- INDY NXT by Firestone points leader Jacob Abel will start Sunday’s Grand Prix of Detroit on the outside of the front row in the series 500th race
- Teammate Yuven Sundaramoorthy earns a season-high qualifying position of ninth
DETROIT (1 June 2024) – INDY NXT by Firestone points leader Jacob Abel scored his fifth straight front row start on Saturday, while teammate Yuven Sundaramoorthy earned his season’s best starting position for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Detroit on the streets of the Motor City.
This weekend, Abel carries a color scheme on his No. 51 Dallara that represents the new BlueOval SK pair of facilities: a six square mile auto production complex in Tennessee and a pair of plants in Kentucky that will manufacture the next generation of electric vehicle batteries. The BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Ky., ABEL Construction Company’s largest project to date, will create 5,000 new jobs when it reaches capacity.
Drivers Jacob Abel (Louisville, Ky.) and Yuven Sundaramoorthy (Oconomowoc, Wis.) came into the weekend determined to post top finishes in the INDY NXT series’ 500th race. Teams had a total of 90 minutes of practice time between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning sessions to dial in the pair of Dallaras. With Abel and Sundaramoorthy each working on finding the balance between speed and consistency on the bumpy streets of Detroit, their combined practice times put them in fourth and 18th, respectively.
With the series splitting the 21-car field into two groups for qualifying, Abel started in group one – which turned out to be the unfavorable draw, as the IMSA sports car warm up had deposited a different kind of rubber on the racetrack just before the session. Undeterred, Abel immediately went to the top of the time sheets, holding P1 as the field decreased their times with each lap. But with six minutes remaining, a car in the turn 1 tires brought out a red flag. The session went green again with just enough time for Abel to post one timed lap but not enough time to get the tires up to temperature, as he took the checkered flag in P1 by half a second over James Roe, guaranteed a front row start.
“Our car was strong from the start of the weekend,” said Abel. “There was way more in it – being in the first group with the IMSA rubber down put us behind, so we knew it was going to be tough to get pole. Then the red flag made it pretty much impossible. But we’ll definitely take the front row start, especially given how tough the circuit is. It’s tight, and traffic is always a problem, but we were able to put it together in qualifying, we were just in the wrong group. We know how tricky turn 1 is here so we’ll watch the starts from last year to see what the best course of action might be.”
In group two, Sundaramoorthy was determined to move up the timing sheet, pushing hard early – hard enough to glance off both the turn 6 and turn 7 walls, bending the toe links and setting the steering wheel askew. But Sundaramoorthy refused to relent, continuing the charge and posting a lap just over a tenth back of Abel’s before a late red stopped the action. With only one timed lap possible when the green came back out – and knowing from the previous session that the tires would not come up to temperature – Sundaramoorthy returned to pit lane to conserve his tires, having put himself into a season-high ninth place on the grid.
“I guess I would have been P2 in the first session!” said Sundaramoorthy. “I messed up on lap two and hit the wall, I think we had much more in it, but I got a decent lap and worked on bringing it home. Both toes were off, but I still think we could have gone faster. A long race tomorrow to make some moves.”
ABEL Motorsports thanks partners ABEL Construction Company, Advance Ready Mix, Boyd Cat®, S Team Motorsports and OMP for their continued support.
The INDY NXT by Firestone Detroit Grand Prix takes the green flag Sunday, June 2 at 10:20 a.m. ET. The race will be streamed live in the U.S. on Peacock, while international viewers can watch via INDYCARLIVE, with INDYCAR Radio available at indycar.com and on Sirius XM.
About BlueOval SK
BlueOval SK is the joint venture between Ford Motor Company and SK On to produce batteries for future Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles. SK On is a subsidiary of SK Innovation and has deep expertise in battery production. BlueOval SK will operate twin battery manufacturing facilities in Glendale, Kentucky and one battery plant in Stanton, Tennessee starting in 2025. BlueOval SK will electrify the future of mobility with innovative technology.
About Abel Construction Company: ABEL Construction is one of the largest general contractors in Kentucky, holding licenses in thirteen states. The company has offices in Lexington, Kentucky and Indianapolis, Indiana, with the corporate office in Louisville. Their expertise spans many areas, including general contracting, construction management, design-build, Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), and facilities maintenance.
Abel Construction has helped build some of the region’s most recognizable landmarks. Their projects cover diverse sectors, including automotive, healthcare, post-secondary education, commercial, food/beverage, tech, and industrial/manufacturing. They prioritize client satisfaction, focusing on efficient project delivery regardless of size or cost. The company’s skilled professionals utilize cutting-edge technology and software to ensure successful outcomes. abelconstruct.com/.
About ABEL Motorsports: Team principal Bill Abel began racing motocross in 1972, earning numerous championship titles as he continued the family racing tradition. In 2015, ABEL Motorsports was launched, starting in the USF2000 series and building up the junior open wheel ladder. The team captured the inaugural Formula Regional Americas Championship with driver Kyle Kirkwood in 2018.
ABEL Motorsports currently competes in the INDY NXT by Firestone series, the official development series for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, led by third-generation driver Jacob Abel. The team made its INDYCAR debut in 2023 with driver RC Enerson in the Indianapolis 500. For more information visit the official team website at abelmotorsports.com.
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