Rico Abreu Regrets Not Going Through Kyle Busch’s Development Program

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Dirt racing star Rico Abreu said he wishes he had gone through Kyle Busch‘s development program when he was trying to make it in NASCAR, and believes his career would look different if he had.

Abreu, who drives sprint cars for Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, made the comments on Black Flag Confessions with SpeedFreaks.

Abreu: ‘I would be in a different position’

“I honestly wish I would have got the opportunity when I was doing the stock car stuff to kind of go through his development program from the late models to the trucks,” Abreu said. “I feel like I would be in a different position as a race car driver in NASCAR to this day if I were to figure that out, that I needed to be with an individual like Kyle.”

https://x.com/SpeedFreaks/status/2116245626526773395

What KBM built

Busch started Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2010, and it became one of the top teams in the Truck Series. Erik Jones won the 2015 Truck title with KBM, and Christopher Bell won the 2017 title. Both moved up to Cup.

KBM won 100 Truck Series races before Busch sold the team to Spire Motorsports in 2023.

Abreu’s NASCAR run

Abreu won the 2014 USAC National Midget championship and back-to-back Chili Bowl Nationals in 2015 and 2016. He moved to stock cars in 2015, winning a K&N Pro Series East race at Columbus Motor Speedway, and drove full time in the Truck Series for ThorSport Racing in 2016.

He made 26 Truck starts in all before returning his focus to dirt racing.

Reaching out to Brexton

Abreu also worked with Busch through Busch’s Rowdy Energy drink brand, which became a primary sponsor on Abreu’s sprint car in 2021. He said he admired how Busch could race anything, and how he encouraged his son, Brexton, to race.

Busch died on May 21, 2026. Abreu said he reached out to Brexton and the Busch family afterward to offer his support, thinking about what his own father had taught him.

Busch won 63 Cup races and two Cup championships, in 2015 and 2019.