EAGLE, Neb. — The fourth annual FK Rod Ends Eagle Nationals popped off on Tuesday night with another packed house at Eagle Raceway showing up to watch 48 of the best sprint car drivers in the world vie for a $55,555 payday.
It didn’t take long for the theme of the night to become High Limit vs. World of Outlaws as the 40-lapper began with the defending champion from each series — David Gravel of the Outlaws and Rico Abreu of High Limit — starting from the front row.
The edge went to Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing off the jump as Abreu narrowly edged Gravel by 0.070 seconds to control the opening lap. As he sprinted off into lapped traffic, attention quickly turned to the battle for second as things heated up between Gravel and the current High Limit points leader entering the night, Aaron Reutzel.
It was that battle between Reutzel and Gravel which provided the most dramatic moment of the race on Lap 12 when Reutzel’s right rear flew off the Ridge & Sons Racing, PowerPlus No. 87 and eliminated him from contention — only a few circuits after he hit the wall while passing Gravel for the runner-up spot.
After that, Rico survived the restart, another jaunt into traffic, and then one final restart with 16 laps remaining to cross the finish line with a 2.148-second margin of victory.
The $55,555 payday felt like a long-awaited one for Abreu, who finally conquered the FK Rod Ends Eagle Nationals in his fourth try at the Nebraska bullring. He went toe-to-toe with Kyle Larson for the win in 2023 and battled with Carson Macedo for the lead in 2024, but had always fallen short in previous years.
Abreu’s fourth overall win of 2026 extended two of his all-time records with the series as he now owns 28 career wins with Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing and nine in the Roto-Rooter Midweek Series.
Due to Reutzel’s DNF and Abreu’s triumph, the ninth championship lead change through 21 races occurred as the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing No. 24 regained the top spot by 39 points over the Ridge & Sons Racing No. 87.
Following Abreu to the checkered flag with a hard-fought second-place finish was Gravel aboard the Big Game Motorsports No. 2.
Leading the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series points in pursuit of his third championship, Eagle on Tuesday marked a whopping 15th podium through 28 starts this season for Gravel and the No. 2 team.
Chasing the two defending national champions in third was 26-year-old Garet Williamson, marking his career-best effort with Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing aboard the Fischer Motorsports No. 23.
Completing the top five was another pair of full-time World of Outlaws competitions with Sheldon Haudenschild finishing fourth in the KCP Racing No. 18 and Buddy Kofoid crossing fifth in the Roth Motorsports No. 83.
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 24-Rico Abreu[2]; 2. 2-David Gravel[1]; 3. 23-Garet Williamson[5]; 4. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[4]; 5. 83-Michael Kofoid[11]; 6. 17-Spencer Bayston[10]; 7. 14-Corey Day[20]; 8. 41-Carson Macedo[24]; 9. 10-Ryan Timms[14]; 10. 57-Kyle Larson[21]; 11. 39M-Kasey Kahne[6]; 12. 19-Brent Marks[12]; 13. 26-Justin Peck[15]; 14. 9-Daison Pursley[26]; 15. 88-Tanner Thorson[17]; 16. 5-Brenham Crouch[16]; 17. 88W-Austin McCarl[18]; 18. 55-Kerry Madsen[7]; 19. 1K-Kelby Watt[13]; 20. 6-JJ Hickle[9]; 21. 45X-Rees Moran[22]; 22. 77-Giovanni Scelzi[23]; 23. 42-Sye Lynch[19]; 24. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[25]; 25. 13-Tanner Holmes[8]; 26. 87-Aaron Reutzel[3]