Jacob Abel earns his 10th podium of the year to clinch second in the championship, while Wisconsin native Yuven Sundaramoorthy delivers a hard-fought seventh top 10 finish
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (August 31, 2024) – ABEL Motorsports delivered two outstanding finishes in Saturday’s closely contested INDY NXT by Firestone Milwaukee 100 at the famed Milwaukee Mile, as Jacob Abel captured his third second-place finish of the season while Yuven Sundaramoorthy brought his car home in seventh position in his first race carrying the OPTIMA Batteries colors.
Both cars survived multiple wheel-to-wheel knocks through the race, with Sundaramoorthy surviving more than his share but keeping the pedal to the metal as he earned a solid finish in front of his hometown crowd. For Abel (Louisville, Ky.), the finish cemented his second-place finish in the INDY NXT series championship title chase.
The pair were at the top of the charts in on-track passes – Abel with 11 and Sundaramoorthy with 10.
Even before the on-track activities began, Sundaramoorthy, from nearby Oconomowoc, Wis. had established himself as the hometown hero. The Wisconsin graduate sported a racing helmet design that replicated the Badgers football helmet, carried the colors of Wisconsin-based global battery giant OPTIMA, and attended the Badgers season opener Friday night, enjoying pre-game festivities from the field. But once inside that helmet, Sundaramoorthy was determined to give the local fans someone to cheer for.
The pair of drivers had a single 45-minute practice session to reacquaint themselves on the Mile’s tricky setup, with less than 10 degrees of banking and wide straightaways. With the team fine tuning throughout, the session ended with Abel third and Sundaramoorthy sixth. In qualifying early Saturday afternoon, Sundaramoorthy put together a solid two-lap run to put the No. 22 OPTIMA Batteries/ABEL Motorsports Dallara into the ninth starting position with a two-lap average of 148.651 mph. Abel, the next to last car to qualify (with the qualifying order based on points), posted an average speed of 150.824 mph to start the No. 51 ABEL Construction Dallara on the outside of row one.
When the green flag fell, Abel had to check up next to the late-starting pole sitter, allowing two cars to surge from behind on the outside and one on the inside. The inside car took Abel high, sending him into the two cars on the outside. Fighting for control, Abel was fully sideways before righting the car and re-entering the fray – albeit in sixth position, as Sundaramoorthy held his ground in ninth.
Abel made a move for fifth position early while Sundaramoorthy grabbed eighth but as the race settled in the field spread out, with neither driver able to gain ground until a caution flag on lap 29 brought the field back together.
On the restart, Abel slid to the inside and made the pass for fourth stick, then made the same move on lap 38 to take third. On lap 45, Sundaramoorthy, in a three-car dog fight, made a pass for seventh and set his sights ahead.
With his rear tires beginning to fade, Sundaramoorthy fell to seventh, but he was able to maintain control as James Roe, on the inside, slid up into him on lap 60, putting him back to eighth. On lap 65, he pulled alongside Roe, who again took him high as the pair banged wheels – with Sundaramoorthy doing a masterful job to keep the car under control and in the race.
Abel continued to take the measure of Salvador de Alba ahead and with three laps to go, made the outside move in Turn 4 for second position. At the checkered flag, had earned his 10th podium of the season, with Sundaramoorthy taking a hard fought and somewhat battered seventh.
“Louis Foster (pole sitter) went a lot later than I was expecting and he was kind of slowing down before that a little bit,” said Abel. “I had to check up so I didn’t get ahead of him, and obviously lost a lot of ground there. I honestly don’t even know what happened after that – there were a few hits and I saved it, but mostly I was really frustrated because we lost six positions. It’s especially frustrating because we had a really strong race car. We moved forward really well, especially in the beginning, and I was just balancing saving the Firestone tires versus trying to get more track position. I think we did a good job with that; we just ran out a little bit at the end. But I think we made some of the most ground up out of anyone so we’re definitely proud of that.”
“I honestly think it’s the hardest oval we go to all year,” said Sundaramoorthy. “But I’m super happy to be back in Milwaukee – I think this is amazing for the sport and I love the Wisconsin crowd. It was a tough race but I’ll take the top 10 finish. I think we could have gotten a podium if we’d managed to move up more quickly but just kind of got stuck and that was where it ended. But the track raced really well and I was really happy about that. Obviously, I wish I could have gotten a better result for the hometown fans but I’m happy that we’re back in Milwaukee and really happy with the way this week has gone.”
ABEL Motorsports thanks partners ABEL Construction Company, Advance Ready Mix, Boyd Cat®, OPTIMA Batteries, S Team Motorsports, Quest Global and OMP for their continued support.
The season finale for ABEL Motorsports and the INDY NXT by Firestone will be the Music City Grand Prix, Sunday, September 15 at 11:50 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 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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