfortable for me. It’s really fun to drive when they sit in the left rear and pull the right rear down and squeeze the corners and you can make a lot of mile per hour.”

“Great to have Ricky here tonight,” he continued. “He’s been home resting and working through a bunch of adversity as a team without him. It’s been interesting to race without our leader. And it’s been just tough at times, but I think what we’ve learned from all this is enjoy the present moment with him here and just being a part of this team with us. My car was really fast. He’s like the best ever to work on race cars here so it’s really fun to drive when he’s working on this thing.”

Abreu then confirmed his motor did indeed expire when he was asked if he would’ve been able to hold off the hornet’s nest that buzzing behind him, “I didn’t think there was much of a battle with them behind me. I never seen them or heard them. I know they were catching me with with probably 10 to go with my motor expiring. I just tried to run through it and then I felt some fuel getting on my lap and it’s not worth taking risks like that with where we’re at with the sport, and where I’m at racing for a championship. I think that you really have to pick these races apart. If it was the Knoxville Nationals it would be a different story, but this is a good setup for the Knoxville Nationals for us.”

Abreu received high praise from car owner Paul Silva for exiting the traffic rather than stopping on it and showing good sportsmanship to let the race play out under green. Silva lauded Abreu writing on X, “Rico Abreu showing great sportsmanship by quietly pulling off the track and letting the race play out. Too often, competitors stop for NO REASON and end up ruining what could have been a great race.”

@Rico_Abreu showing great sportsmanship by quietly pulling off the track and letting the race play out. Too often, competitors stop for NO REASON and end up ruining what could have been a great race. https://t.co/4D8MKEhlbz

— Paul Silva (@Paul_Silva57) June 13, 2026

Abreu is currently trekking across the country to the state of Washington to compete in the Jim Raper Memorial Super Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway. The multi-night event sanctioned by NARC begins on June 18t and runs through the 20th .

He will be back in action chasing the High Limit Racing championship when the series returns at the end of month on June 26-27 at Big Sky Speedway.

NEXT: Brent Marks Charges From Eighth To Knoxville Victory Lane