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 The final event of the 14-race NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season was
a major step for the NASCAR Drive for Diversity campaigner who
finished strong, posting all three of his top-10 finishes in the
last six races for Rev Racing.
"Hopefully, this is the start of something bigger and better," said
Cabre, who would like nothing more than to follow in the footsteps
of Kyle Larson, Darrell Wallace Jr. and Daniel Suarez, who have
advanced from the D4D program via Rev Racing and are competing in
NASCAR's highest divisions.
Cabre, originally from the Tampa, Fla., area, credited his crew at
Rev Racing, which has won at least two races every season and posted
17 victories overall since 2010 when it began fielding teams for the
NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program. Cabre is the sixth different
driver from the D4D program to win a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
event.
"It's definitely a great feeling when you walk into the (Rev) shop
and they have all these banners of people who have won for them,"
Cabre said. "Now, I get to hang my name up there."
Generally, Cabre's family attends races. But bad weather in Dover
caused by Hurricane Joaquin put a damper on those plans, keeping the
family home in Waxhaw, N.C.
"My dad was on the phone when I pulled into Victory Lane," Cabre
said. "He was crying -- all happy and emotional. I could hear the
rest of the family was in the background. But I knew (race
officials) were waiting for me. So I told him, 'Dad, I've got to go,
real quick.' I got to talk to him about a half hour later. I'd never
been to Victory Lane, so I didn't know what to expect."
Actually, Cabre had been to Victory Lane a few in 2011 -- once at
Citrus County Speedway in Florida, then at Indiana's New Paris
Speedway. But those were sprint car races on asphalt.
Although he'd run this season at Bristol Motor Speedway, he'd still
not encountered anything like the high-banked Monster Mile with the
level of competition he faced at Dover.
"To be honest, without practice or qualifying or being able to make
any adjustments to the car, it was kind of unbelievable to think we
were that good early in the race or late in the race," said Cabre,
who had a season-best finish of fourth in a race at VIRginia
International Raceway on Aug. 29 but hadn't led a lap all season.
"It's a huge confidence boost, not just to me but for the whole
team.
"To be honest, we never really ran as well as we did on Saturday. It
was kind of a shocker to us all to be able to come out and dominate,
especially in the second half like we did."
Cabre's No. 2 Toyota started 12th in the 31-car field after the rain
washed out qualifying and the field was set by the rule book. Cabre
quickly found he could run a low line that others could not match.
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Picking off opponent one-by-one, he was battling for the lead midway
through the race. Once he got past Rico Abreu with 58 laps to go,
there was no catching him.
"That was definitely the fastest we've been all year and it was a
blast," he said. "I have to admit, it was a little hairy getting
down in Turn 1 on that first lap, especially with a lot of rookies.
But once I figured out how much speed we could actually carry, that
was the fun part. Some of the laps, I never really got fully out of
the throttle."
Crew chief Matt Bucher said, "I think the best thing about working
with Collin this season was his willingness to listen and take in as
much information as we could throw at him.
"Every situation we've run into this year, he has never doubted what
we have done or asked of him. This goes a long way with our
confidence in him and his confidence in us as a crew. The more he
races, the better he gets, and I'm sure Dover won't be his last trip
to Victory Lane."
No matter how far racing takes Cabre, he can't help but thank his
family of Spanish descent (his great grandparents were from
Barcelona, Spain) -- father Lou and mother Lisa. There are also two
younger racing-crazy brothers: Chase, 18, who hopes to break into
Late Models next year, and Cole, 13. ""Without them and the
sacrifices they've made, I wouldn't be where I am," Cabre said.
Although Cabre's plans for 2016 aren't set in stone, he's looking
forward to a second shot with Rev Racing.
"Rev has been great, and they have that history of being able to put
drivers through to the Xfinity and Truck series and, eventually,
Sprint Cup," Cabre said. "Hopefully, I can make it that far.
Obviously, when you're in (racing) this deep and it's been a dream
of yours for a long time, you want to make it to the top to become
one of the elite in the sport."
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