Jacob Abel will start on the outside pole for Sunday’s race, while Yuven Sundaramoorthy will start on row three, the best starting position of his rookie INDY NXT season
PORTLAND, Ore. (August 24, 2024) – ABEL Motorsports put its pair of drivers in position to contend for victory on Sunday, working hard through the weekend to put two solid race cars on the grid for the 35-lap INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland.
At the end of the pair of 15-minute qualifying sessions on the tricky 12-turn, 1.967-mile road course, Jacob Abel had placed the No. 51 ABEL Construction Dallara in second position, with Yuven Sundaramoorthy (No. 22 S Team Motorsports/ABEL Motorsports) earning his best qualifying position of his rookie season, starting in fifth (after a penalty to a car ahead).
The ABEL crews and drivers worked together through two 45-minute practice sessions to optimize setups, balancing having both a stable platform and fast pair of race cars in Friday afternoon’s practice. Then in Saturday morning’s session, both drivers came out of the box hot, with Abel P1 and Sundaramoorthy P2 in the early going. The team continued to fine tune each car and on the combined session time sheet, Abel held the third quickest time and Sundaramoorthy the 12th fastest.
Qualifying took the green flag later in the afternoon, after NTT INDYCAR qualifying and two USF Pro Championships races leaving plenty of rubber on the racetrack. The 17-car INDY NXT field was split for qualifying, with Sundaramoorthy in the first session and Abel in the second, with 15 minutes for each group.
With ambient temperatures in the high 60s and track temps in the high 80s, Sundaramoorthy took the green flag, and immediately put the lessons from the practice sessions to use, putting himself P1 on his fourth lap. At the checkered flag, he held the third quickest in group one, but knowing that P1 would have a six-place grid penalty that would move Sundaramoorthy forward.
Abel headed out moments later, setting the group’s second quickest time on his third lap. As time wound down, Abel set a quick lap of 1:02.4418 to earn his sixth front row start of the season (allowing for the penalty to the car ahead of him).
“We had a lot more pace in the car than I brought out,” said Sundaramoorthy. “I just didn’t quite maximize the lap. I think our theoretical lap was pretty good there, but I didn’t get the most out of it. I think we had pace for third or fourth, but I’ll take P5 at the start. The start is just all about surviving. P5 means we have the inside, and that’s a little better, but we have to hope for less chaos than it’s been in the past.”
“We worked hard to get the cars well prepared for qualifying,” said Abel. “In a series that’s this close, you need everything you can get. We might be a little behind but big props to the crew for working on it all weekend long. We’ll see, we’ll see how the race goes – obviously, it’s always an interesting Turn 1 so we’ll see how it goes for the front row. I’d rather be on the inside of the front row but outside is the next best thing so hopefully we’ll be able to go for it.”
ABEL Motorsports thanks partners ABEL Construction Company, Advance Ready Mix, Boyd Cat®, S Team Motorsports, Quest Global and OMP for their continued support.
The INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland takes the green flag Sunday, August 25 at 1:10 p.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 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.
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/.
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