By T.J. Buffenbarger
(September 17, 2025) — Major announcements of ride changes for 2026 as this season starts to wrap up continued Wednesday when Tony Stewart Racing announced Rico Abreu would drive for the team next season on the High Limit Racing tour.
Here are my takeaways from this blockbuster news.
• Even though the Abreu to TSR deal has been in the works a while now, it wasn’t a change I had on my radar. That’s not usual for drivers that drive their family or self-owned entry that are doing well. Typically, if a driver in that situation is doing well, I lean towards them not wanting to work for someone else.
In hindsight it is something that should have been in the forefront from the beginning.
When TSR made a change bringing Donny Schatz into the fold at TSR in 2008 they essentially brought the core pieces of Schatz’s operation to their operation. Bringing Abreu and his team’s core over to TSR is a page right out of their playbook including the return of Hall of Fame crew chief Ricky Warner to the team
Earlier this year when TSR and Schatz parted ways I contemplated if this might be the end of the line for their sprint car operation. My reasoning was simply there were no mountains left to climb for one of the most decorated operations in sprint car racing history. Apparently, the peak that has not been scaled yet is chasing a High Limit title with Abreu along with some of the crown jewel races in the spot.
Being a car owner is one of many thankless positions in Motorsports. I’m glad to see Tony Stewart Racing remaining in open wheel racing and making a move that only a select group of owners would be able to make in bringing in Abreu and various team members onboard.
• Rico Abreu has more than earned this opportunity based on his performance in recent years. Double digit victories the past three seasons and on track results should net him the ride, but Abreu is a tremendous addition to TSR based on several other factors off the racetrack.
Besides his talent, Abreu going to TSR also brings a lot of added value to the team’s partners. Abreu has worked hard off track to build up his personal brand. His social media presence is massive. I hate to use the term “well crafted”, because the Abreu you see in videos is the same person I’ve had conversations with on and off the record since 2015. What you see from Abreu online is very genuine.
Abreu has matured the past several years into putting a lot of work off track with everything surrounding his racing including putting people in the right places to help him along the way. Branding, merchandise, fitness and the results on the track matched the work ethic.
Now Abreu is stepping into an even brighter spotlight with Stewart’s team, which brings even more attention to a driver that has grown accustomed to being in the limelight of sprint car racing. I’m excited to see what the Abreu/TSR partnership brings to the sport on and off the track.
• Over the past two years with the High Limit series, I felt having Rico Abreu sign up to follow the entire tour was a key acquisition for the series. Having TSR sign up to follow their tour is another major milestone for High Limit during the early years of developing their brand.
One could argue that Abreu is the most popular driver with High Limit and could even make and argument for him being on the podium in all winged sprint car racing. The reaction when Abreu wins anywhere is double the volume of his counterparts when emerging from the car to celebrate after a victory.
Now High Limit has Abreu and the Tony Stewart brand to combine when going to sell the idea of visiting racetracks next year. Potentially there are TSR partners that will have hospitality at High Limit events next year, bringing more corporate presence to their events.
If High Limit Series owners Brad Sweet and Kyle Larson had a small celebratory dinner or beverage to commemorate this moment, I would understand. TSR coming over to High Limit is a moment of that magnitude for a series that is still in its infancy.
• Seeing TSR switch to the High Limit Racing tour for 2026 is not surprising with Abreu holding a charter with the series.
With this announcement the World of Outlaws lose one of their most recognizable teams for 2025. While TSR has not been as big of a force with the series this season, they have been consistently in the top five in points throughout the existence and Stewart’s name recognition with the team was beneficial.
TSR going to High Limit opens the opportunity for another team to step up and become one of the starting players with the Outlaws. Along with their established stars I felt the World of Outlaws roster this year had a lot of up-side for the future. While it’s more difficult to find team owners to fill those voids than drivers, it will be interesting to see if a team can use this change to gain some notoriety and
• When considering the sprint car free agent pool for 2026 having the TSR ride filled by someone that was not on many people’s radars looking to make a change, it makes what has already been a wild “silly season” even crazier.
Abreu to TSR brings a lot of intrigue to which players from both High Limit and the World of Outlaws could decide to make a change. This point in the season is when those types of deals to be finalized even if they are not announced for another month or two so plans can be made for next year.
The top teams have already been ordering parts for next season about five weeks ago. If I was a driver and didn’t have a seat secured for next season in the next week or so, I’d start to get nervous as things are starting to fall into place.