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Topic: It's official. Rico is going stock car racing.
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Page 1 of 1 of 16 replies
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January 20, 2015 at
09:15:44 AM
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http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/12197346/nascar-little-rico-abreu-getting-big-break
Following in Larson's footsteps as a developmental driver for Ganassi and he'll be racing for HScott Motorsports.
Ask Frank
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January 20, 2015 at
09:22:08 AM
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Figured that would be coming soon. Good Luck Rico
http://gph.is/XMLGff
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January 20, 2015 at
09:24:37 AM
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Good for Rico!
Not so good for us....
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January 20, 2015 at
09:41:28 AM
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Barf. (Not that I'm not happy for him if that's really where he wants to go)
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January 20, 2015 at
09:53:16 AM
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05/31/2007
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Rico seems like a guy who will stay involved in sprint cars, regardless of where his career takes him.
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January 20, 2015 at
10:02:38 AM
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How has this not happened with schatz
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January 20, 2015 at
10:09:39 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: outlaw89 on January 20 2015 at 10:02:38 AM
How has this not happened with schatz
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He's too old now. No team is going to want a 37 year old with no stock car experience. Larson and Rico have both benefitted from getting in multiple types of cars and winning a lot of races in them all. Chris Bell will be the next one to follow them because he's doing the same thing. Schatz has been a winged sprint car driver his whole life and has never ventured out into any other cars except for his late model racing he's done the last few years. It doesn't matter how many Knoxville Nationals and World of Outlaws titles he's won, NASCAR owners want youth and versatility (or a ton of pavement experience).
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January 20, 2015 at
11:00:31 AM
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Reply to:
Oh certainly. I wasn't trying to knock the guy or anything. I was just saying at this point in his career he will remain a World of Outlaws sprint car driver and will always be remembered for that. He very possibly could have been a top NASCAR driver if everything would have worked out that way for him during the early part of his career. But his career stuck with winged sprints and he'll always be known as one of the best in that class of car.
Ask Frank
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January 20, 2015 at
02:23:28 PM
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I'm sure people will blast me for saying this, but here goes.
There's a lot more to getting these Nascar opportunities than just driving ability.
Marketability. Donny may be the best sprint car driver on the planet right now, but his people skills and 'likeability' are in the crapper. Larsen and Abreau are likeable and marketing machines for sponsors. Does Donny 'wow' you when you hear him speak on camera or in person? Yeah, me neither and I can bet safely and say marketing folks see the same thing.
Diversity. The Nascar world is ruled by white males. But the marketing world is trying to get Nascar to understand they need to promote more diversity in their driver ranks to keep the sponsorship dollars flowing. Larsen has an asian ethnicity. Rico brings a dimension the racing world rarely, if ever, sees - a little person that is one hell of a driver and has an incredible personality. He is a marketing dream. Why do you think Danica is still around? Sure as hell isn't because of good results.
Donny, just like Steve and Sammy before him - will likely struggle to get the opportunity to succeed in Nascar. Not because of driving ability - because he doesn't have the diversity background and he doesn't have the charisma needed to impress a marketing manager at the Nascar level.
Some may ask - then why do so many white males make it big time in Nascar? Take a look at these guys - good looking, very personable both on camera and in person, and then sprinkle in being excellent drivers. And then you have the guys who bought their way into Nascar. Can't deny that doesn't happen.
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January 20, 2015 at
05:32:59 PM
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What I understand is Tony offered for him to drive a Nationwide car if he wanted to and Donny turned it down.
http://gph.is/XMLGff
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January 20, 2015 at
10:24:37 PM
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Rico belongs in an Indy car, not some stupid stock car.
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January 25, 2015 at
11:38:33 AM
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Ward Burton made it and it was difficult to understand his interviews
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January 25, 2015 at
01:38:11 PM
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Ive been told that Schatz definitely plenty of opportunities to race asphalt stock cars. He just never had the desire. He has such a burning desire to be the greatest sprint car driver of all time and thats what he is gunning for.
Brandon McLain
United Sprint Car Series Driver
2014 Season
National Rookie of the Year!
National Points - 8th
Southern Points - 3rd
Asphalt Points - 3rd
18 Races, 3 Top 5's, 14 Top 10's
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January 25, 2015 at
06:52:56 PM
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Rico raced from his 23rd starting spot to 9th when the rearend broke putting him out for the night.
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January 25, 2015 at
07:45:12 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: outlaw89 on January 20 2015 at 10:02:38 AM
How has this not happened with schatz
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Dunkin Donuts wouldn't come on as a full time sponsor and Nascar wouldn't allow for a larger window opening. 
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January 25, 2015 at
11:25:54 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: daytimer on January 25 2015 at 11:38:33 AM
Ward Burton made it and it was difficult to understand his interviews
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When Ward was asked why he had such a heavy southern accent and Jeff Didn't, he'd say, "I was born on the southern side of the house".
Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.
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January 26, 2015 at
08:28:20 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: BIGFISH on January 25 2015 at 11:25:54 PM
When Ward was asked why he had such a heavy southern accent and Jeff Didn't, he'd say, "I was born on the southern side of the house".
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFux9ON0fs8
This is appropriate.
Ask Frank
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