What’s it like racing with Kyle Larson? Chili Bowl winner Rico Abreu gives his take

Kyle Larson's sprint car racing rival Rico Abreu has given his take on what it's like to race with the two-time Chili Bowl Nationals winner. The latter revealed how staying ahead of the former on the track lightens the burden from his shoulder and outlined how Larson is when he's in the stands and not on the track.

The 2021 Cup Series champion has etched his name as one of the dominant drivers in several disciplines. Be it 45 wins across all three NASCAR events, three crown jewel race victories, World of Outlaws triumph, two-time Knoxville Nationals win, and several other achievements, Larson has kept himself versatile.

While the hectic year-round NASCAR schedule leaves little room for the Hendrick Motorsports driver to foray into other motorsports, the Californian ensures his presence in the events he can. The HMS driver and his brother-in-law, Brad Sweet participate in various sprint car racing events where the two-time Chili Bowl winner Rico Abreu enters as one of their biggest rivals.

Ahead of the 63rd running of the Knoxville Nationals, Abreu was asked how he feels when he slides in between the hard-battling rivals- Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet.

"I just try to stay ahead of them [Brad Sweet and Kyle Larson] if I can, then I don't get to worry about it. They both bring so much to the sport, I think it's so cool and it's a luxury to race against Brad and Kyle," Abreu said via SpeedFreaks on YouTube (17:27).

"You can see him up in the stands and they're either cheering or booing for some of these guys and I think that's what we want to see," he added (17:59).

Kyle Larson snapped the High Limit Championship despite losing the final race to Rico Abreu

In 2022, Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet birthed the High Limit Racing, and the 11-race event officially began the next year. While Abreu aced the final race at the Lincoln Park Speedway, Larson was the one to collect the title.

Abreu started his 40-lap A-Feature race from the front spot, whereas Larson kicked off his run from seventh place. However, because the latter captured three High Limit Racing wins- at the Wayne County Speedway, the Tri-City Speedway, and the Eagle Raceway, his pursuit of clinching the title became relatively easier.

"It was a lot of fun," Larson said of the series via hendrickmotorsports.com. "Rico (Abreu) did a good job closing the gap all season. It got close there at the end but thankfully we were still able to edge him out."

Rico Abreu played his part successfully and secured the Lincoln Park Speedway win. However, Larson was required to finish seventh or worse for the former to bag the title, but that didn't happen. Despite starting from seventh place on the grid, the Californian gained four places as the debacle ended.

Thus, Kyle Larson emerged as the High Limit Racing champion after claiming a third-place finish in the season-finale race,