Rico Abreu could very well go from a driver yet to win a traditional Crown Jewel to living in Sprint Car racing lore if all goes according to plan this week at Eldora Speedway. That’s the magnitude of the Eldora Million, the richest event in short-track racing history at $1,002,023-to-win that’ll be streamed exclusively on FloRacing on July 12-13.

“It can change someone’s life and their livelihood,” the 31-year-old Abreu said. “It can change a car owner’s livelihood. It’s a million bucks.”

Anyone who follows Sprint Car racing knows a driver is ultimately known for their success in the Knoxville Nationals, Kings Royal and Williams Grove National Open, the original Crown Jewels that have ran collectively since 1984. But the Eldora Million? This is unlike anything Abreu and his competitors have set out for.

Of the event’s 82 pre-registered teams, perhaps no driver attracts a brighter spotlight and shoulders a weightier expectation than Abreu.

The St. Helena, Calif., driver is in the midst of his best season, a season that even Abreu himself pegs as a long time coming. He has four national touring wins on the year, one being at Eldora Speedway on May 6 with the World of Outlaws. The wins, however, aren’t what’s most impressive.

Abreu’s finished runner-up seven times in some of the biggest events so far this year, including the $250,000-to-win Huset’s High Banks Nationals two weeks ago, plus a pair of High Limit Sprint Car Series events at Tri-City Speedway and Eagle Raceway. That’s 11 top-two finishes in 35 races.

In 2021 when Abreu hired Ricky Warner as crew chief, an eight-time WoO champion with Donny Schatz at Tony Stewart Racing, life-changing success, like winning Thursday’s Eldora Million, is what he had in mind.

“That’s my vision for this whole thing,” Abreu said. “Yes, you throw in some big races and some big-energy races like this week, but I really look at this thing as a big picture and the longevity of it all. It’s a special time.”

Abreu is undoubtedly one of the favorites to win the Eldora Million, right alongside Kyle Larson, Brad Sweet, Brent Marks, David Gravel, Tyler Courtney and Schatz. But unlike his nearest competitors, Abreu hasn’t capitalized on his star power by winning a Sprint Car racing Crown Jewel.

Knoxville Raceway and Williams Grove Speedway have been challenging for Abreu. Eldora, on the other hand, is where he feels at home.

“Obviously everybody knows, and everybody’s seen, that we have speed at Eldora,” Abreu said. “It is one of my favorite tracks to compete at and I wish we raced there more in a season because it puts on such great racing, and the atmosphere there is a really cool experience. It’s cool to be a part of. From the hospitality of Eldora Speedway to the racing side, they just do it right there.”

VIDEO: Rico Abreu had a dominant car at Eldora in June before suffering a flat left-rear tire.

Abreu’s been on the quest for this kind of stability most of his life. He’s reached the pinnacle in other forms of racing before, like 2016 when he became a two-time Chili Bowl Nationals winner on top of his ‘14 USAC National Midget title. But Abreu never wanted to stick to Midget cars. He’s gone through Toyota Racing Development’s prized pipeline and tried climbing stock car racing’s ladder via the NASCAR Truck Series in 2015 and ’16.

But when Abreu decided before 2017 “I wasn’t going to sell my soul” to make it in NASCAR, he willingly returned to dirt racing. He’s been fully devoted to building a long-lasting Sprint Car team since. And before this year, it’s been far from enjoyable.

“That was the most critical part of my career were those years: 2018, ’19, ’20 and ’21,” Abreu said. “That four-year stretch there was the most critical time of the development process of me mentally; the ups and downs and the poor results. And the pressure from my father that nobody knows about and nobody sees. They just see the results or my emotional swings.

“Those are the times I grind through it all. I’m very humbled by those times. And even these times and this experience. It’s just cool for me to go through these times of good results because, not for myself, but for the people that have stuck with me and believe in me. I think that’s the most cherishing part about it all. And for them to see it, witness it, and see my team and I overcome things. That’s just the coolest part for me.”

Abreu’s team is more than just Warner. He’s worked with Zack Middlebrooks for four years now, a relationship where “we know each other really well and know what each other’s weaknesses are, and our strongpoints.

“You work off of those and that’s it,” Abreu said. “Ricky’s brought unbelievable knowledge to my team to bring it to the next level. That’s what I’ve been searching for for probably eight years now.

“It comes down to little detail things with my team. The speed, we’ve had consistency and speed. And Ricky and I have really found a balance together. We’ve worked through things when we’ve struggled. At the end of the day, I’ve raced with a team that believes in me. And I believe in them. I think that’s really what it comes down to.

“When you structure a team like we’ve done, it comes down to they don’t give up on me. Even when I make mistakes and we work through things, I don’t sit here and bash them when they make mistakes, and we work through things. It’s a process of execution. It all starts in the shop and our livelihood. We’re together all the time.”

VIDEO: Rico Abreu reacts after winning the Rayce Rudeen Foundation race earlier this year.

Abreu said “there’s only been a handful of races out of the 35 we’ve ran where we were scratching our heads wondering why we weren’t up to speed a lot faster” and he’s “just excited for my team to focus on putting them in a position to win the (Eldora Million).

“The biggest thing is the belief and confidence, and getting that back,” Abreu said. "It’s taken a team of people to help me do that. That’s what we worked through.

“You see people have success and they come and go. Wealthy people come into the industry. This sport, the richest people don’t win. They don’t buy the best parts and go out and win the race. It comes down to teamwork and structure and execution on the racetrack. And experience.”

Abreu doesn’t shy away from pondering what Thursday could do for not only his Sprint Car career, but his life in general.

“Like, I envision what it would be like to win a Crown Jewel event, which I haven’t theoretically,” Abreu said. “I’ve come close. I felt like last year at the Kings Royal we were pretty close. Knoxville I feel like I’m so far away … I have a lot of work to do as a race car driver to get to that level (at Knoxville).

"But at Eldora, we’re really close to being there and executing. I just envision it. I think that’s what you have to do to prepare yourself to win those races. It’s envisioning that experience of winning.”

Thursday’s chance to win more than $1 million isn’t just about Abreu. It’s a chance for Abreu to repay all those who ever believed him.

“As I said, it’s more about my team than it is myself,” Abreu said. “It’s the people that put in the hours to invest in me. … Those who know me know how much this means to me.”