- Jacob Abel retains the INDY NXT by Firestone points lead with his fifth podium in six races
- Yuven Sundaramoorthy earns his best finish of the season to date, while Jordan Missig gets caught up in an incident ahead, ending his day early
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (9 June 2024) — ABEL Motorsports scored its fifth podium finish of the INDY NXT by Firestone season on Sunday, as Jacob Abel finished a hard fought third in the 20-lap Grand Prix of Road America.
For teammates Yuven Sundaramoorthy and Jordan Missig, it was a tale of two different outcomes, as Wisconsin native Sundaramoorthy earned his best finish of the season while Illinois’ Jordan Missig bore the brunt of an incident between two cars ahead which knocked him out of the race.
Abel started the race in fourth position, with Sundaramoorthy 11th and Missig 15th in his second race weekend with the team. At the green flag, Abel slid to the inside and took third in turn 1, and then set his sights ahead, filling the mirrors of pole sitter Jamie Chadwick.
Sundaramoorthy was on a charge of his own, taking 10th on lap one. Forced wide in turn six, he returned the favor in the following corner to take ninth. Missig was also forced off in turn 6 but held his ground, moving into 13th when two cars ahead made contact, bringing out a yellow.
Going green on lap 6, Abel fended off a challenge from Louis Foster through the first corners, keeping the championship’s second place driver behind him. Sundaramoorthy battled hard in a group of five, holding ninth. Missig continued his charge, taking 11th just before a car off course brought out another yellow.
Restarting on lap 11, Abel got a solid run up the hill to turn 1 and made a move – but as they diced, Foster closed up the gap, getting the draft and passing Abel, putting him back to third. With five to go, Abel and Foster traded positions – and paint – through several corners. Missig made a pass for 11th but two cars ahead made contact, collecting Missig and sending him into the turn one gravel. Only three laps remained, so race control threw the red flag, bringing the field to pit lane, with Abel in third and Sundaramoorthy eighth.
At the green flag, Abel aimed for the leaders while Sundaramoorthy fought hard in the group battling for sixth, taking seventh but then finding himself freight trained back to ninth at the checkers, with Abel third and Missig scored in 20th.
Abel’s lap 14 was the race’s quickest lap, at 1:53.2301. He now leads the championship by 19 points.
Post race, both Abel and Missig were understandably disappointed, while Sundaramoorthy was appreciative – not only for his first top 10 finish, but for all the friends and family in attendance.
“First of all, big congrats to Jamie, she’s been working hard for this for a while and she did a good race there up front,” said Abel. “We had a good battle there the first half of the race, but she was able to hold on to it. Louis (Foster) and I were battling a bit there at the end, really just good hard racing. I think we made contact a couple of times, but it is what it is, we’ll take the points and move forward. But it is a bit disappointing, we had the fastest car, the car to beat today. You’re never happy when that’s the case and you finish third, but it’s a good day when you are disappointed with third. We still have the championship lead, so just keep up the consistent results and eyes forward to Laguna.”
“It was great to be back at my home track,” said Sundaramoorthy, from nearby Oconomowoc. “I had a dozen friends out here today, so I’m happy to have a pretty good race for them. I was happy with the pace – the car was incredible, I just needed to find a bit of pace myself. It was good hard racing out there; the key was just to put the car where someone else was not. I had a bunch of contact, but it was still a fun race, one of the most fun races I’ve ever done. I wish I hadn’t lost a couple positions; I made a couple of poor outside pass choices. I think if I had stayed inside, I would have P5 or better.”
“Not sure exactly what happened when we got to Myles,” said Missig. “He had gotten back by me and was on (Michael) d’Orlando so I tried to pop to the outside. I don’t think I got to the back of him, but he went spinning across me and just caught me. So a tough day. But I’m very happy with the car the ABEL team gave me today, we made some changes over night and the car was on rails, that’s how we were able to pick our way up to the field. So a really good drive here on a Sunday, plenty of positives we can take away, a lot of gains.”
ABEL Motorsports thanks partners ABEL Construction Company, Advance Ready Mix, Boyd Cat®, S Team Motorsports and OMP for their continued support.
Next up for ABEL Motorsports and the INDY NXT by Firestone will be the Grand Prix of Monterey doubleheader. The races 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/.
